But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment

 

 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

 

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks  after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

- Matthew 12:33-42 

 

Yesterday we read that one was brought to Christ who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

 

  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Jesus begins by once again speaking of the heart, and how the depths of the heart bring out what is there through speech.  This is why we, as followers of Christ, practice the guarding of our hearts, and seek to know ourselves in this sense.  We bring all things to Christ for our own healing, thus seeking to make the tree good.  Jesus uses the title brood of vipers for the Pharisees, echoing John the Baptist (Matthew 3:7).  My study Bible says this title indicates their deception and malice, and their being under the influence of Satan -- just as they accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons (see yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible explains that the heart in Scripture refers to the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, and the place from which spiritual life proceeds.  It comments that when God's grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts.  On the other hand, it notes, when malice and evil capture the heart, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion.  

 

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks  after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."  After so many signs, my study Bible notes, the Pharisees show their wickedness by demanding yet another.  Jesus does not cater to those who demand a sign out of wicked intent.  The only sign for them will be Christ's Passion and Resurrection; this is the sign of the prophet Jonah Jesus refers to.  He mentions the men of Nineveh who repented at Jonah's preaching (see Jonah 3), and the queen of the South is the queen of Sheba (see 1 Kings 10:1-13, 2 Chronicles 9:1-12).  Adulterous generation is an echo of the illustration used for Israel by the prophets when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 3; Hosea 2:2-13).  

 

Our words are important, and Christ seems to teach and affirm this in ways which are significant throughout His teachings.  For example, when He preaches in the Sermon on the Mount, He likens name-calling to the statute against murder.  See Matthew 5:21-26.  He also suggests the importance of our words -- or really the powerful use of words in sticking to the minimum we need -- a little farther along in the Sermon on the Mount, when He speaks of swearing oaths (Mathew 5:33-37).  There He teaches us, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  A simple integrity seems straightforward enough, yet how hard is it for us to adhere to this in the heat of a moment, or in times of fear or stress?  But in today's reading, He takes this emphasis on our words to deeper and more profound levels.  He says, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things."  What does one find in the abundance of your heart?  My heart?  Anyone's heart?  This is a great, and apparently grave question.  For Jesus teaches that we will indeed by judged by those words, and He doesn't speak lightly regarding this judgment.  Even every "idle word" counts.  He says, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Good and evil, justified and condemned:  these are very strong words, indeed.  And yet, the One who teaches us that our words matter so deeply, the One who has fashioned His teachings with such words that they withstand 2,000 years of history to speak to us so clearly -- certainly knows what He is saying, for He Himself is the judge.  He Himself is the only One who really knows the hearts of people (Acts 1:24; 1 Kings 8:39).  If we take His words seriously, then we should begin to take our words more seriously than we usually seem to do.  Particularly if we're talking about "conversation" on the internet, where it's so easy to express an opinion, to "flame" someone with language we might not normally reserve for in-person encounters, we should think about what Jesus has said here.  He, again, isn't just the Judge; He is the Logos Himself, the Word.  He knows the power of words, and He, as Lord, spoke the world into existence at creation (Genesis 1:3).  It's a powerful thing to ponder just what kind of words we may use if we consider that it is also Jesus who taught us that the Holy Spirit Himself would give us words for testimony in times of trial and persecution before the powerful.  Jesus told the apostles in preparing for their first mission, "But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you" (Matthew 10:19-20).  Consider that it is the Logos, the Christ, who teaches us that the Spirit who proceeds from our Father will speak in us and give us words -- well, that's quite a staggering achievement to grant any human being.  We might call it truly a manifestation of God in and of itself on such an occasion.  Words are so important that Christ gives such testimony primary importance for the apostles as they go out into the world.  We live in a time when the world is encircled and enmeshed within telecommunications almost instantaneously transmitting one word to another across continents and oceans.  And yet, how we do need to take His words seriously!  How we could thrive with a sense of integrity that He asks of us!  How life could be meaningful and profound if we paid attention to what we said with the knowledge that it reveals whatever is in the heart, and that we will be judged by it.  Let us give thought to the power of words, the power He Himself teaches us all about, and exemplifies as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life

