Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?

 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

- Luke 6:1-11

Yesterday we read that after healing a paralytic, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And he said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.  Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a  new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."   The second Sabbath after the first is one in which a Jewish feast followed immediately after the normal Sabbath.  A feast is also called a Sabbath.  St. Ambrose says the term "second Sabbath" is an image of the new covenant and the eternal resurrection.  The first Sabbath would indicate the Law, while the second Sabbath gives us the gospel that follows it.  Under the new covenant, the food which once was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat is now given freely to everyone by the Lord of the Sabbath, who is Christ.  This is prefigured by David when he gave the showbread . . . to those with him.

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.  The scribes and Pharisees had build up certain traditions around the Law.  According to these, healing was considered work.  Therefore it wasn't permissible on the Sabbath.  For them, to zealously serve God was to uphold these peripheral traditions.  But this form of legalism makes them insensitive to the mercy of God.  In the Law it was permissible, for example, to save the life of an animal on the Sabbath, but here to heal is considered by them a different case.  Jesus' question demands that they think in the broader context of the aims of the Law.

From our perspective, it may seem difficult to understand the Pharisees and the scribes.  After all, Jesus did something good, he healed a man.  It's a sign of the presence of Messiah to do such a healing, a sign of the presence of God and the Kingdom at work in the world.  But if we look at these men, perhaps we must consider their positions in the society.  They regulated social and religious life.  They were the leaders of their people, at least in terms of the tradition and their religious life.  In some sense, they were the guardians of what it meant to be a Jew.  They lived under and reported to the Roman authorities, but to a very large extent it was they who were responsible for the people.  Under such circumstances, a type of strict obedience was perhaps necessary for purposes of survival of the people, the culture, and their particular life and tradition.  But in another sense, these men are quite consumed with their own positions of authority, as Jesus says elsewhere (see Matthew 23, and in particular verses 6 and 7, for example).  Here, Jesus defies their authority, and seems to do so quite deliberately.  He behaves as a Messiah, but they haven't ruled on whether or not He is the Christ, and it is their authority they so zealously seek to uphold.  What they do isn't strange or unusual, but rather it is quite typical human behavior.  They call us to question our own behavior when we think we hold authority in a particular situation, when our own "rules" are violated, even when we absolutely believe that we are doing good.  The Gospels give us one answer to this riddle about justice and authority, and Jesus says it over and over again.  The highest authority is God.  And no matter what else we know, what we may be experts in, what authority we are upholding, if we do not have the love of God as supreme in our hearts, we will make mistakes.  We will make mistakes of judgment and discernment.  And we will make mistakes about what mercy is and means and looks like.   This is where these men take us, into a familiar place in which we all are vulnerable -- the image of ourselves in the eyes of others, and in our own eyes.  Their rage tells us the story.  But there is one authority that reigns supreme, before which we all must be humble. 

New wine must be put into new wineskins

 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And he said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a  new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

- Luke 5:27-39

Yesterday we read that it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And he said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.  Levi, also known as Matthew, follows Christ's call to "Follow Me."  He leaves his occupation as tax collector to become a disciple of Christ.  My study bible notes that from the beginning of His ministry Christ has been a friend of tax collectors and sinners, which is one of the Pharisees complaints against Him.  Levi may also have been one of the tax collectors prepared for Christ by John the Baptist (see this reading).

Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Matthew (Levi) gives a feast to express His joy and gratitude.  Let us note that he has, like Peter and James and John in Thursday's reading, left all and followed Christ.  My study bible says that the guest register at this feast is a stirring demonstration of the fruit of Jesus' love and forgiveness.

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a  new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  My study bible says that Jesus' earthly life is a time of joyous blessings.  But there will come a time when His followers will practice the fast.  For now, the Bridegroom is with them, and His disciples know it.  It is a time of a wedding feast, the day of the Messiah.  Jesus speaks of the new covenant He brings as new wine, symbolic of covenant at a wedding.  His disciples, vessels for this new wine, look different from the old, and they will grow and expand with His Church.

