But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do the things which I say?

 "And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the lank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."

- Luke 6:39-49

In our current readings, Jesus has been preaching the Sermon on the Plain, which began with Friday's reading.  On Saturday we read that Jesus taught:  "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.  But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.  Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

 "And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the lank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye."  Jesus builds on His teaching about mercy.  Here, He calls His disciples to be like Him.  My study bible comments that Christ does not judge anyone (John 8:15; 12:47).  Therefore, as Cyril of Alexandria comments, "if the Teacher does not judge, neither must the disciple, for the disciple is guilty of worse sins than those for which he judges others."  Let us note that in speaking to His disciples, He is preparing those who will be leaders and teachers in His Church.  Thereby, they must rigorously practice His sayings, otherwise, as teachers themselves, they will be the blind who lead the blind.  If we are not aware of where we ourselves come up short regarding these teachings by Jesus, then we cannot possibly help others with their own shortcomings. 

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."   This is a call to self-awareness and to ascetic practice, an active working at what is within us -- and to discard that which cannot comply with His teachings on mercy (see yesterday's reading, above).  We are to make the tree good by choosing what our treasure is, and discarding the tendencies contrary to what is good.  This teaching about good trees and bad is found in several places in the New Testament; but here Christ calls His apostles to true self-awareness and active decision to follow the discipleship of His commandments.  Jesus calls us to rigorous discipline:  His mercy is not about condoning sinful, abusive behavior.  Discipleship is a rigorous practice which begins with one's inner life.  Both Origen and Bede comment on this passage by referring to St. Paul, and his explanation of good and bad "fruits."  Origen comments that the "good tree" is the Holy Spirit, and the bad the devil and his underlings.  The bad fruits are found at Galatians 5:19-21, which is followed by the good:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?"  Bede adds a comment here to say that to call upon the Lord seems to be the gift of a good treasure, the fruits of a good tree.  "For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13).   But to fail to follow what is spoken is to expose not a good treasure of the heart, but a false one. 

"Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."  Jesus gives us a warning about the necessity of not merely calling upon the Lord, but following through with fruits -- what we do must reflect the a heart that has taken in His teachings.  This is the firm foundation in life, built by Christ for us to withstand all assaults.  Without following through by our cooperation with grace, choosing as we're guided, we haven't the solid foundation nor home He offers.

How can we call upon the Lord, and yet fail to follow through with choices that reflect His commands?  It seems to then that we don't really "treasure" what it is we receive in response.  Jesus' sermon clearly targets His disciples, those to whom He lifted up His eyes as He began to preach this sermon (see Friday's reading).  So how seriously do we take discipleship?  Let us note Jesus' main teachings here throughout this Sermon on the Plain are all about the practice of mercy and lack of judgment.   The central teaching relies on our dependence upon God the Father, and the gifts of grace and mercy we receive and are to share with others.  In today's reading, He speaks of the good treasure of the heart, the good tree that gives good fruit.  How much do we really treasure what we receive from Him?  How do we value that which we receive when we call upon His name?  A solid house with a solid foundation is a description of that which results when we truly treasure His gifts, and follow through in faith with what we're taught.  We build up a discipline, based on the solid foundation of rock, a house built through His commands.  Jesus illustrates the importance of such a house with such a firm foundation by suggesting what happens when floods and storms come.  All around us we are constantly presented with temptations to join into the passions that others seek to deliberately manipulate in us.  Our use of social media can result in all kinds of persuasions and influences for us to lose ourselves in emotion, in following a crowd of one opinion or another, in calling for vengeance and retribution, facile judgment not based on cool or sober decisions.  What we read in the words of Jesus today is precisely against following such crowds.  They are the storms that beat down and cause the floods that might sweep us away.  But He wants us to learn how to remain firmly upon His rock, within His teachings, and not be swept away by such temptations.  In this is the practice of virtue most important, because it ingrains and gives us practice with habits -- with the things we will then treasure in the heart -- for when those times come.  Without this follow-through, we don't build the home He gives us guidance, instruction, and the solid foundation for.  All around us we seem to find public figures who celebrate being swept away by passion, by anger, by outrage, by fear.  None of this is in accordance with what Christ teaches us about good judgment, self-awareness, the practice of mercy and grace as given to us by God.  As His disciples, we are to remain just that:  firmly in His discipline, remembering His teachings, practicing the dispassion and discipline He asks of us.  Ascetic practice prizes detachment, dispassion, learning to reach for that good treasure of the heart, rather than today's frenzy of the crowd.  Are we capable of being that person, that disciple?  It takes practice, but this is precisely where mercy and good judgment are, the center of the heart shored up with good treasure, built up by our actions and follow-through in support of His word.  This is the dwelling-place of grace.

Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful

 "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

- Luke 6:27-38

Yesterday we read that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.  And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  Then He lifted up His eyes toward the disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you,  And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.   Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."

"But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."   Tertullian comments that what Jesus calls us to are counter-intuitive acts of will, but nevertheless ones which grace gives us the means and capacity to make.  The final verse is called the "Golden Rule."  My study bible comments that this statement is a minimum of Christian virtue, as it places human beings' desire for goodness (what Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love") as a basic standard of how to treat others.  It notes that this is the first step on the path to the perfection of virtue.  This perfection is found in verse 36, in which God's mercy -- as opposed to human beings' desire -- is the standard. 

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."   Many patristic commentators suggest that at His Passion, Jesus will embody all of these teachings.  St. Basil the Great comments, "The hearer cannot help but think of Jesus’ passion, when he willingly was beaten and stripped. Jesus wants [His disciples] to go beyond mere reciprocity into gift giving. But it is a gift and a loan, a gift from us but a loan because what we lend has been given to us by the Lord."  Our aspiration, therefore, under grace, is to embody the mercy of God the Father.

 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study bible notes here that mercy precludes human judgment.  It tells us that good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over are descriptions of how an honest and generous merchant would measure bulk goods.  Flower pressed down yields a more generous amount, for instance, than flour fluffed up.  It adds that the blessings God intends to put into our hearts are more generous than we can possibly contain, but this also depends on the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive.

 What is mercy, and what does it mean?  Patristic commentators indicate to us that for the early Fathers of the Church, grace plays a giant role in our capacity to carry out Jesus' teaching.  This isn't a matter of mere do-it-yourself grit and self-will.  Rather, it is a question -- as is so much else of what Jesus teaches -- of seeing ourselves in communion with the Father through grace.  Through grace, we are given an immeasurable love that works like a bank of infinite resources, and so we become capable of sharing that love with others, distributing it.  The ultimate Source of everything that we have, all that we possess, whether spiritual or material, is God the Father.  Therefore we can share that mercy with others.  We must see ourselves in this situation in order to understand the gist of Christ's teachings and how our lives can work via this grace.  Our very character becomes molded and shaped through this experience on top of our worldly experiences.  Psychologically, the experience of grace and God's love for us impacts us just as any other worldly experience does.  It prepares us to give love without feeling as though we are cheated, simply because we understand that grace is also source and supply for our souls, our lives.  Those who cannot experience this grace, those who believe that saintly people have simply been stronger, or grittier, or tougher within themselves, simply cannot and do not experience what Christ is talking about.  We must find this depth of communion through the experience of faith.  All we need do is to ask it we shall receive it, Christ promises (Matthew 7:7).  Grace is the gift that works with our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).  If we think of grace as a kind of infinite bank, then we can understand better what it means to pray to Our Father, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:8-13).  Perhaps this is even more clear in the form that Luke gives us.  Literally in the Greek it reads:  "Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us" (Luke 11:2-4).  Where sin and debt are interchangeable, we get a deeper understanding of how grace is at work for us.  What all this means is that the response to life that isn't merely a "giving back of what we get" is expanded and enhanced through grace.  Whatever we've been handed in our worldly lives, God has grace in abundance beyond the debts we think others may owe us.  Let us consider what the depth of that infinite love means and how it impacts our lives.  Faith is the key here; as we experience grace we grow in faith, as we know our faith so we grow in the experience of grace. 

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets

 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward the disciples, and said:
"Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of man's sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets."

- Luke 6:12-26

Yesterday we read that it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that Jesus 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.

