He is a liar and the father of lies

 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can you say, 'You will be made free.'?"

Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."

They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God, nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear because you are not of God." 

- John 8:33-47

In recent readings, Jesus has been speaking in the temple to the leadership.  They tried to seize Him and arrest Him, but this has failed.  He has been giving them a discourse on His identity.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can you say, 'You will be made free.'?"   Again, they take His words at their surface value.  This is a device used often in John's Gospel, when Jesus uses words to teach of deeper meanings and values.  The leadership turns to Abraham to express their identity as free men.

 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."    Jesus proclaims His doctrine of freedom:  true freedom is freedom from sin.  Moreover, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  This tells us something about the "ruler of this world" and what kind of regime and power that evil uses, in contrast to the love of God.  We are invited into sonship by adoption, through the Son who makes us free -- and therefore, the Son makes us "free indeed."  Jesus contrasts fatherhood between that of God the Father and the one who makes slaves of others.  Freedom is inextricable from this struggle between two choices, one Way or another.

They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."   Who are Abraham's true descendants?  For what is Abraham known, and how did he become the Patriarch of the people of God?  If they therefore do not do as Abraham did, who is their father?  My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom:  "[Jesus] wished to detach them from this racial pride and to deflate their excessive conceit, and to persuade them no longer to place their hope of salvation in Abraham, or in nobility of race according to nature, but in that according to free will.  For, this was the thing that prevented them from coming to Christ; namely, they thought their descent from Abraham sufficed for their salvation."

Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God, nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word."  My study bible says, "They are not able to listen to His word because they are not willing to learn from Him.  Spiritual truth can be genuinely heard only if there is willingness to know God and to do His will."

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear because you are not of God."  Jesus speaks of our basic choices in life.  How are we going to hear?  What do we love and what do we worship?  It's a link here between whether we love truth, or we do not.  What do our hearts desire most?  Jesus alludes to their desire to murder Him, to suppress what He is saying and doing, to rid themselves of His presence.  And what is their motive to do this?  He asks, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" for an important reason.  Their desires do not stem from a love of truth, nor a love of true justice.  In this way, they are not like their ancestor Abraham; they do not do as he did.

Jesus ties in truth and lies together with the love of God the Father, the willingness to commit sin and therefore be a slave of sin, with murder, and with the capacity for embracing true freedom.  All of these things are tied together and bound by an understanding of what we love in our hearts.  There's a song written by Bob Dylan that says, "Gotta serve somebody."  Succinctly put, the point is that we are creatures all made with a capacity for worship, and one way or another we have to choose what we really love, and where our true treasure is, what we are truly going to worship in our hearts.  If we don't do this consciously, we will engage unconsciously in things we hold dear, things we worship.  In the case of the leadership, there are reasons that have nothing to do with justice or truth why they wish to purge Jesus from their midst.  He's a threat to their authority.  He criticizes the ways in which they do things.  (See the cleansing of the temple; in John's Gospel this becomes one of His first acts of ministry.)  When anything gets in the way of the love of God in our hearts, we begin to serve that goal.  Here, it is the jealous guarding of position that is rooted in their compromises with integrity:  they will believe lies about Jesus, they wish to murder Him, they will seek to justify themselves even by avoiding what is written in the Law which they are supposed to uphold for the people.  When Jesus speaks of their "father" who was a murderer from the beginning, who is a liar and the father of lies, He's referring to the alternative to God's love and truth, and what we serve when we put obstacles to that love in our hearts.  We can become a slave to this type of sin:  where vanity and selfishness and envy and arrogance and all the whole host of things that cloud our capacity to find where God would lead us get in the way of living a righteous life, then we are slaves to something that is unwilling to allow us the freedom to make the choice for love and truth.  We limit ourselves by such choices, and fall into a trap which refuses to let in the light that would take us beyond ourselves, and broaden the persons that we are with love and with understanding and wisdom.  This is the trap of the "slavery" Jesus is speaking of here.  With these limiting passions there is no compromise, but with God there is love and forgiveness and a gentle leading forward into a deeper sonship.  Let us consider that the examples that we find in the Gospels are here not because they simply want to tell us a story about other people, but because we are vulnerable to the same things reported here.  Our slavery can come in all sorts of forms depending on circumstances.  Therefore let us not separate ourselves from the very contemporary lessons of relying on an ancestor or a heritage or even an environment to claim that we are in the light of truth.  Let us instead remember that to carry the cross is an act for which each of us is responsible.  To choose what we will truly serve and worship, to guard our own hearts with truth and the humility to accept it and to "change our minds" when necessary,  is something each one of us must always do.