 

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And he said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it had been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  

 

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

 

- John 6:60–71 

 

This week we have been reading chapter 6 of John's Gospel, in which the eucharistic concepts of Christ as the bread of heaven, and also the sacrifice He will make on the Cross have been introduced.  Yesterday's text told us that the Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

 

  Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And he said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it had been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  My study Bible comments here that even His disciples took Christ's teaching on His Body and Blood as a hard saying, and many walked with Him no more.  To this day, there are still those who reject Christ's own words concerning this sacramental eating of His Body and drinking His Blood, and so do not walk in His teaching.  My study Bible further notes that because of the difficulty of grasping the depth of this Mystery, many attempt to define its nature in a rational way, or to explain away His words completely, giving them simply a metaphorical meaning.  But either extreme is dubious.  To reject this sacramental teaching is to reject the witness of the Scriptures and the unanimous teaching of the Church through its history.  

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  Here is St. Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ as it appears in John's Gospel, within the context of other disciples turning away because of His hard saying on His Body and Blood (see above).  Let us note also the injection here of the note of betrayal, even among Christ's most intimate set of disciples, the twelve.  

For the first time in John's Gospel, the note of betrayal to come is mentioned.  Here, after a long discourse on Himself as the bread of life, and the bread which came down from heaven, Jesus finally interjects the truth about how His Crucifixion will come about -- the means by which He will give His flesh for the life of the world (see yesterday's reading, above).  Perhaps it is most noteworthy that just as other disciples desert Him for his hard saying about His Body and Blood, so it is at this time that Peter's faith is not simply crystalized, but the confession of faith (on behalf of the twelve as well) is made -- that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  John's emphasis is important and interesting.  Not only is Jesus the Son of the living God, with its emphasis on the power of life itself, but Peter's confession is also one about the very words Jesus offers to them and to the world.  His are the words of eternal life.  In the following chapter of John's Gospel, the temple officers are sent to arrest Jesus, but are unable to do so.  When asked by the religious authorities why they have failed, the officers reply, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  As this Gospel begins with the teaching that Jesus is Logos, the Word, so we understand that in His very words is the power of eternal life also.  As Jesus says, "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak" (John 12:49-50).  The power in His very words is the power of eternal life, rooted in the Source of all, God the Father.  Let us note once again that all things are determined through our response to these words of eternal life:  just as other disciples turn away, so Peter makes his confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ.  And just as this confession is heard on behalf of the twelve, so Jesus introduces the fact of betrayal among them, calling the one who will betray him a devil, indicating that in that betrayal is the power of the spiritual forces that oppose Him.  As we go through Lent, we head toward Holy Week and the story of the Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord.  As Jesus informs the disciples about the betrayal to come (which they no doubt scarcely can comprehend), let us take into account what we know about that betrayal, that it is through Christ's death that the devil and death itself will be defeated, for all of us.  So let us also ponder that no circumstance can keep us from the love of God, nor from God's work in us and in the world.  Our present lectionary readings also give us selections from St. Paul's letter to the Romans.  Let us read his words:  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . .  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39).  Neither will betrayal by a devil; for with God not only are all things possible, but for God's purposes all things may be used (see Romans 8:28).  When we see tribulation in our own times and in our lives, let us remember that God has a place and a way for us with which to meet all things.  We can say with St. Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No." For whatever is more than these is from the evil one

 

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right eye causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

- Matthew 5:27–37 

 

This week we are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, in preparation for Lent, which begins next week.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

 

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  The issue here, my study Bible tells us, is not the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but the selfish promptings of lust.  Sin does not come out of nature, it says, but out of the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.  When thoughts enter our mind involuntarily, those are not sins.  They are temptations.  They only become sins if they are held, built up, entertained.

 

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right eye causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  Of course, Jesus is speaking figuratively here.  He is using these images to teach us how important it is to take decisive action to avoid sin and continue in purity.  Notice He speaks of the right eye and right hand; these would be even our "favored" parts of ourselves, the things we most depend upon.  Even these, Jesus says, can be deadly to us.  If we consider these images, we'll note that an eye can gaze with an improper covetousness on things that it shouldn't, a hand can reach out to take what doesn't belong to us.  