 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.   My study bible cites the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan here, who says that Jesus, being the Son of God, doesn't pray as if to obtain grace or revelation from the Father.  But, as the Son of Man, He prays as Advocate for humanity (see also 1 John 2:1).  Theophylact adds commentary that Jesus spent all night in prayer before selecting the twelve apostles in order to teach us that before choosing a candidate for any spiritual ministry, we should pray that God will reveal to us the one suited for the task.  This communion with the Father is once more exemplary for us; if Christ Himself needs prayer to shore up and commune in relationship with the Father before any great task or expansion of direction of His ministry, then how much more is this a sign for us about what we need to do in our lives?

And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.  Disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for these men.  A disciple literally is a "learner" in the Greek.  The word for apostle is one that means "one who is sent out."  These men are named in pairs, suggesting who may have traveled together on their first missionary journey (Mark reports that they were sent out two by two; Mark 6:7).  The names of the Twelve are not all the same in every list, as many people had more than one name.  Interestingly, in Wednesday's reading, the tax collector called by Jesus to become a disciple was named Levi, but here, suggesting his change as disciple of Christ, he is now named as Matthew.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  Then He lifted up His eyes toward the disciples, and said: . . .   In contrast to the Sermon on the Mount, this is called the Sermon on the Plain, as we're told that Jesus stood on a level place.  Christ's sermon that follows is similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), but slightly varied, and also not as extensive.  My study bible comment that Jesus undoubtedly repeated many of His teachings over a period of three years.

"Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."  My study bible says that both for this sermon and the Sermon on the Mount, blessed in the context in which Christ preaches means heavenly, spiritual exaltation, rather than earthly happiness or prosperity.  In Hebrew, "poor" means both the materially poor and also the faithful among God's people.  To be poor in this sense is to be completely dependent upon God.

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled."  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preaches about the blessedness of those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness."  Here Jesus' turn of phrase subtly indicates a temporal condition which shall be remedied in the changes brought by the presence of the Kingdom to those "left out" of the social and religious order.  His is the Gospel for all, and particular for those who deeply desire what He offers.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preaches to those who mourn.  Let us remember that He is speaking toward His disciples.  They may have sorrow in their lives, but the Kingdom promises joy (John 17:13).  Weeping may also be understood in the spiritual sense, in which one weeps over the sufferings of this life (Matthew 9:23), the sufferings of others (John 11:35), the state of the world (19:41), and also over one's own sins (7:36-38).

"Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."  To suffer for the Son of man's sake is to be included with the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  (See Acts 5:40-41.)

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."  In this Sermon on the Plain, Luke gives us also four "woes" that are not included in Matthew's Sermon on the Mount.  My study bible tells us that woe is an indication not only of sorrow, but of unspeakable destruction (Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).   Again, Jesus puts these things in the context of a temporal condition, one which will be transformed in the influence of the Kingdom.  To prize the things listed here above all else is to be liable to utmost misery; to be foolishly led.  St. Ambrose comments that Christ speaks here of attitude, not simple possession (as indeed, some of the heroes of the Gospels are wealthy and prominent men).  Rather Christ condemns not those who have riches but those who do not know how to use them, to practice compassion.  St. Chrysostom points out that Jesus says that woe comes to those for whom "all men speak well of you,"  and notes the precision in the phrase as it includes "all men."  He writes, "It is not possible for a virtuous person who travels by the straight and narrow path and follows Christ’s commands to enjoy the praise and admiration of all people— so strong is the impulse of evil and the resistance to virtue."