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

- John 8:21-32

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was speaking with the Pharisees about His identity as Son, and His relationship to God the Father.  They seek to seize Him not only for breaking the Sabbath, but also for calling Himself Son.  He has already given several witnesses to His identity.  Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself, Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I just no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.


Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."   Again, Jesus speaks of His "going away" (see yesterday's reading, above).  My study bible tells us that going away refers to His death and Resurrection.

 So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"   We recall that for the most part, when John speaks of "the Jews" He is speaking of the leadership.  Everyone in this story is a Jew, including the man Jesus Himself.  Already they've asked if He'll go to the dispersion (or diaspora) among the Greeks.  Now they ask if He will kill Himself!  A paper could be written on these words and the psychological projection involved, coupled together with Christ's knowledge of "His hour."

And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Here's a kind of answer to the upside-down understanding of the question about Jesus killing Himself:  He's "from above."  Jesus has the perspective and the words that reflect where He comes from and where He's going.  They have the perspective that reflects where they "come from" and where they "are going."  In His words to Nicodemus earlier in John's Gospel, after teaching about baptism in the Spirit, Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  We look to the Cross in faith in order to be "lifted up" with Him; He shows us the Way where He comes from and is going.

Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom on this passage.  He wrote, "Oh, what stupidity!  After so long a time and miracles, and teaching, they asked 'Who art thou?'"

And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  My study bible notes here:  "Lift up has the double meaning of being nailed to the Cross and of being exalted by the Father upon the completion of His work."  If we look at these passages together, we see two significant statements about their response to Him:  1)  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father; and 2)  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  The latter comes after the (hidden) mention of the Cross, and His death that will come at the hands of the leadership:  "when you lift up the Son of Man." 

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."  A note here reads:   "Jesus expects all who follow Him to be disciples (learners). Abiding in His word is not something reserved for an elite class of zealots."

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  Here is liberation, even for those among the leadership who will believe. My study bible teaches that "being free refers specifically to freedom from bondage to sin, granted by the Redeemer through His death and Resurrection."

As we read these words of Jesus, we have to think about our own liberation, and what it means to "know the truth" and that the "truth makes us free."  As a general principle, we accept this statement.  To get to the truth of a matter -- of any matter -- is to be able to begin to heal it, to solve a problem, to deal with the issues at hand.  In this case, Jesus is of course speaking of spiritual truth, but we really can't separate truth into the spiritual and otherwise, because Truth is a Person in our understanding of faith.  As Creator, therefore, Truth permeates anything and everything in God's creation, and this is why truth is essential to healing.  Any oppression by evil, by the "ruler of this world" as Jesus has put it, is an oppression of truth.  Evil throws obstacles in our way to understanding truth, an evil oppression blinds us to true health and creates stumbling blocks for us, of suffering, whether that be physical, mental or spiritual.  Therefore truth, in Jesus' context, cannot be separated out from the wholeness and entirety of our lives.  It is such an important understanding that John the Evangelist in writing Revelation will group together all kinds of evil practitioners with "and whoever loves and practices a lie."  So Jesus' liberation for us is not only the truth about Himself and His relatedness to the Father, but especially about healing and making well our own relationship to both and also to the Spirit, to one another, and within ourselves to all.  It's like polishing a mirror to see more clearly;  Christ's healing includes polishing away the lies we tell ourselves, and about anything and everything else.  So let us consider that His liberation enables us to make good choices, to stand before His Cross, and to bear our own upright and be lifted up with Him.  The liberation of this truth does not necessarily make life more easy or less complicated; it may throw difficult things in our lives with which we must contend.  But let us remember that His followers entered this arena not to be afraid of life and truth, but rather to run the race, to win a type of victory, to fight the good fight of faith.  That's what we call freedom.  We cannot do that without truth.

I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life

 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself, Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I just no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

- John 8:12:20

In yesterday's reading, we read the continuation of Jesus' dialogue with the leadership, who seek to accuse Him of making Himself equal with God.  Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles.  He has been teaching in the temple.  In Saturday's reading, we read that even His brothers did not believe in Him, and they taunted Him to go to the festival openly.  But He went in secret, and began to teach about the middle of the feast.  Many wonder about Him, although all are in fear of the leadership.  He taught, "Do not judge by according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  In yesterday's reading, we were told that 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 or 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."