"And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"  This particular saying is found only in Luke's report of the event.  It illustrates the difficulty with which these men as representatives of the leadership of the Jews would accept the new covenant.  But it also expresses the inner resistance a person faces in turning from a sinful way of life in repentance and "change of mind" (as the Greek word for repentance literally means).  It also gives us insight about the general stubbornness of the human heart.  Some ancient texts read, "The old is good," further illustrating this insight into human behavior.

How does Jesus' entry into one's life call for change?  Clearly these tax collectors and sinners are repentant; they now seek to follow Christ.  It isn't as though He condones bad behavior.  But what He offers is friendship, a way forward, a way of change.  And it seems to be that this is the crux of today's reading.  What does change bring?  What does it mean?  How do people respond to it?  The repentance of these tax collectors and sinners is cause for rejoicing.  It also means reconciliation, union.  Both are symbolized by the wedding of the Bridegroom  (the Messiah) and His people.  And this wedding feast has to be clearly seen in the context of the healings that Jesus has done.  In yesterday's reading, He healed a leper by touch, something also not condoned by the Law.  But the author of the Law Himself is present, the One who heals all things. Also in yesterday's reading, Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic (implying a connection, often seen as allegory by tradition, between sin and paralysis).  This caused the scribes and the Pharisees to think Him blasphemous, but the dramatic healing of the paralytic was so stunning it simply produced both amazement and fear.  In any case, the new covenant which Jesus brings as Bridegroom to His people is one that resets everything.  It is He who produces salvation, brings us back to the union with God that we human beings lost in the earliest paradise, Eden.  In this way, we understand our Bridegroom to be our Physician on every level:  physical, mental, spiritual.  As we pledge to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength (Luke 10:27), so our God also is our Bridegroom in each level of that love that we open to Him, and this is the great message here.   This is the new wine being made, and it needs new wineskins.  Sometimes drastic changes will be called for, and we -- as His followers -- will be called upon to turn away from everything we know in order to become truly healed.  Can we expand to accept it within ourselves, and the changes it will bring to us?

Great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed

 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

- Luke 5:12-26

 Yesterday we read that, as the multitude pressed about Jesus to hear the word of God, He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  Leprosy, says my study bible, was one of the most dreaded diseases of Jesus' time.  It brought not only tremendous physical suffering, but also meant total banishment and isolation from society.  It is also seen as a symbol of our sin.  To touch a leper was prohibited, but Jesus' heals the man by touch.

And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."   Jesus is respectful of the Law, and sends the man to a priest as is required for his re-entry into the community.  My study bible notes the commentary of Cyril of Alexandria, who writes that Jesus gives this command in order to convince the priests by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses.  The priests hold Moses to be greater than Christ, but Christ heals a leper immediately and with His own divine authority.  When Miriam (Moses' sister) was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and even then she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).

However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  It's important to understand Jesus' humanity and also His discernment and constant connection to the Father.  He withdraws often into the wilderness for prayer.   So should we do likewise, as we all need time alone for prayer and to take rest in prayer.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.   Matthew's Gospel sets this passage in Capernaum, calling it "His own city" (Matthew 9:1).  By now Jesus' fame is so well-spread, that those authorities have come from all over Israel to His "headquarters" (most likely the family home of Simon Peter) to hear Him.

Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  Here is a faith exhibited not only in the paralytic but even in his friends, who help him with every effort to get to Jesus.  My study bible says that this particular miracle shows us that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  Faith, in fact, is collective as well as personal -- a notable reality of the Kingdom -- for the faith of this paralytic's friends helped in his healing.  The acts of these friends can be seen as similar to those who pray for others in all situations; even our prayers for the dead are considered to be effective appeals to the mercy of God.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"   There are three signs of Jesus' divinity exhibited in today's passage.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, He forgives sins, which is a power that belongs to God alone.  And finally, He heals by the power of His word.

