But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

- Mark 2:1-12

Yesterday we read that as soon as Jesus and others with Him had come out of the synagogue in Capernaum (where Jesus preached and cast out a demon), they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"  My study bible comments here that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins, and thus to free humanity from its bondage (John 8:34).  To forgive sins is truly a greater power than physical healing.  As the scribes correctly note, God alone can forgive sins.  Therefore, the easier task is to grant physical healing.  Although Christ is fully God, and therefore holds the authority to forgive, my study bible says, He condescends to those who are gathered in the family home of Peter (which has become His ministry headquarters in Capernaum), by healing this man in order to draw people to God, whom they then glorified.

Many commentators on this healing in today's reading also note the indispensable condition of faith for salvation.  As seen in the story, faith is collective as well as personal.  It was the faith of the paralytic's friends that helped bring about his healing.   It is not told to us that the man confessed his sins, but Christ is the one who knows the secrets of hearts.  The efforts of the paralytic's friends are like prayers for salvation, that may draw a person closer to God's love, and help to bring them to their own salvation.  Traditionally, in the eyes of the Church, sin is seen as something akin to paralysis.  We get "stuck" in our sins.  We tend to get lost in thinking about sin, and forget that the word in Greek means simply "missing the mark."  That is, we are off the pathway Christ would have us be on toward Him.  Sin can be a habitual way of thinking, a kind of shortcut in our minds for the ways in which we do things or treat one another -- or even how we treat ourselves.  We may get used to glossing over habitual patterns of abusive behavior to ourselves or to others.  Perhaps we decide that forgetting about God isn't really a problem, that God is not really necessary to a modern life.  Sin occurs in all kinds of ways, but as Jesus notes in John's Gospel, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (John 8:34).  That which snares us into easy habit can be so hard to break, long after we have realized the bad effects of the habit.  Addiction, of course, is a clear kind of microcosm for this truth.  We know that addiction works on many levels, making it seem as if truly we are slaves to a bad habit, a drug we use, or any other kind of substance which has bad effects upon us, our lives, and the lives of those around us.  Even long after the physical addiction is combated, the mental and emotional pulls remain strong.  It takes great resolution, faith, and much support to stay on the right track.  So it is, also, with bad habits that we don't see as physically addictive.  Perhaps we are used to a pattern of anger which we easily take out on others, or specifically upon one person.  This becomes a habitual way to interact, to let off steam -- rather than doing the work of true healing from Christ the Physician, to help us to break a pattern and change.  Perhaps we cheat just a little bit at work, embezzling small amounts that so easily lead to larger ones.   A gambling addiction has no physical attachment like a drug, but we know how devastating it can be to people's lives, homes, futures, and truly make a slave of someone.  Sin can be a habit of greed, a deepening practice of selfishness in our affairs -- and sin has a progression.  Once we are on a particular path, we continue until we "turn around" and "change our minds" in repentance.  In today's reading, it is the efforts of friends that help to bring this paralytic to Christ, and Christ's forgiveness that sets the paralytic free.  To "forgive" in the Greek is literally to "let go" of the sin -- deepening our understanding of the freedom that comes with forgiveness.  We may see ourselves as helpless victims, but the real truth is that there is choice involved in all the things that we do -- regardless of how hard those choices are.  It is not a question of simply making up one's mind to change.  We all need help, and when we ignore that we are spiritual beings with souls to care for, that is when we fall into a snare of the habit of sin in the first place.  We simply don't take seriously that we have a choice to make not simply for our physical well-being on some level, but for the care of soul and spirit -- and that what we do also affects others in the same level of soul and spirit, positively or negatively.  Let us look carefully at the help given by friends to the paralytic.  We may not all have the friends that he had, but the Church is always present for us with her prayers.  The communion of saints await our prayerful request for help and support in any circumstance, any situation.  The saint of all, the Virgin Mary, is known as the one who never turns anyone away, and never turns away from our prayers.  When we forget that we are also spiritual beings, that we have a soul, we lose all of this, and we lose sight of the fullness and wholeness of what it means to be human, and also what it means to be healed.  Let us not forget where our true help comes from when there is no one else who understands or knows us as deeply.