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."  In contrast to the easy access to divorce under the Mosaic Law, my study Bible comments, and because of the misuse of divorce in Christ's time, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorce (see also Matthew 19:8-9) and emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage.  That Jesus mentions the possibility of divorce due to sexual immorality is a teaching that shows us that marriage -- like other relationships -- can be destroyed by sin.  

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."   My study Bible comments that trust cannot be secured by swearing an oath by things that are not in a person's possession anyway, but only by simple integrity. 

If we continue our thoughts from yesterday's reading, we can start with the last part of today's Gospel passage, in which Jesus teaches us to let our "Yes" be "Yes" and our "No," "No."  Once again, in preparation for Lent, we might take these words of Christ to suggest an important practice of economy with our words.  What do our words mean?  How do we use them?  If we want to take a closer look at Christ's words about swearing oaths we have only to look at the story of the death of John the Baptist (see Matthew 14:1-12).  Essentially, in that story, although the King understood John the Baptist to be a holy man, and although he felt very badly, it was because of an oath he swore in front of his nobles and "great men" of his kingdom -- and the rash sway of his own emotions by the dancing of his queen's daughter -- he gave the orders to behead John the Baptist and present his severed head in a grotesque display of heedless and vicious excess.  In that case, Herod's swearing before the "grand" people of his court, and his own vainglory involved in doing so, complicates this story.  But it also adds to our understanding about why we do best to stick to humility in economizing with our words.  We don't need to make vain proclamations about what we think or believe, and we don't need to make them public or excessively vehement.  For to do so is to step into a trap of vainglory, and to risk being unable to step down from such a place when it's necessary.   The humility of using only our necessary words to make a point, to defend ourselves, or to make a public statement is something that will stand us in good stead, help us to learn how to use our language well, and keep us in a safe and good path that our Lord asks of us.  So, while we think about abstaining during Lent, and risking temptations, let's add this precaution to our own use of language, and help ourselves to become more thoughtful and precise in so doing.  In an age where vehement language and excessive swearing is the stuff of internet memes and viral videos, let us consider what it is to be the opposite:  to learn how to use language with richness and real aptitude.  Perhaps we will become more distinguished in our capacity for expression by doing so, in imitation of the integrity of our Lord.

 

 

 

 

No man ever spoke like this Man!

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. 

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee." 

 

- John 7:37-52 

 

 In our current reading, Jesus is in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival that commemorates the time Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, dwelling in tents or "tabernacles."  Yesterdays we read that, about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  

 

  On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  The last day, that great day of the feast was the eight day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  My study Bible notes that the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam (in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck) gives the context to Christ's words here, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and also the new life that accompanies this gift.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.   My study Bible says that the Prophet is a reference to the expected Messiah, the Savior whose coming was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).   Bethlehem was the town from which the Christ was expected to come (Micah 5:2).  

 

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  My study Bible comments here that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (verse 32).  By the time the last day of the Feast had arrived, no arrest had been made.  These officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  My study Bible says that, according to St. John Chrysostom, the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the other hand, although they could not claim any of this learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."   We recall from chapter 3 that Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus (John 3:1-21) and he had increased in faith.  But his defense of Christ, according to my study Bible, is still based on our law and is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  When the Pharisees claim that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee they're showing what my study Bible calls their blind hatred and ignorance of the Scriptures.  The prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from a town called Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).