 What does it mean to be persecuted for righteousness' sake (as the Sermon on the Mount phrases Jesus' point above, see Matthew 5:10)?  Why isn't it possible to be praised by all people if one is a true follower of Christ?  There are times when we are compelled, as faithful, to speak out, to be the one who is hated and excluded, reviled, and spoke of as evil, because the crowd is going to follow the crowd, and not the values upheld in the faith of Christ.  If we as followers as anything like Jesus' own example, this very likely may happen at times within the crowds of people we consider to be "our own" -- possibly our family, our townspeople, our group or class or even congregation, those with whom we share some sort of social affiliation.  In Luke 4:24, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country" (see this reading).  This was when He spoke in His hometown of Nazareth.   So important is this saying to the word of the gospel, that all four Evangelists report it (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, John 4:44).  There will be times that what we have to say will not please everyone -- and possibly will please no one.  It is at those times we must rely on our faith, our dependence upon Christ, and be one of the "poor" whom Christ names as blessed.  This is a tough thing to accept.  Indeed, it goes against so many things we are told in our modern world.  Advertising and social media make it seem as though the one and only thing most precious is to have universal approval as one who is considered "great" in the eyes of everyone else.  The rest of the things that Jesus lists as woes can be included in that as well.  Isn't is a great goal to be rich?  Well, not if that's the most important thing in your life, the one thing to which you dedicate your time, energy, and purpose.  Then, you've got your consolation, and the fulfillment of the needs of the soul simply will never happen.  One simply misses out on true fulfillment of what it means to be fully human, fully a child or creature of God.  What's wrong with laughing?  Laughter can be a sign of joy or delight.  But Christ really isn't speaking here of true joy.  He's speaking about the laughter that is purely social, or that so often comes at the expense of others, or is the result of what is purely seen as a competitive social contest -- a victory over a rival.  For Christ, to be one who is excluded and cast out is to understand His place, as One who speaks truth that not everybody wants to hear.  The truth itself is always a revolutionary concept, regardless of how much we congratulate ourselves on our progressive nature or even our spiritual insight.  There will always be hard truths we need to face if we are truly His disciples, and often they are just those truths that may cause an implosion of the social order we know.  Let us consider where our faith takes us, where He leads, what are the joys and sorrows of life in His perspective.  Are we truly blessed?  Or can we follow this road of the straight and narrow in a world where so much is not really as straightforward as it seems?

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?

The Hospitality of Abraham (also known as The Trinity), Andrei Rublev, 15th cent.

 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 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 indicates that a Jewish feast immediately followed the normal Sabbath.  A feast was also known as a Sabbath.  My study bible cites St. Ambrose of Milan, who says that the term "second Sabbath" serves as an image of the new covenant and the eternal resurrection.  The first Sabbath indicates the Law, while the second Sabbath indicates the gospel that follows it.  Under the new covenant, then, the food which was formerly not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat is now freely given to all by the Lord of the Sabbath.  This was 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.  There were certain traditions that had been built up around the Law by the scribes and Pharisees which they refer to here.  That is, they were not part of the Law itself, but opinions built up around the Law.  In this case, according to one of those traditions, healing was considered work, and therefore wasn't permissible on the Sabbath.  These men believed that they served God by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, but their legalism makes them insensitive to God's mercy.  Jesus' healing is seen as a direct rebuke; they're already looking for an accusation against Him.

In yesterday's reading (see above), we read about a feast, a banquet, in which Jesus sat with tax collectors and sinners after Matthew (or Levi) the tax collector became a disciple.  In today's reading, we can extend the notion of feasting to the Sabbath and this display of healing.  We are accustomed to thinking about the Eucharist as the cup at the table of the Lord, and so we can think of this Sabbath as the day in which we sit at the table of the Lord.  Hospitality is an essential tradition to the whole of the Middle East, built up through religious and social custom since ancient times.  In the Old Testament, we see this exemplified by the ancestor Abraham, when the Lord came to Him with two others later named as angels  (Genesis 18).  Hospitality runs like a thread through all of the Old Testament and the New.  For the earliest Christian monastics, hospitality was even more important than prayer -- to fail to answer to a knock at the door even if it came during prayer was a failing.  In today's reading, we can consider this man with a withered hand to be one who comes to the Lord's table.  Will he be received or not?  Christ tells us that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, and therefore it is He who establishes the rules for this gathering, this feast.  His rule is one of graciousness and hospitality.  Should His disciples have been refused food and nourishment on the Sabbath?  Should the man with the withered hand be refused healing on the Sabbath?  Jesus makes the basic case when He asks, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"   There is a basic and fundamental question being asked here, and it goes to how we treat or receive others.  Do we do good, or do we do evil?  Do we save life or destroy?  What would the Lord have us do?  Why is this such an important principle for us to understand?  Because our faith really comes down to this; how do we treat one another?  What is the meaning of mercy?  What did Christ mean when He told us that when we receive even the least of these My brethren we receive Him?  (See Matthew 25:40.)  In Mark 9:37 Jesus tells His disciples, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  So important is this concept of hospitality that it extends to all things and forms the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12), which Jesus says is the summing up of all the Law and the Prophets.  Let us also consider what our own Sabbaths are for.  What do we learn?  How do we treat one another?  Are we capable of receiving those we meet in the ways that Jesus asks us to?  So important is this understanding that Jesus sums up the entire basis of the Last Judgment in these terms (Matthew 25:32-46).   We should remember that we come to Christ's table for His word; which also includes life-saving correction, all aspects of healing -- including medicine, which is the wisdom of God.   Let us consider the basic importance of kindness and graciousness, and how necessary it is to the world in which we live.  It is the one thing truly necessary -- but what is life like without it?