Today's reading skips over a passage in John's  Gospel, the story of the adulterous woman.  See John 7:53-8:11.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   Of this passage, my study bible says, "I am the light of the world:  During the Feast of Tabernacles, torches were lit in the temple court, and singing and dancing continued each night.  In this context Jesus is the One who gives the light of life.  In the New Testament God is light (1 John 1:5); the followers of Jesus are the light (Matt. 5:14); and believers shine as lights in the world (Phil. 2:15).  In these and other references in John, God is the source of this uncreated, life-giving light."

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself, Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going."  Again, we hear talk of witnessing.  In an earlier reading, Jesus gave four witnesses to His identity.  This took place at the previous festival, again in dialogue with the leadership as they sought to accuse Him.  Here, He declares Himself a true witness to Himself. He knows where He comes from and where He is going:  In Monday's reading, the dispute about where He is from took center stage.  As Jesus taught in the temple He said, "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."  He also taught, "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."  The people debated where the Christ to come from, while the leadership failed to fathom His words as to where He was going.  My study bible says, "In the face of resistance and disbelief Jesus continues to proclaim His relationship with the Father.  The Pharisees either were unable to understand Jesus' words or were simply astonished that Jesus was claiming God as His own Father."

"You judge according to the flesh; I just no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me."  Again, Jesus' words reflect on previous teaching.  Regarding their accusations that He broke the Sabbath rule by healing a paralytic, Jesus told them:  "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." 

It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  My study bible says, "Because the Son and the Father share the same nature, one cannot be known apart from the other.  St. John Chrysostom writes, 'Indeed, if He were not of the same nature as the Father, He would not have spoken as He did.'"  Once again, Jesus is repeating a theme begun earlier in John's Gospel.  He taught in the temple, at the middle of the feast, "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."

These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.  Jesus' "hour" is the hour of His Passion, Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection.

 I can't help but focus on what seems to be an extraneous detail:  John tells us that He spoke these works in the treasury, as He taught in the temple.  And really, we have to think about what our treasure is.  Why are His words so hard to hear?  Yes, they are "unbelievable," out of the normal order of things, completely unexpected.  But then again, He's told us as His followers that His Second Coming, though awaited as was the Christ in Jesus' time, will come at an hour we don't expect.  So what is our treasure here?  Surely Jesus' words and teachings must constitute what we call our treasure.  His truth is our treasure.  And the gift of Himself is our treasure.  The gift of the Holy Spirit becomes our treasure.  His Incarnation in the flesh is our treasure.  All these things we hold as treasure, and we are to produce more treasure from them. This is the real profit God wants from us.  Why is it that they, His audience of the leadership (in today's reading, He speaks specifically to the Pharisees), cannot truly hear Him?  Why can't they accept His words?  We can just go back to the text of today's reading, in the first place:  "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  As He said earlier, "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."  So basically there is a problem in the first place with right-relatedness to God.  Secondary reasons for this abound:  Jesus has taught elsewhere in the Gospels that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."   So the Gospels lead us to the understanding that pride of place, the need for position and recognition and authority, is what is first in their hearts, and keeps them from truly understanding and seeing Jesus for who He is.  So, if even these experts can trip themselves up because of the desire for position, let us keep in mind how easily we can deceive ourselves when we want something very badly.  A greater gift may be in our midst and appearing where we least expect it, even where we don't want it!  It all depends on what we treasure most, and where our heart really is.  We just might be hiding from the light, and blind to its rays of life!

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

 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 or 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 the past few readings, we first learned there was a feast in Jerusalem (the Feast of Tabernacles or succoth).  Jesus' brothers taunted Him to go openly, for even His brothers did not believe in Him,  but Jesus did not go openly as it was not the time for His Triumphal Entrance.  In yesterday's reading, 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 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.  Of this passage, my study bible notes:  "The last day, that great day of the feast is probably the seventh or eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Ceremonies include a procession from the pool of Siloam, carrying water and pouring it as a libation at the temple.  This commemorates the water flowing from the rock which Moses struck in the wilderness (Ex. 17:-17), and provides the context for the Lord's words, if anyone thirsts.  Living water is the gift of the Spirit and the new life which springs forth by the power of the Spirit.  Christ gives the Holy Spirit, and the believer's heart consequently flows with new life.  Christ does not force us, but is always available if we desire Him."  Reading John's Gospel in sequence, we have already read of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, who told Jesus, "Sir, give me this water, that I may neither thirst, nor come here to draw."