If we look carefully, we see that John's Gospel puts a great deal of emphasis on the signs of divinity in Christ.  Of course this is clear in the seven great "signs" of healing and other miracles in the Gospel.  But with the spirituality of this Gospel, this goes much further.  In chapter 6, Jesus' teachings which illumine the Eucharist come to the fore.  The sacramental eating of His body and blood becomes a point of great contention, losing Him disciples who no longer wish to follow Him, and giving consternation to the religious leaders.  But the quality of the spiritual reality that is conveyed through our conventional experience of life remains highly illumined in all kinds of ways in this particular Gospel, a characteristic we could perhaps call Johannine.  That is, the divinity of Christ which is imbued in all His earthly life shines through.  One example in today's reading comes in the form of the response by the temple police who are called to arrest Jesus.  In Tuesday's reading, Jesus teaches, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."  In the same reading, after other disciples leave, and Jesus turns to the twelve, St. Peter tells Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  These words are paired with St. Peter's confession of faith, made on behalf of the twelve, that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God."  In today's reading, the temple police who have failed to arrest Jesus can offer no other explanation for this failure than their statement, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  This is a declaration that we can imagine is spluttered out into the faces of the furious chief priests and Pharisees, and seems to indicate the effects of Christ's words on the officers as something akin to being walloped on the side of the head.  John's Gospel begins by teaching us that Jesus is the Light (John 1:4-9).   But when these officers are gobsmacked by Christ's words, we could say it is as if they are struck by lightning, by Christ's words which are effectively filled with a dazzling light, as at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8).   As He said in the previous chapter, the Spirit gives life, and His words are spirit and they are life.  The living water of which Jesus speaks in today's reading is filled with the same grace; it is the grace of the Holy Spirit.  It is the light of the Spirit that permeates John's Gospel, and flashes forth in Christ's words, so that even today the Holy Bible remains the best selling book of all time, with billions of copies circulating today in the world (between 5 and 7 billion, according to this article).  In the effect of Christ's words on these officers, we observe how this dazzling light of Christ's truth works:  some it strikes with a blinding light so that they can think of nothing else, but some it strikes where darkness is preferred and so hostility to kill that light results.  Let us consider His light, and the rivers of living water He offers to us.  Which would you prefer?  The officers tell the chief priests and the Pharisees, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  For billions of people around the world, even today, that remains ever so.

Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You

 

 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:  "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.  

"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me."

 

- John 17:1–8 

 

 In yesterday's reading, we were given Christ's parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

  Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:  "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."  As the lectionary continues to prepare us for the Lenten journey (which begins this week in the West, and for the Armenian Apostolic Church), today we're given the beginning of what is termed Christ's High Priestly Prayer (John 17).   In it, He prays for Himself, after He has addressed His disciples at the Last Supper (John 14 - 16).   This prayer contains the basic elements of a prayer which a priest would offer to God when a sacrifice is about to me made.  As my study Bible explains it, these elements comprise glorification (verses 3-5, 25), remembrance of God's words (verses 2, 6-8, 22-23), intercession on behalf of others (verses 9, 11, 15, 20-21, 24), and a declaration of the offering itself (verses 1, 5).  Here His words bear witness to Christ's divinity, and His filial relationship with the Father.  My study Bible comments on Christ's words here that the hour has come signifies Christ is Lord over time.  To glorify refers to the redemption of all creation that will be accomplished through this voluntary mission of the Cross and Resurrection; in fact, the purpose for which He was sent into the world by the Father.  In this redemption, my study bible adds, the Father and the Son are glorified.  This is why the Cross, which is a sign of death, is glorified in the Church as "life-giving" and the "weapon of peace."

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."  The knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding, my study Bible comments here.  This knowledge is, in fact, participation in God's divine life and in communion with God.  So, therefore, eternal life is an ongoing, loving knowledge of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.  

"I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."  My study Bible says that Christ's work can never be separated from His identity.  This verse, it notes, is a statement which each believer can make at the end of life, regardless of how long or short that life may be.  

"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me."  Here Jesus prays for the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  These are the apostles.  My study Bible explains that these are the ones through whom God's word comes to us.   This handing down of God's word to successive generations is what is called apostolic tradition.  My study Bible says that Isaiah prophesied that in the days of the Messiah, the knowledge of the Name of God would be revealed (Isaiah 52:6).  Your name:  In the times of the Old Testament Scriptures, the phrase "the Name" was reverently used as a substitute for the name of God "Yahweh" (after the Hebrew letters which represent the name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14), because the Name was considered too sacred to pronounce.  The  fuller revelation of the Name, my study Bible explains, was given to those who believe in Christ, for Christ manifested the Name not simply by declaring the Father, but by being the very presence of God and sharing the Name with God.