It's important to note that Jesus rests and withdraws for prayer, and that He does so often and into the wilderness.  That is, into a deserted place away from people.  We all need this.  If even Jesus, the Christ or Messiah, needs this for Himself, one can only imagine how badly we need it, not only for direction in our lives, and guidance, but even for proper rest and withdrawal from a busy, social life.  There are multitudes coming to see Jesus.  His ministry has reached a place where it may be seen in modern terms as "successful," but what we really learn is how word about Him has spread, and how much He is in demand.  All sorts come to Him now for healing, and to hear Him as well.  By worldly standards, we are often set to think that as much work as one can do as possible is simply the one and only really "good" thing.  We might even think in terms of "doing good" in the world, good works, healing and preaching, that we would admire Jesus for being so busy all the time, and responding to all the needs and demands that come to Him from the world.  But that's not really the example that Jesus sets here.  The Gospel tells us not only that He would withdraw away from people, into the wilderness, and to pray, but even that He would do so often.  We can't quite get it into our worldly heads and understanding that this, too, is part of ministry, part of healing the world.  It's that divine connection with God, with the Kingdom of heaven, that we find in prayer and withdrawal from social life that functions not just as a sort of reset button, not just as refreshment and renewal, but that in fact creates the conditions within which we are able to serve God.  To dwell within this place of relationship, to abide in Him (and in the Holy Trinity) is to live in a place from which we are capable of bringing God's love into the world and all that means for the world, as embodied in Jesus Christ.  To withdraw into the wilderness isn't merely a response to the demands put upon Him in terms of needing rest.  It is, on the contrary, a place for Christ to go in order to direct His ministry from here, to conduct it as He needs to, to respond to the conditions of the ministry as He is called to do, and to discern what He needs to do going forward.  And we should take this all to heart for our own lives as Christians and as followers of Christ.  For us, taking rest "in Him" becomes a way to find ourselves and find direction for what we do with our lives, as well as personal renewal.  To sit contemplatively in a church service may function for us the same way, renewal that is available in those times of "collective faith" that my study bible speaks of.  All of this is reinforcement of the Kingdom in the world, the place in which we wish to dwell, and it is not merely a response to busy-ness and a demanding life.  Rather, it is the place where we may nurture the seeds of the Kingdom, renew our direction and intentions, forgive what we need to forgive, and spend time with God in the embrace of God's love and grace.  What we should understand is that in the terms of the holy, this is the place where beauty is, and where we may become a part of it and abide in it, and be a part of it in the world.  Let us follow and learn from His example, for all gifts come from there.

Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!

 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

- Luke 5:1-11

 Yesterday we read that Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.   The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee.  It's about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.  This was a very fertile region, both for fishing and agriculture, and the name Gennesaret meant "garden of the prince."

Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  There are several mentions in the Gospels of Jesus teaching the crowds from a boat; it lets us know the popularity of His ministry and the numbers of people coming to hear Him.  To be seated was the traditional posture for a teacher, for teaching with authority.  See, for example, Jesus' posture in preaching the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1).

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  My study bible cites St. Ambrose, who sees the spiritual meaning of this command as an invitation to give one's life over to the deep mystery of the knowledge of the Son of God.

But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  My study bible points out to us that Jesus draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them.  He drew the Magi with a star (Matthew 2:2), He would also draw tax collectors via a tax collector (5:29).  Here, He draws the fishermen with fish (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.   Peter's cry is partially from awe -- but it's a response to the evidence of divine power.  This is not rejection; rather, he is suddenly and starkly cast in the light of Christ.   Peter responds as a holy person, who is keenly aware of his own inadequacy or unworthiness (compare to Isaiah 6:5; Revelation 1:17).

And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.  My study bible says that the great catch of fish is an image of the apostles bringing humankind into the knowledge of Christ, and fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:16.  In the festal hymn of Pentecost of the Eastern Orthodox, the church sings to Christ, "Through the fishermen, You drew the world into Your net."  We note that these men are now "all in": they forsook all and followed Him.   They have family businesses, and at least for Peter we know he has a family.  But the knowledge of Christ compels them to forsake all to follow Him.