Because for this purpose I have come forth

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

- Mark 1:29-45

On Saturday we read that after John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, 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 unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.   In the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus has just amazed the people with the authority He has expressed and commanded (see Saturday's reading, above).  Afterward they go to the family home of brothers Simon and Andrew, together with his other first disciples, James and John Zebedee.  Simon's mother-in-law is ill with a fever.  Again, Jesus acts in a commanding manner, and with authority He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.  She is immediately healed, and she is restored "upright" to her place, which is a place of honor and dignity (to serve Christ and those in His ministry).

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  The day continues, into the next day (in Jewish tradition, and in the tradition of the Church, the new day began when the sun had set).  In Capernaum, so many have heard what happened in the synagogue that they gathered at the door of Simon and Andrew's house, where all know Jesus is staying.  Once again, Christ does not allow the demons to speak (see Saturday's reading), keeping the Messianic secret of His identity.

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  My study bible notes here that Jesus sets forth for us an example of spiritual life.  Although He is God Incarnate, Christ prayed continually.  He frequently finds a solitary place so that He is free of distraction, despite the need of the multitude.  Christ's ministry comes from the communion as Son with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it flows to people in their needs.  My study bible adds that His praying in the morning teaches us that we must put as first priority our commitment To God, and only with such preparation will we be equipped to serve others.  Notice also how Christ sets His priorities based on the fulfillment of mission as given through His relationship to the Father and the Holy Spirit, as He says, "because for this purpose I have come forth."  This despite the fact that "Everyone is looking for you."  He does not merely respond to demands of those around Him.

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.   The biblical law regarding leprosy is found in Leviticus 13 and 14.  Deuteronomy 24:8 gives the method of purification of lepers and leprous houses, a duty which was entrusted to the priests.  My study bible comments that leprosy was considered to be a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they weren't permitted either to live in community or to worship in synagogues or the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden (Leviticus 7:21), but Christ touched the leper, as He is moved with compassion.  My study bible says that this shows He is not subject to the Law, but over it, and comments that to the clean, nothing is unclean. 