If we take a close look at the overall theme of these verses of Christ' High Priestly Prayer, we see that it is all connected within the understanding of the fullness and completion of His mission into the world.  It is therefore inseparable from the Father and the aims of the Father.  Additionally, it also encompasses not simply the relationship between the divine Persons of Father, Son, and Spirit but also includes believers, "the men whom You have given Me out of the world."  Actually in the Greek, this is possibly more literally translated as "those whom You have given Me out of the world."  Therefore, this is about Christ's faithful believers.  Certainly it was most relevant to those at the Last Supper, but Christ's prays for all whom the Father has given to Him, and this is a process which is still ongoing.  So both the fullness of Christ's manifestation, and glorification encompasses all the communion of saints, the fullness of the Church even including in its ultimate sense, and the divine Persons of the Trinity.  In this way, all is inseparable from Christ's mission, which Jesus now goes forward to complete in the Cross and the Resurrection.   This beginning of Christ's High Priestly Prayer invites us to consider what "glory" means, and how this glory is interconnected to Christ's manifestation of the fullness of the Father, which also includes in time and in eternity the fullness of the Church.  But this kind of glory is completely different from worldly notions of personal glory.  If we can get an idea of what this type of glory is truly like, we will come to understand also what it means when we read in the Gospels the notion of the fulfillment or completion of joy.  At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11), and He compares their imminent suffering to that of a woman in labor, who rejoices once her child is born (John 16:20-22).  This understanding of joy is linked to Christ's glorification, because both are bound up in the fulfillment of Christ's mission, in the fulfillment of the will of the Father, and each of our roles in that fulfillment.  It is the same with John the Baptist, when he declares, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled" (John 3:29).  This fulfillment of joy is one that is found not simply as an individual, or in a self-centered way, but one that comes in the completion of communion, a joy found in the sharing of the life in Christ, and the fullness of mission in this sense.  If we, also, are to find this fulfillment of joy, then we look to Christ's understanding of glory, and how it is found in the life that God prepares and asks us to fulfill in our own faithful living, through the light that Christ gives us for this path in each of our lives.  Joy becomes a part of the glory of God in which we might share and play our own roles, an expansion of the heart that cannot be contained in selfish and limited versions of worldly glory or renown.  Let us consider this integral, expanded, deep understanding of joy, and how it is connection to the ways we find ourselves in Christ, to the life of faith we're offered.  For the joy in our hearts comes from the fire of love (Luke 24:32), which which begins with God who is love and which Christ has manifest to us so that we also may participate in this life, and in His joy.

No man ever spoke like this Man!

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?   Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. 

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

- John 7:37–52 

 

In our previous reading, we were told that about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answer1ed them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  My study Bible explains that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  At this ceremony was the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam, giving us the context for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water, as St. John's text indicates, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, my study Bible notes, and the new life that accompanies this gift.  

 

 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.   The Prophet, my study Bible says, refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior to come foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethelehem, the home of King David, was the town from which the Christ (the Messiah was expected to come (see Micah 5:2). 

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Earlier in the chapter, we read that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the feast (John 7:32).  But by now it is the last day of the feast (the eighth day), and no arrest has been made.  This is because, according to my study Bible, these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  It cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who writes that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  These officers, by contrast, who could claim none of this learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When one's mind is open, St. Chrysostom says, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  This is the same Nicodemus (also a Pharisee) who had spoken with Jesus by night, accepting teaching (John 3:1-21), and in the intervening time had increased in faith.  However, my study Bible notes that his defense of Christ is still based on our law and hence this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  In accordance with the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).   The Pharisees claim that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee, but in this, my study Bible says, they show at once their blind hatred and their ignorance of the Scriptures.  The prophet Jonah was from Galilee, the town of Gath Hepher, only three miles from Jesus' home in the town of Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).