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  A note reads, "The Prophet:  Many Jews of those days were looking not only for the Messiah (or Christ) but also for a prophet who would be a new Moses, one who would lead Israel out of bondage (Deut. 18:15-19).  Reference [in the Orthodox Church] is often made during the Holy (Passion) Week services to the 'Great Moses,' especially on Holy Saturday."

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 tells us, "We know that Jesus did come from the line of David and was born in Bethlehem, as had been prophesied.  But the people think He is from Nazareth in Galilee.  Far more significantly, throughout his Gospel John uses occasions like this to bring out the truth concerning Jesus' eternal origin from the Father.  No arrest could be made before Jesus 'hour' had come."

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!"   A note here reads:  "The enemies of Jesus increasingly scheme to destroy Him.  The officers of the temple were sent out to Him in the middle of the Feast, and it is now the last day.  They came back saying, No man ever spoke like this Man!  St. John Chrysostom writes, 'The Pharisees and the Scribes . . . who even witnessed miracles and read Scriptures, derived no benefit from all this. . .  The attendants [the officers], on the other hand, though they could lay claim to none of this, were captivated by a single sermon. . . . For when the mind is open to conviction there is no need of long speeches.  Truth is like that' [Homily 52]."

Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or 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."  Another useful note tells us:  "Nicodemus has spoken with Jesus, and may well be on his way to becoming a follower. Others also believed in Christ, but were afraid of repercussions.  Nicodemus's defense of Jesus is based upon legal grounds:  they should first listen to Jesus' words before He is arrested. . . . The Pharisees fail to uphold the law, making a sarcastic response to Nicodemus.  But their statement condemns them and shows their blindness to the Scriptures:  the prophet Jonah came from Gath Hepher, a town in Galilee only 3 miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25)."  It points out relevant passages in Exodus (which forbids false reporting), and Deuteronomy (requiring that both sides of the case be heard).

We remember Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who came to Jesus by night for teaching.  It was he to whom Jesus taught that "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  So John's Gospel prepares us for the uses of water and the allusions to Spirit all along the way.  By the time we reach today's passage, John has prepared us to understand Jesus' words.  Nicodemus is struggling along the road to faith, and he speaks up for Jesus' rights under the law.  But what about the other people at the temple?  Some say He is the Christ.  Others think He's the Prophet, another Moses-like figure awaited by the people.  And so we read of varying levels of faith and criticism.  But where do we draw the line in this Gospel?  Who is outside of the curve of truth here altogether?  And there I think we start to understand Jesus a little better.  There are those who do not understand but are on the road to faith.  And then there are those who deliberately pursue lines of arguing and debate simply for the sake of their positions, and they are those who should and do know better.  And there we start to get a sense of Jesus' emphasis on truth, and why the Gospel will so often give us condemnation of hypocrisy.  Some use the law to their benefit but they will ignore it also to their benefit.  Jesus has healed the paralytic on the Sabbath at the previous festival in Jerusalem, and for this they seek Him, as well as His declaration of being the Son and therefore equal to Father.  But how do we find the truth, and how do we know the truth?  What strikes me today is all the linkage of the symbolism of water; even Nicodemus' appearance reminds us of a teaching about water and about the Spirit.  Aside from the revelations that we have throughout history by virtue of the work of the Holy Spirit, what guides us toward spiritual truth?  First we have a love of God in our hearts.  But we also open our hearts to the Spirit itself, which Jesus likened to the wind that blows where it wishes.  When we remember that Jesus tells us we will hear its sound but cannot tell where it is going, then we have a better chance of keeping spiritual our eyes and ears open.  Can we hear its sound?  Let us remember that clinging to position at the cost of the truth tells us about where we may go all wrong, according to the Gospels.  We blind ourselves and we seek to blind others.  We become the blind leading the blind. 

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment

 Now 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 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?"

- John 7:14-36

On Saturday,  we read that Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the religious leadership sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.   You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

Now 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 has never been a student of a famous rabbi, like the scribes or others who would know Scriptures in the ways that He does.   From the beginning of His ministry, questions have come to Jesus regarding His authority, and whence it comes.