No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, "The old is better"

 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 Jesus was in a certain city, that a man who was full of leprosy saw Him; 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 is also known as Matthew.  He is a tax collector, member of a group of people widely hated by their society.  Tax collectors are seen as collaborators with the occupying Romans, who are willing to use intimidation and force to extort their fellow Jews.  Matthew leaves his occupation and accepts Christ's call to "Follow Me."  My study bible notes that from the beginning of His ministry, Christ has been a friend of tax collectors and sinners -- one of the Pharisees' complaints against Him.  Levi is possibly one of the tax collectors who were prepared for Christ by John the Baptist (3:12).

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 gives a feast to express his joy and gratitude.  It's important to understand what it means to find salvation with Christ; here, Levi/Matthew is restored to community.  The scribes and Pharisees, however, complain about the company which Jesus keeps.  My study bible calls this guest register of those at the feast "a stirring demonstration of the fruit of Jesus' love and forgiveness."  It will be an ongoing theme of Luke's Gospel to understand the Church as hospital, and Christ as Physician, who came to heal those who are sick.  To understand sin as sickness is essential to understanding the healing balm of mercy.

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."   Jesus' earthly life -- the time when the Bridegroom is with His friends -- is one of joyous blessings.  But there will come a time when His followers will practice the fast.  This is an intimation by Christ of the events that will culminate His earthly life. 

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.'"  As the religious authorities begin to confront Christ, so His teachings reflect what is to come -- the new start that is necessary, a new covenant.  My study bible says that this saying, "And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better,'" is only found in Luke's Gospel.  Accordingly, my study bible says, it illustrates the difficulty with which the Jews would accept the new covenant, the inner resistance that a person faces in turning away from a sinful way of life, and also the general stubbornness of the human heart. 

In today's reading, we're given an illustration of hospitality.  While there are those who scorn the sinners and tax collectors at Matthew's table, Christ sees them differently, as patients who need healing.  In a certain sense, Jesus' statement that those who have drunk old wine do not desire the new also represents the healing action of medicine.  What's good for us -- a change -- is not automatically desired.  Jesus presents this as human nature, when He says that "no one" who has drunk old wine immediately desires the new.  What we're used to, what we have already accepted, we say is "better."  So, who do we invite to our table?  Christ speaks of change, and the desire to change.  He dines with those in need of change, who want change.  This itself is His new doctrine, one of repentance, transformation, change.  Is sin permanent?  Must it afflict us forever?  Can we break free of old behaviors, old debts?   The key here is the desire to change.  Some would mistake Christ's company with tax collectors and sinners to say that this is the example for all of us, in the sense that we must keep company with those whose behaviors and habits may be less than desirable.  But that's too facile; that is simply taking this story purely at face value without looking into the meaning of Christ's words.   What is remarkable and new here is the effect of transforming sin, the desire for repentance and change.  The expanding wineskins are an illustration of that change.  They must be able to accommodate the new.  What is important about these sinners at this feast is not that they are sinners, but that Christ is at their table, the special guest of honor, the Bridegroom.  What marks these people as different, the great change in the midst of this society, is simply that they seek the company and teachings of Christ for themselves.  We are all invited to this table, but the key is that we seek the guidance of the Physician for ourselves.  Hospitality is an image of the Eucharist, the cup to which all are invited -- but it is also the cup of change, transformation, repentance.  It is the cup that asks us to participate in the life of Christ for ourselves, to become a member of His Body.  How can we accommodate the changes He will ask of us if we really want to be a member of the wedding party at the table?  What new wineskins do we need to become to contain all the internal enzymatic action of God's energies within us?  The message of this table, of this Physician, and of His cup, is precisely one of change and transformation, of ever-active renewal.  It is for those who are willing to give up the old and familiar, and to be called to the new -- even to become the new.  Perhaps it is those who are truly aware of their own illness who are prepared to leave everything behind, and trust in faith that where they are being led has to be better.  Shall we go on this journey with them?  What do you have to lose?  Or gain?