The temple officers explain their failure to arrest Jesus with the vehement statement to the rulers,  "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Once more, it is now Christ's words that make such a difference to people, even these officers who are not those learned in the Scripture like the Pharisees and scribes.  St. John Chrysostom's words come back to us, reminding us of the impact of truth on an open mind (and conversely, the complete lack of impact truth may make on a closed and prejudiced one).  But this emphasis on the remarkable power of Christ's words is one that we have heard emphasized before in St. John's Gospel.  In St. Peter's confession of faith, he first prefaces by saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (see John 6:67-69).  Now we read a stunning statement by those who are not disciples, but are instead temple police, sent to arrest Jesus as if He were a criminal.  So the text is clear in showing us that the power of Christ's words is not understood merely from an intellectual appreciation of them, or from first knowing Scripture, but there is another component within us that responds to His "words of eternal life."  All of the rest, as St. Chrysostom's commentary indicates, is of little use when a mind is closed to begin with.  Certainly those among the most well-trained and educated minds of the past have formed the Church and its theology, which is made very clear through the lives of the early saints of the Church.  For the early patristic scholars, coming out of a pagan civilization, and themselves enriched through classical education in philosophy, literature, and all other subjects available to them, if our Lord was the Person who is Truth (see John 14:6), then whatever serves truth may be honored as serving Christ (truth, beauty, and goodness being hallmarks of the Divine).  So in such cases, the brilliant minds of past and present whose intelligence and education contributed to our understanding of Christ did so only where faith was also present.    We see the difference between Nicodemus and nearly all of his fellow Pharisees; it is Nicodemus who is also growing in faith, and will come to an even greater dedication to Christ by the time of His Passion and death.  It is under faith, then, that our talents, skills, experience, and education are organized within one principle, to serve the Lord.  God will take all of the differentiated aspects of our lives and personal formation, and use those skills and talents to God's purposes.  This we can see in the countless examples of saints from all countries and backgrounds, of every century, whose work is always surprising and impactful on the lives of those around them.  These policemen are similar to the centurion who will oversee Christ's Crucifixion, in that they come to faith and insight through their openness to faith and the truth of Christ, even though they are loyal to the ones who sent them.  Through the faithful action of Cornelius the Centurion, the impact upon the world is incalculable (Acts 10 - 11:18).   In consideration of these things, let us consider how essential to life is our faith, and what potential impact it can have around us in shaping our lives and actions.  We may consider the learning of skills, development of talents, gaining of an education, and all other forms of development to be the most important and decisive elements of our flowering as persons.  But what the Gospels seem to teach us is that so much depends on our ability to truly hear and know the things of God.  Jesus Himself often proclaims in His preaching, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8; 14:35).  A heart open to the words He teaches us is one capable of grasping the truth in the words, and this is the powerful teaching couched in today's reading.   The people at the festival echo like a Greek chorus all the possible understandings and interpretations of Christ's words and acts, but they are unknowing, confused, and they reflect a time in Israel of great uncertainty.  But those who can hear are stunned by His words, magnetic in their appeal to their hearts.  Let us understand the reality of truth, and the challenge to hear even in the confusion and uncertainty of today. 

 

 

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me

 

 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."

 

- John 10:19-30 

 

In Saturday's reading, Jesus continued His dialogue with the Pharisees, after having healed a man blind from birth.  He told them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.  Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes is from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."

 

Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  We recall that Jesus has been disputing with the religious leaders.  Chapters 7 - 9 have been concerned with events at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival, and the Gospel has begun reporting the events of Jesus' final year of earthly life.  My study Bible comments here that those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by the signs, but perceive the holiness of His words.   During this Feast of Tabernacles, the leaders had sent temple police to arrest Him, but they returned having failed to do so.  Their response when question as to why they had not arrested Him:  "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:46).  Jesus Himself has taught, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).  

 

 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."   The Feast of Dedication took place approximately three months after the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10:21), and was known as the "Festival of Lights," which we know also as Hanukkah.  It commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Seleucid King Epiphanes desecrated it in 167 BC (see 1 Maccabees 1 - 4).  At this festival, my study Bible explains, the leaders of Israel's past were commemorated, many of whom were themselves shepherds.  We recall again that, for the greater part, John's use of the term the Jews is akin to a political context, used to designate the religious leaders, not the people.  All the people mentioned here in the text are Jews, including Jesus, His followers, and the author of this Gospel, the disciple John Zebedee.