How do we come to Christ?  Many say that our faith life is a journey; when Christ says He's the way, the truth, and the life, that word for "way" is the same that's used for "street" or "path."  These men already know Christ; in yesterday's reading we've heard about the healing of Peter's mother-in-law.  So Peter's home is already a place that forms a kind of headquarters for the ministry.  But it is at this point of the experience of the Person of Christ, a kind of illumination of His holy power, that Peter forsakes all and follows Him, as do John and James Zebedee.  It is these three who will form the inner circle of Christ's followers, those of the strongest faith.  He will call them to accompany Him at moments of great power, such as the healing of the daughter of Jairus in a house full of people who ridicule Him and insist that the daughter is dead, or to the Mount of Transfiguration.  It's not the miracle of the catch of fish per se that takes all the attention of these men and shifts them fully toward the Kingdom so that they forsake all and follow Him.  After all, if it was the fish they cared about, they might think that prayers to Christ will simply help their business to prosper!  But they're not material-minded.  Rather, it is the experience of this power that draws them so completely into discipleship at the cost of everything else.  Some of us may feel Christ's power at work in our own lives at particular moments on our own journey.  A hurt from the past may come to us while sitting in a church service, and all of a sudden the power to forgive -- to give the person and the hurt to Christ -- is suddenly something we're able to do.  We may pray in a time of desperate loneliness, and experience a moment of love and security that helps us to put more trust in God.  Perhaps at the threat of danger, we experience what we understand to be help of a spiritual nature that we can only attribute to God or God's messengers.  Sometimes the coincidental nature of an opportunity or a person that comes along after a prayer becomes truly understood as an experience that really wasn't a coincidence at all.  Whatever way we encounter Christ's power along our own paths of faith, we know the experience when we perceive it.  Those who fail to perceive, who don't have "ears to hear or eyes to see" won't find this at all.  But the experience of this power is a tangible, real, and true perception, using a sense that the world may or may not value.  Either way, that moment is a crossroads, a watershed.  It invites us to accept or reject what we have experienced; and we go, either more truly "all in," or the other way.  There may be many, many such moments on our path, but each one becomes a moment of choice along the route, His way.  The light that illumines this pathway may come to us at any time, perhaps in a great string of lights that punctuate the time of our lives and ask us to choose again.

I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent

 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

- Luke 4:38-44

Yesterday we read that Jesus went down to  Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  The Lord's healing miracles are diverse, my study bible reminds us.  Here He heals by touch, but elsewhere He heals with a word (such as in yesterday's reading, above, when He rebuked the unclean spirit).  Peter's mother-in-law is immediately well, but at other times healing is gradual (Mark 8:22-25) or requires the help and cooperation of the person or their loved ones and friends (Luke 8:50) or even the removal of some who ridicule (Luke 8:54-55).   And we note that in yesterday's reading, Jesus rebuked the unclean demon, while in today's Peter's mother-in-law's fever is rebuked with a command from Christ.  My study bible quotes Cyril of Alexandria:  "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke.  Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."  Here the Gospel also gives us a hint that Peter is a married man, with a full household.  Peter's mother-in-law isn't just restored to health, but also to her place in this home that becomes headquarters to His ministry.  To serve Christ and those who follow Him is to be blessed (Matthew 10:42).

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  Here Jesus heals various diseases and does so by touch.  Out of many of these demons come out, and are once again rebuked with a command and told not to speak.  Their "revelation" that He is Christ is contrary to God's will for the unfolding of this ministry -- for God's purposes, it's crucial that Christ's revelation as Son be done in a particular way.  (See also Matthew 16:21-23.)

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.  Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom, my study bible says.  Miracles and healings are those things that testify to the truth of the message and to the identity of the Teacher (see 5:24).  The same pattern holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30).  We can assume that Jesus, true to His pattern, goes to a deserted place for renewal in rest and in prayer.