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."  My study bible tells us that "Jesus identifies the source of spiritual blindness:  unwillingness to do the will of God.  St. John Chrysostom paraphrases the words of Christ:  'Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, and the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts -- entirely without provocation -- against Me, and you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God. For, as it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort the sound judgment that shines there, while, if you remove these passions, you will no longer be thus afflicted' (Homily 49)."  Jesus shows us the path to true humility:  we seek the will of God in all we do, just as He does.  It reminds us of His great "knowledge of letters" at which the temple authorities marvel.  Jesus summed up all the Law and the Prophets in two great commandments:  to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself.   And He also teaches us about loyalty:  Jesus is eminently loyal to the One who sent Him.  Out of love, He is righteous and true.

"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?"   The leadership deny that they seek to put Him to death, after Jesus points out they're not following the law of Moses in making the decision to do so.  Later on before the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus will seek to defend Jesus' rights before the Council

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."   My study bible notes, "Jesus implies that healing the paralytic on the Sabbath is a greater obedience to the will of God than circumcising on the Sabbath."  What best shows God's mercy, in restoring the wholeness of a person?  Is this not the purpose of the Sabbath rest?  To judge with righteous judgment is, once again, to truly seek the will of God before all else.

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."  My study bible tells us, "This is an ignorant claim filled with irony:  they know Jesus' human origin, but not His divine origin." 

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.  Jesus refutes their claims:  they know Him and where He is from.  But the One who sent Him is true, and they don't truly know God.  Emphatically He repeats again His relationship to the Father:  "I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."    My study bible notes, "His hour is the time of His suffering and death.  Jesus Christ shows Himself to be Lord of time, a prerogative possessed by God alone.  He comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, not as a result of the political machinations of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Romans."

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 chief priests sent officers to take Him.  The leadership responds to the popularity of Jesus and those coming to faith through His appearance and teachings in the temple. 

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."  My study bible notes here:  "Jesus speaks of His death, Resurrection, and Ascension.  His hearers, as is so often the case, do not understand Him."

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?"   A note reads:  "Among the Greeks means among the Gentiles.  In those days, there were communities of Jews scattered throughout the Mediterranean world, especially in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Egypt.  Their question bears a tinge of irony.  By the time this Gospel was written, the Christian faith had spread throughout much of the Gentile world."

In today's reading, Jesus stresses His union with the Father.  But what kind of union is it?  Jesus speaks first of a knowledge of God that comes from love of God.  He says that His doctrine is not His, but of the One who sent Him:  those who know the One who sent Him will know the doctrine.  Jesus does not seek His own glory, but the glory of the Father, the One who sent Him.  And He links that will with full healing, becoming completely well, as His healing of the paralytic expressed.  Righteous judgment, in Jesus' formulation here, also comes from love of the Father.  Jesus repeats that "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."  Finally, He stresses His return to the One who sent Him.  But they, the leadership who seek to kill Him, will be unable to follow:   "You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Again the relationship with the Father, through faith, is what gives us the capacity for eternal life.  In each of these ways, Jesus' emphasizes His relationship to the Father.  He is sent by the Father, He does the will of the Father, He seeks the glory of the Father and not His own, and He will return to the Father, and where He is going, they cannot come.  Over and over again, we hear stressed this basic relationship.  And the caveat is that without this love of the Father in our own hearts we will not be able to understand Him, nor to understand where His doctrine comes from.  So how do we seek the glory of God in our lives?  What do we do that gives glory to God?  Surely the act of mercy of healing the paralytic is one example of what it is to be God-like, to become a child of God through adoption.  While we cannot all do signs and wonders such as Jesus does, we do have the capacity to help to heal.  We do have the capacity to wish and to pray for wholeness, not only for ourselves but for all those around us, for our community and society, and for the world.  Jesus instructs us to pray for our enemies.  In this way we understand right relationship, and putting things into the hands of God.  Moreover, seeking God's glory really is all about seeking how God wants us to live our lives, and there is no better way that I know of to find that except through prayer, by allowing God's energies to infuse our hearts and help us to heal so that we may also see His way.  How do you honor God today?  How do you seek the glory of the One who is the Creator of us all?  Let us remember the love that ties it all together.  Let us seek understanding so that we may judge not according to appearance, but with righteous judgment.  Can we, too, discern the difference between the traditions of men and the commandments of God?