 

 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me."  My study Bible comments that both what Christ told them and the works He had done have already answered their question.  Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind (particularly one born blind; see John 9:32), or perform the signs that beat witness to Christ's identity.  Likewise, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of the people as Christ has (John 7:46).  

"But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you."  My study Bible points out that "as I said to you" indicates these are the same Pharisees whom Christ addressed three months earlier at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 10:1-5).  

 

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Once again, Jesus returns to His repeated theme of communion with the Father.  His mission and power are given by the Father.  This communion is so close that He says, "I and My Father are one."  Here and in the verses that will follow, Christ confirms that He is fully God, for one means one in nature or essence, while are indicates two distinct Persons, while confirming a continuous unity.

In today's reading, we're given both a sense of the union Christ has with the Father, and also the power of Christ's words.  What is indicated seems to be the seamless unity of both of these things.  The power of Christ's words -- and indeed, of His actions and ministry -- is completely tied in to His union with the Father.  It is this spiritual reality that informs His words and gives them power.  Above is quoted once again Christ's own statement regarding His words:  "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."  We know that Father and Son are united; we also understand through our theology in the Church, and Christ's words, that where one member of the Trinity is present, so is the full Trinity.  Where Father and Son are united, the Spirit is also present.  In chapter 4, Jesus taught the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well:  "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).  From this also we may understand the united power of the Trinity itself, and the words of Christ.  The power of spirit and truth is present in His words, because they come from the Father; but also the Father is seeking those who will worship in spirit and in truth, and so we may also be united in this communion as well, and through His word.  How else can Christ's words penetrate the heart, and come to us with recall when we need them, even if their meaning is not completely clear to us?  They call to us through this power of spirit and truth, and especially to that part of ourselves that will respond, be drawn in, and seek to know more.  In this our hearts respond, the center of ourselves, that "better part" that is drawn to what will guide us through difficult circumstances in life, where what's good and what's not good may not be easy to discern to our immediate conscious minds amidst the jumbled impulses of fears and doubt and dread.  Life offers us all kinds of circumstances that leave us seemingly in the lurch, so to speak:  difficult choices, unknown roads or dilemmas, without clear answers how to solve our problems -- or even what might be right or wrong.  But the words of Christ, if we are not overwhelmed by circumstances or "choked by the cares of this world" (see the parable of the Sower), will echo in us, call to us.  They have a way of echoing in our minds, coming back to us at times that are seemingly incongruous or unrelated.  But the words remain powerful for us because they remain spirit and truth.  They are part of an energy that does not die because it is immortal, coming from God.  And this is what we need to remember.  We have been through many circumstances of history since these words were spoken, but they have a meaning that transcends circumstances for us and endures through time.  They will find their way to us through our own challenged lives, through difficulties both modern and ancient, even in the midst of a world no one at Christ's time could have imagined.  But let us consider the problems that remain for us today, and were present for Christ's earliest followers:  persecution, powerful and ruthless states with the latest technology for manipulation and coercion, popular movements, rumors of all kinds, ambitious politicians, and even false prophets and wolves who dress themselves in sheep's clothing.  These things don't change even if they change appearances and slogans, for they are all still with us, and were present in the extreme for the early Church -- and maybe especially for these first followers of Christ we read about in the Gospels.  Whatever comes our way, we have these words of spirit and truth. As St. Peter put it, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).   Together with St. Peter, let us be the sheep who hear His voice, today, as yesterday, and also tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

But let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No." For whatever is more than these is from the evil one

 

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's thrown; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

- Matthew 5:27-37 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

 

  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  My study Bible explains that the issue here is not the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but the selfish promptings of lust.  Sin does not come out of nature, it says, but out of the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.  Thoughts that enter the mind involuntarily are not sins, but temptations.  They only become sins when they are held and entertained.  It's important to emphasize the selfish component of what is being discussed here, which leads to viewing and using other human beings in a materialistic way.