To preach the kingdom of God has to happen in a particular way and through particular means.  Everything that happens in Jesus' ministry is done in a certain way, with particular aims and guidelines, and always with cooperation of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We may think it is "obvious" that great healings and miraculous signs portray Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.  But if we look to the temptations in the wilderness (see this reading) with which Jesus was tempted by Satan in terms of how He would conduct His ministry, we see that in fact nothing is really obvious from our point of view.  We might think it expedient that Satan's particular temptations would function to declare the Kingdom to the world, to establish Christ as all-powerful king in the eyes of the worldly, to decree and declare all things as done and just.  We may even suspect that Jesus really should have healed every disease of the world and corrected all evils, and thereby brought everyone to faith through proofs, declarations, and manipulation.  But expediency in our sight is not expediency for God's purposes.  Like Job, we're not all-knowing, with the point of view of God, nor can we adequately discern all of God's purposes and intentions.  We're only capable of learning afterward what we glean from God's ministry to the world -- and even then, there are infinite understandings yet to be discerned and known.  What becomes crucially important, then, is exactly how this ministry is conducted and unfolds.  That requires constant prayer on the part of Christ, constant communion with the Father.  And it also sets the example for us of how we, too, are to conduct our lives.  St. Paul teaches us to pray without ceasing.  He also adds that in everything we are to give thanks.  We don't know how God will use even an evil situation for God's end and purposes.  The ultimate example, in fact, is Christ's Passion and Crucifixion, in which the Church declares that Christ "trampled death by death."  In this understanding and in his own ministry, St. Paul tells us that "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  It is with this understanding that we observe Jesus, and how carefully His ministry is conducted, how deeply committed He is that it unfold according to God's purposes alone, and in such specific ways.  So we should pray for our own discernment over the events of our lives and how to meet them.  The world isn't perfect but rather a kind of battleground through which we journey as His faithful.  Let us observe Him, and pray through all things -- and give thanks -- as St. Paul teaches us.

What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out

 Then He went down to  Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

- Luke 4:31-37

 Yesterday we read that after Jesus was tempted in the wilderness,  He returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is filled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Then He went down to  Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  My study bible tells quotes St. Ambrose of Milan, who comments that Christ begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."  (See Genesis 2:2-3.)

And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  The people are astonished because Jesus teaches with authority.    The prophets of the Old Testament and also the teachers of Jesus' time would teach in the third person; i.e. "The Lord says").  But Jesus teaches in the first person ("I say to you").   Those of old were very few who heard God's voice directly, but Jesus speaks directly to all.

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.   The demons know who Jesus is.  But Jesus' identity will not be revealed through declarations and proclamations; His ministry must unfold as it unfolds, through the works He is given to do and the word He is given to teach.  He doesn't openly declare Himself Messiah.  There will be all kinds of complications in this ministry:   the hostility of the leadership, the people misunderstand what the Messiah is to be and expect an earthly political leader, Jesus wants genuine faith in His relationship to His followers -- not to convince by signs alone.  He manifests His identity, but not simply through open declarative proclamations.

Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  The expression of Jesus' ministry is authority and power through the works He is given to do.   It is in this way He manifests His identity as Incarnate Christ.

We note in this beginning of Jesus' ministry that it is begun in the power of the Holy Spirit:  He was filled with the Holy Spirit when He returned from the Jordan (His Baptism) and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan regarding His ministry.  Then  He returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee (yesterday's reading, above).   Everything works through the holy power of God manifest through the work of Father, Son, and Spirit.  In reading through the Gospels, we should not separate the work of Father, Son, and Spirit together.  Christ says over and over again that those who have seen Him have seen the Father.  In John's Gospel, at the Last Supper, we understand His promise that if we abide in Him and follow His commands, He, the Father, and the Spirit (whom He calls the Helper) will dwell with us and make their home with us.  The Holy Spirit is always at work in the story of Jesus' ministry, preparing the way and helping to lead Him to the events that will make up this ministry.  In today's reading, Jesus' power and authority astonish the people.  The ministry unfolds to tell a story of what this Messiah is all about, to reveal God, and to reveal God in God's fullness as Trinity.  It is this story that we watch, and this unfolding in a particular way, that the Spirit helps to lead and to make manifest for us.  Even as Jesus' ministry is fulfilled through Father, Son, and Spirit, we should never minimize the importance of all three at work in our own lives.  We call on and pray to Christ, but where One is, so is the Trinity, as He has promised and taught to us. But the example of the specific unfolding of Jesus' ministry should let us understand the power that we have to call upon through prayer.  There are specific prayers to the Holy Spirit (for example, this prayer that begins all Eastern services), as we have the prayer given to us by Jesus to pray to Our Father (Matthew 6:9-13), and there are also short, simple prayers to Christ called the Jesus Prayer or Prayer of the Heart, to pray at any time, in concentration or while doing other tasks.  We see the specific way Jesus is called upon to develop His ministry and to reveal Himself as God to the world.  So should we follow His example, and always ask through prayer for how the journey of our own life is to be led and to unfold.

Proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is filled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. 

- Luke 4:14-30

Yesterday we read that Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan [after His Baptism] and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  We're tempted to see the word glorified as simply meaning hailed or praised.  But in the Scriptural context, it's important to remember that this word implies recognizing His true value, the glory of God at work through Him.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  As eternal Son of God, Christ didn't become the world's anointed Savior, says my study bible, but rather has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ speaking through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  Jesus' doesn't say "The Spirit has come upon Me."  Rather, when the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus at His baptism (see 3:22), it was a sign of revelation -- the revelation of an eternal, not temporal, truth to people about the identity of Jesus.  The acceptable year is the time of Christ's Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come into the world (see 2 Corinthians 6:2). 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is filled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study bible notes the double response of both marveling and rejection, which it says occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha (named here by Jesus), and foreshadows His rejection by the whole nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Christ accepts death according to the Father's will, not that of the Jewish leadership.  But here, the hour of His Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20). 

Jesus is rejected in His hometown.  We must understand that without faith, there will be no wonders done, no miracles of the sort which these townspeople have heard Jesus has done elsewhere.  So important is the saying that no prophet is accepted in his own country that it appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, John 4:44).  It at once intrigues us with a law of familiarity; that those to whom we've already grown used with a certain image of impression retain for us this identity.  But a prophet's job is precisely to remind people of what they've forgotten, to tell them the truth they'd rather not be reminded of, to bring them back to faith and out of the convenience of their own thinking.  Jesus calls people not only to the identity that is truly His, but to a recognition of truth that outsiders can grasp about Him.  He reminds His own townspeople of the prophets of the Old Testament who were able to perform wonders for outsiders, foreigners (like the widow of Sidon, or Naaman the Syrian).  But He will not perform wonders in order to be "glorified."  Faith comes in a different way, and does not depend upon proofs in order to compel a response of love and acceptance.  Jesus will say, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" again in a reference also found in Isaiah. The lesson we can take from today's reading is about familiarity and complacence.  When we're used to things a certain way, when we have a fixed idea in our minds, it's easy to be deaf and blind to God's surprising work and presence in our lives or in the lives of others around ourselves.  We always need to be called back to the surprising "good news."  Sometimes the good news doesn't seem like good news at all.  It shakes up our world, it calls for us to change, and to change our perceptions, which in turn may wind up changing all kinds of things we're not always prepared for.  That is the nature of a truth we've forgotten, or don't want to acknowledge, something that can be like news from a doctor we'd rather not do anything about.   When Jesus suggests that His townspeople wish to say to Him, "Physician, heal yourself!" it's in reference to one who must cure his own faults before criticizing others -- in this case, a way to respond to the prophetic call for change with an accusation and facile criticism.  Prophets themselves were unusual people, to say the least, often called "out" of the society to serve God.  In such a way, then, we can see Christ in His hometown as the fullness of prophecy, the One come into the world to call us back to God, but even more -- the revelation of God Himself.  He cannot just be "Joseph's son" and whatever that means to the townspeople of Nazareth.  He is representing something much greater, a gift one must have open eyes and ears to grasp and realize and value properly.  Such will always be the nature of God at work in the world.  Let us be attentive!