Even His brothers did not believe in Him

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.   You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

- John 7:1-13

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His discourse to the leadership, when they accused Him of breaking the Sabbath in healing the paralytic by the Sheep's Gate (see Rise, take up your bed and walk). He then began to teach about His identity as Son in Thursday's reading ("Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of God; and those who hear will live").  In yesterday's reading, Jesus made His defense, offering several witnesses to His identity.  He continued, "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

In today's reading, we skip over chapter 6 of John's Gospel, in which Jesus speaks of Himself as the Bread of Life.  The lectionary will return to chapter 6 the week after next, and today we begin reading chapter 7.

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.   My study bible has a note which prepares us for the events of the next few chapters in John:  "This section (chs. 7-9) tells of Jesus' visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  At this festival, during the last year of His earthly life, Jesus taught in the temple and attracted a great deal of public attention.  Some thought Him mad, others believed Him to be the Messiah, and still others (Sadducees and Pharisees who were members of the Sanhedrin) considered Him a threat to the religious and political status quo.  The Jews, that is, the Jewish leaders, sought to kill Him."  Remaining in Galilee, far from the central leadership of the temple in Jerusalem, was a way to avoid persecution before "His time" - the time of His Passion and crucifixion.

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.   My study bible tells us:  "The Feast of Tabernacles (Heb. succoth) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival commemorating the wanderings of ancient Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, a time when the chosen people lived in tents (or 'tabernacles').  Along with Passover and Pentecost, Tabernacles was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews."

  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  My study bible says that "His brothers are members of His wider family clan who themselves do not believe in Him.  The Eastern Fathers understood 'brothers' as stepbrothers, sons of Joseph by a previous wife; while the Western Fathers understood them to be first or second cousins.  Never are they called sons of Mary."  Today throughout the Middle East, it remains customary to refer to cousins and other extended family as "brothers."  But there is a deeper context to the ways in which Jesus' family members challenge Him here.  In chapter 6, which we'll read after the lectionary returns to it later on, even many of His disciples fall away because of a "difficult saying" He gives them.  So this doubting is not only in the context of the falling away of many disciples, but also we remember that John's Gospel has already mentioned that Jesus testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

 Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.   You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  Jesus speaks very boldly to His "brothers" - and it's important that we understand Him.  In the previous reading of the lectionary, He linked all things with faith, our capacity to hear truth depending on what we love and put first in our hearts.  Most especially He contrasted the love of the honor that comes from God with the honor that comes from men.  In the taunting of the "brothers" that tells Jesus to prove Himself ("show Yourself to the world"), we can hear the reflection of belief in the honor that comes from men.  Jesus will follow the will of the Father; His time has not yet fully come.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  My study bible tells us that "not openly" means not publicly, as in the case of the Triumphal Entry, His final entrance into Jerusalem when He is welcomed as Messiah, which we commemorate on Palm Sunday.

Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. So the scene is set for us, the "energy" of the moment is clear.  There is great turmoil here:  He's sought by the leadership, but the people are mixed in their opinions.  Some think He is good; others believe He's a deceiver -- but everyone speaks secretly among themselves because they fear the leadership.

At this point in Jesus' ministry, things are beginning to come to a head:  the authorities seek Him to put Him to death, the people's opinions are mixed -- and all is in an atmosphere of fear and urgency and secrecy.  It's not just Jesus who conceals Himself from the leadership until it is time for open confrontation (and for His Passion), but the people also fear them and will not talk openly.  His brothers taunt Him to show Himself openly, to "show Himself to the world."  Many of His disciples have fallen away because of a difficult teaching - a "hard saying" they cannot understand.  So we get a feel for what is happening, and the pressures under which He's now operating.  And yet, He does not miss the feast.  Indeed, He will teach in the temple.  But what we most observe right now about Jesus is the way in which He uses all situations, in the midst of great tumult and difficulties, doubting, taunting, disbelief, and persecution -- He will use all of this situation in His own way.  Every step is plotted by the Father.   It does not cater to the whims and fears of other people, but is measured in terms of what is necessary for His ministry.  Going openly to the festival without the preparation for the Triumphal Entry would be improper; it's not "His hour" for this, that time has not yet fully come.  But going and teaching is an important step, while everyone seeks Him for their own purposes.  Jesus will measure each situation, no matter how complex and how full of pressure, by what is necessary for God's will, for the fulfillment of His ministry as He must fulfill it.  And I think in that we can see a way to negotiate our own lives.  Putting our assorted pressures and duties in front of God in prayer is one way to do that.  It is a way not only to detach from our immediate circumstances and the demands we may feel are placed on us, but it is also a way to invite discernment, God's perspective for where we are and what we need to do in our lives.  It is, in a sense, putting perspective on the right priorities.  What we really need and what is best may not be clear at all when we're mixed in the swirl of the demands of the "world" and the honor that comes from men.  Sometimes we have to forgo what everyone else will tell us is right in order to be truly "right"; that is, right-related to the world in a heart that's right with God.  So take time, take a breath, put it into prayer, and let it go.  Let us remember the pressures on Jesus, and what He has to teach us about love and priorities.  Let us remember the Paraclete who is by our side when we call, and that to send us this Helper what His ministry was for.