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  My study Bible says that this imagery isn't to be taken literally, but rather refers to decisive action to avoid sin and to continue in purity.  Jesus repeats this imagery in Matthew 18:8, in discussions regarding the use of power and notions of what constitutes "greatness" in His Church.  One's right eye is considered precious, but if one's gaze is meant to covet or own another, or to look upon another with kind of lust that leads to abuse, it is necessary to make a correction.  One's right hand may reach out selfishly to harm or to seek to grasp what does not belong to oneself, to reach beyond a proper boundary.  The imagery implies that something one cherishes may be causing one to sin grievously, and thereby must be let go.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."  In contrast to the easy access to divorce under the Mosaic Law, and because of the misuse of divorce in that day, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorces (see also Matthew 19:8-9), and emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage, my study Bible tells us.  The possibility of divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality makes it evident that marriage can be destroyed by sin, such as abuse.  

 

 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's thrown; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  My study Bible comments here that trust cannot be secured by swearing an oath by things that are not in the possession of human beings anyway -- the only answer is simple integrity.  

Jesus tells us all, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  It would seem that these words of advice from Christ put a great deal of emphasis on meaning -- on lending true meaning to the language we use, our communication with others.  For if our "Yes" is truly "Yes," and our "No" is truly "No," then what we have done is maintain a meaning and integrity that goes beyond simply personal responsibility.  We will have, in fact, restored language to its power and potential, and even more importantly, to its truth.  And there we get to the crux of what Christ means and who He is.  Jesus will teach us that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).  He will call the Spirit, the "Helper" whom He will send, the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13).  At the same time, He calls the devil the "father of lies" and says that "there is no truth in him" (John 8:44).  In the Revelation we're told that those who will remain outside the city of God, with no access to the tree of life, will include "whoever loves and practices a lie" (Revelation 22:14-15).  So, in Christ's statement here in the Sermon on the Mount regarding our use of language, there is a great deal to be discerned about what it means to have integrity, especially in terms of whether or not the words that come from our lips contain integrity and meaning, are blessed with truth, and do not constitute lies.  So much, in fact, hangs on the need for our words to convey their true meaning, that Jesus includes these specific teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, and advises us to lay aside swearing and oaths, and all manner of seeming vehemence, and simply let our "Yes" be "Yes," and our "No" be "No."  For when an individual begins to allow one's own word to become corrupted with lies and dissembling, with self-delusion or misleading statements, that leads to a corrupt way of life, corrupt practice.  When this becomes a habit for a person, or within a family, or a society, then the false and misleading use of language becomes an increasingly corrupting influence.  We can see this throughout history in the use of language as a political tool, the corrupting use of images to convey a false sense of values where there is none, of integrity where it doesn't exist, of promises that turn out to be lies.  In Nazi Germany, what was called the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda relentlessly cranked out self-serving images and slogans in deliberate effort simply to gain and hold power.  The same can be true of many totalitarian regimes in various countries and using various political systems.  And, of course, with the use of corrupting language, the same can happen in a country we consider a democracy -- simply because a "Yes" is not really "Yes," and "No" is not simply "No," but false and misleading statements, slogans, and platforms are used to mislead and to corrupt.  It is we who must make up our minds to follow Christ in His advice about our own language and its integrity as the only certain way to begin to put a halt to ever-widening circles of corruption that are started simply through propagandistic lies, slogans meant to mislead, language used simply to gain power through half-truths and smokescreens.  While the world will continue to entertain misleading notions and utopian promises, we can begin to look at Christ's truth -- for He is the One who doesn't sell us short and doesn't sugar coat a mission of truth.  We look to Him to teach us and guide us, even within a maelstrom of competing images, interests, and public voices designed to turn us one way and another, to gain someone power and authority, to point us in one direction that serves a false god with a narrative that takes us down a rabbit hole whose destructive effect on human beings we only see with hindsight.  If we start to practice His way, to let our "Yes" be "Yes" and our "No" be "No," then we will have begun to stop the spread of the falsehood, to take a stand against misleading, to start with ourselves to join in His integrity.  It is Christ who says to us that whatever is more than this is from the evil one.