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 ask 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.  In order to understand the impact of this healing, we have to understand the nature of leprosy at this time and place.  It was one of the most dreaded diseases.  My study bible notes that leprosy brought great physical suffering to a person.  But in addition, it meant total banishment and isolation from society.  Furthermore, leprosy was a symbol for sin (and remains so in imagery of the disfiguring effects of sin on the soul).  So, to cleanse this man from his illness also means restoration to community.  To touch a leper was forbidden; but, as my study bible notes, to the clean, nothing is unclean (see Romans 14:14).

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."  My study bible cites the commentary of Cyril of Alexandria, who writes that Jesus gives this command to show yourself to the priest in order to convince the priests by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses.  The priests believe that Moses is greater than Christ, but Christ heals a leper immediately and with His own divine authority.  Moreover, when Miriam (the sister of Moses) was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and still she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).  St. Ambrose of Milan comments on this point that Jesus shows that this healing comes not through law, but by grace.

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.  We note once again (as in yesterday's reading and commentary), Jesus' withdrawal into the wilderness for prayer.  This is His necessary time to "recharge and renew" and so should we learn and follow His example.

 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!"  My study bible comments that this healing illustrates that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  It notes that faith is both collective and personal, as it is the faith of the friends of the paralytic that helped in his healing.  It also notes that there are three signs here of Jesus' divinity.  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.  Finally, Jesus heals by the power of His word.

There are notable and spectacular things that happen in today's reading.  In the first instance, there is the healing of leprosy, as astonishing event.  We note that this happens in contravention of the law; Jesus does the forbidden in order to heal, and touches the unclean.  The command to the healed leper to show himself to the priest gives us a sign that Christ is ready for the confrontation and interaction with the religious leadership.  It is a signal that the inevitable has begun.  This is further affirmed in the healing of the paralytic, when for the first time in Luke's Gospel, we're told 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.  In the healing of the paralytic, the house is so full of people that the paralytic's friends must lower him in through the roof, making quite a memorable event.  But what's notable is that Pharisees and teachers of the law have now come to Christ -- out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  This expression of power and grace comes directly in front of those who've come to examine and to witness Christ's ministry.  They are the regulators and keepers of the faith.  A modern day analogy, though not quite apt, might be having government inspectors come and take a look at what you are doing, just to cast an eye on how you're running your business.  In this case, these men hold far more power; their authority is not only religious, but in this case over the regulation of all community affairs.   Therefore whatever happens in community -- and clearly we see a gathering of an entire community here in many ways -- is their business to regulate and censure if they so choose.  Community is in full display here, with the packed house full of people, but also in the action of the friends of the paralytic.  It might be worthy to note here that the word "liturgy" meaning worship service comes from the Greek, literally meaning "work of the people."  Everything concerns community.  In our very personally oriented world today, we might not necessarily think about it this way.  But as the healing of the paralytic very amply demonstrates, faith is really a "work of the people."  We're not alone when we pray.  We're not alone even in the sense that there are always others who pray for us, whether we know it or not.  There are monasteries around the world, where prayer for the world and all those in need is the primary purpose of the "work of the people" there.  The saints pray for us.  And the Mother of God, Mary, as prime intercessor, prays for all of us.  We should note that in the earliest centuries of Christianity, this was firmly established in veneration of her universally in the Church.  When the friends of the paralytic intervene to bring him to Christ, we should know that faith and prayer are not isolated arrangements, but rather work like a kind of interactive circuitry; any prayer may join in this network.  When we pray for others, our prayers are potently energetic to reach to them and form a kind of protective and healing embrace within this "network circuitry."   Although we can't see it physically, it exists spiritually.   We should further understand that leprosy and paralysis form potent symbolism of sin.  When we fail to forgive, for example, we remain stuck.  A firm passion for or slavish attachment to one habit or another can form a kind of idolatry that keeps us stuck, and works like a blockage to hinder the energy of God in our lives.  This creates a kind of paralysis, like an obsessive loop from which we fail to escape.  Leprosy symbolizes the disfiguring effect of sin on who we truly are, deteriorating the inner self and keeping us from becoming all that God can help us to be.  Both of these illustrations of sin also harm community, keeping us from fully participating, breaking the circuit of communion.  Jesus really offers us the way out of these predicaments if we look closely at the reading, and that is a permanent habit of retreat into prayer, private time with Our Father.  In this place of "wilderness" we are free to let go of everything that keeps us bound, make that root connection to grace and its Source through prayer, and connect with an energy whose circuitry and power we can't estimate and whose reach we'll never fully know.  This is the prescription for all things, and Christ offers it repeatedly by His example.  Let us return always to this place of resource and renewal and resolution for all that ails -- even the conflicts we might know are coming.

Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men

Early Christian Greek circular "ΙΧΘΥΣ" symbol

 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 ask 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

On Saturday we read that Jesus left the synagogue where He had been preaching 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.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and ask him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.   The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee.  Gennesaret was a name for this region where these men fish; it was known for its abundance of both fishing and also agricultural resources.  The Lake or Sea itself is about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.  Jesus sat down and taught:  sitting is the traditional Jewish position for a teacher.  In the Church this would continue, as some early Christian preachers sat while the people stood (for example, St. John Chrysostom).  A bishop's seat is the symbol of teaching.

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."  Jesus tells them to launch out into the deep:  St. Ambrose sees in this command a spiritual invitation -- to give one's life over to the deep mystery of the knowledge of the Son of God.

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 suggests that the Lord draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them.  As He drew the Magi with a star (Matthew 2:2), as He would draw tax collectors by a tax collector (5:39), 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!"  Peter's response in the face of divine power is not a rejection of Jesus (contrast with 8:37).  This is in fact a recognition of truth.  Peter, suddenly cast in the light of Christ, responds as do other holy people, by becoming keenly aware of their own unworthiness (compare Isaiah 6:5; Revelation 1:17). 

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.  My study bible says that the great catch of fish is an image of the apostles bringing mankind to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and it fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:16.  At Pentecost, an Orthodox hymn declares, "Through the fishermen, You drew the world into Your net."

In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus has a parable which uses the image of a dragnet for the kingdom of God:  it was cast into the sea, where it caught some of "every kind."  Eventually the good were separated from the bad and kept, while the bad were discarded.  Jesus uses this as an image of the Judgment at the end of the age (see Matthew 13:47-50).  In today's reading, the nets that catch the great abundance of fish do so at the command of Christ.  He is the One who holds the keys to the secrets of the world (see Matthew 13:35, quoting Psalm 78:2).  He is the One at whose direction we are able to live a truly fruitful and productive life.  Even the place where these men fish holds great symbolism.  Its name is derived from the word for "garden," most likely meaning "gardens of the prince."   It's also been called "the paradise of Galilee" for its abundance and fertility, both for fishing and in the adjoining plain for agriculture.  The true Prince is the Creator of this world, the One who directs these men where to place their nets for an extraordinary haul of fish.  Fish are in themselves a sign of abundance, fertility, and wealth in cultures around the world.  Moreover, as we know, the first century Greek word for fish (ἰχθύς /ixthys) would come to be known as an acronym or acrostic, a symbol of faith.  Each letter is taken as the first of a word in the following phrase:   Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ).  In Greek, these capital letters can be combined atop one another into a circular symbol (see illustration above).  In keeping with the symbolism of abundance, the fish would also come to symbolize the Eucharist and its birth from the multiplication of the fish and the loaves.  These "fishers of men," then are born in today's reading as those whose work, commanded by Christ and in synergy with the Holy Spirit, will produce abundant multitudes.  If we look at the dragnet symbolism of Jesus' parable at the end of Matthew 13, those who will be drawn by the fishermen include all people.  So it is with our churches:   the doors are open to all.  What takes place in the heart in response to the word of Christ and its distribution in the world is a matter for the Judgment at the end of the age.  What Christ gives to each of us is the capacity to become a fisher of men.  It is through His word and instruction that all may come to hear the word.  How each one responds can be as abundant as all the fish in sea; but the question is one for each of us:  How will you respond?  These men leave all to follow Him.  Who guides your life and what you do?