How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?

 "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

- John 5:30-47

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was speaking to the leadership after having healed a paralytic man, telling him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."   Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath, and also of making Himself equal with God, after He said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

"I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  My study bible has an important note here regarding the theology we are given in John's Gospel:  "The divine will is common to the Persons of the Trinity, for all share the same divine energy.  In their manifestation in the world, however, all energy originates in the Father, being communicated through the Son in the Holy Spirit.  Here there is a sense that the Son obeys the Father.  This is because, in His human nature, the Son has human energy -- including human will -- which He offers to God the Father as the source of all.  This is His won will which must do the will of the Father."

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light."  In some sense, Jesus here begins a classic "defense" in Judaism, according to tradition.  My study bible points out that tradition requires two witnesses for a valid testimony (Deut. 17:6).  Jesus begins here with His first witness, John the Baptist.  In the kind of poetic irony we find in the Gospels, Jesus offers John as His witness, but in effect it's an offer simply out of grace:  "I say these things that you may be saved."  And Jesus offers His own testimony to the holiness -- the light -- of John the Baptist.

"But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me."  The second witness to His testimony are the works themselves that Jesus does, like healing the paralytic by the Sheep Gate, for which they now accuse Him.

"And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe."  The Father is yet another witness; in a sense, Jesus began with this witness when He said earlier, "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true."

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me."  Finally, a fourth witness, the Scriptures themselves.

"But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?"  Here's an important way in which we understand Jesus.  He doesn't need the testimony of men for Himself because His honor doesn't come from other men, from other people (anthropon, the Greek word translated as "men" is both male and female; a closer meaning is "human beings" or "people").  Christ's honor comes from the Father.  But what links those who can know Him to the truth about Him is the love of God.  Here He contrasts the difference between honoring God in the heart (and therefore, those who come in the Father's name) with honoring the praise of men -- those who receive honor from one another.

"Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"  Jesus offers another witness:  Moses.  But this time it is a witness who accuses Jesus' accusers.  Through the Scriptures, Moses testifies to Jesus, for "he wrote about Me."  But if they don't believe Moses' writings, then how are they going to believe what He says?

In yesterday's reflection, we pondered the meanings of Jesus' constant admonitions that so much depends on how we hear, whether or not we can hear what He's truly saying.  In today's reading, Jesus' words take "hearing" to another level.  What is testimony? What is witnessing?  How do we know when we are hearing true witness, and how do we hear the truth in the words of the witness and the testimony?  Here Jesus gives us four witnesses to His truth, His identity.  Those who are the experts in religious and spiritual tradition, in Scripture, He says, cannot hear these witnesses, and therefore they cannot truly hear Him.  They cannot accept His word.  But it starts with the love of God:  whatever and whoever comes in the Father's name becomes a part of that love.  So hearing is linked to faith, and faith comes from love.  It all comes down to what we choose in the heart, what we truly love and what we place first in our love.  From there, other meanings and values are formed, and what we hold as truth becomes shaped.  Elsewhere Jesus teaches that all the Law and the Prophets are summed up in two commandments:  to love God with one's heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love neighbor as oneself.  Right relatedness to God places us in right relationship to neighbor.  In today's reading -- as elsewhere in the Gospels -- Jesus contrasts the love of the praise of men and the honor of men with those who put the honor that comes from God first.  So we are offered an exchange.  It all depends on what we put first.  What do you love most?  Which honor really matters first to you?