One thing that is not often commented on is the discipline of Christ.  It may seem to an observer that there is not a whole lot of forethought and planning going on here, not a lot of rules for Jesus to follow, no strict schedule.  But, in fact, that would be mistaken, and greatly so.  For Christ's planning and "timetable" (if you will) comes from His communion with the Father and Holy Spirit.  His discipline in rising in the early morning for prayer, before all things, is one that we should all endeavor to follow.  Moreover, there is a kind of strict discipline in the way that this man of compassion follows His mission.  He does not simply respond to every need that appears to Him, moved here and there by the demands of the crowds and even the needs of the sick.  His compassion is acted upon in concert with the needs of His mission, and the grace of God the Father.  It is not simply a response to human demands.  This is great mission activity, a strict discipline in response to a deeper and greater need than the individuals who look for Him everywhere.  We notice also that because of the leper's proclamation regarding his healing, Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places -- and still they were coming to Him from every direction.  The decision to remain outside of the city in deserted places is one that does not simply respond to the demand inside the city, but takes into consideration the mission and and the greater needs of His overall ministry.  Even Christ's great compassion -- He who will die on a cross for all of us -- is subject to the discipline as given through prayer and communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Our faith is not one of mere sentimentality -- it is not even one simply of pity or of compassion.  It requires of us a discipline to know ourselves, to bring out and respond to the best of ourselves and the care of our soul.  But everything comes under the heading of the discipline of communion, of response to the promptings of God.  Grace -- despite God's infinite mercy -- is not something that happens simply because we have demands and ways in which we want grace to be at work in our lives. Everything is designed for a kind of healing that surpasses anything that you or I understand about healing.  As cited frequently in this blog, St. Paul's prayer to be relieved of a "thorn in the flesh" was not answered in the way that St. Paul prayed for it to be answered.  He was, instead, given an answer that surpassed his own demand for a fuller understanding of right-relationship to God, and a more full revelation of grace, which indeed required discipline for acceptance on the part of St. Paul.  Here is St. Paul's testimony of God's response to his prayer:  "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Our faith operates within a type of discipline that it may be hard to understand to those who observe from outside.   From the Cross, there is one thief who confesses to Christ, and the other does not; it is to the first that He replies, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).  Christ's forgiveness is extended to all (Luke 23:34), but in order to realize that forgiveness and grace for ourselves, there is a process to go through, a kind of discipline, that has to do with our own repentance and "change of mind."   Let us notice, also, that Christ commands the demons to discipline; He does not allow them simply to reveal who He is to others, and have His mission defined in that way.  Similarly, He tells the leper not to speak to others, although human beings with free will do as they think is best!  Everything begins with prayer, and His rising early in the morning for prayer teaches us where discipline starts, begins, and ends.  Everything -- all healing, all mercy and forgiveness, and all grace and righteousness -- begins within this relationship and communion with God, and Christ's example is the one for all of us.  Too often we are tempted to abstract from Christ's ministry things which leave out the full picture.  Grace works hand in hand with a kind of discipline and process; it is not given at random or through whims or demands.  There is, instead, an overarching obedience at work, always.   Just as we raise a child to learn the true discipline of self-care and self-love, so Christ's love and compassion is not a mere response to human demand.  Instead, it falls within a continuum of what it means to be a disciple or "learner" in the Greek:  we are always brought to a higher love, a higher understanding, a greater knowledge and communion with God.  For it is in this that we are truly and fully healed, and in which we will really "find ourselves."  Let us not forget that the love of God has for us a purpose, a higher calling, a greater picture than that of which we are personally aware.  For that we are children who learn good discipline and obedience, a right way of being in the world and in communion with our Father, a sense of ourselves that is structured and deep within us, so that it does not fail us in times of trial and uncertainty.  We are prepared for something bigger than our daily woes, something greater than the demands we know and understand.  Let us be raised as good children, who grow to become mature and competent, and capable of responsibly sharing the infinite love and grace of God with the world, His way, by imitating Him.

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel

 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, 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 unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

- Mark 1:14-28

Yesterday we started reading the Gospel of Mark:  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  My study bible notes that Mark's written emphasis on the fact that John the Baptist has been put in prison before Jesus starts preaching gives us a key understanding of the time:  one purpose of the old covenant -- to prepare people for Christ -- has been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).  Once Christ has come, and manifested His ministry in the world, the time of preparation is fulfilled.  To repent is to do an "about-face," orienting oneself to God.  In Greek the word for repent is metanoia/μετανοια which literally means to "change one's mind."  My study bible says that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart -- a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ.  This practice of metanoia/repentance is an ongoing process; we are continually growing and learning as disciples who walk the walk of Christ.

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  These earliest disciples were originally followers of John the Baptist, and had been led to Christ by him (see John 1:29-40).  They are therefore ready to accept Christ at this proper time of calling, immediately.  My study bible says that although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, the deep hope and sincerity of these "people of the land" called by Christ will render them at Pentecost to be revealed as the wisest of all. 

 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.   As we noted in commentary on yesterday's reading, the word immediately is used with frequency in Mark's Gospel; my study bible notes that it occurs almost forty times -- nearly all before our Lord's entrance into Jerusalem.  It comments that the sense of urgency and purpose as Christ journeys toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps to make Mark's account not only the shortest, but also the most direct of all of the Gospels.  But in the very urgency is the message:  although awaited for centuries, Christ's breaking through and manifesting in the world is a sudden shift in all spiritual orientation.  This event is the center of spiritual history, and changes the rest of history in its light.  That the people are astonished at His teaching is yet another reflection of the immediacy of something new and its startling manifestation before them.

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, 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 unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.  Christ is nothing like the prophets who came before Him nor the teachers of His day, who taught in the third person, citing Scripture or the interpretations of a famous rabbi.  Christ speaks in the first person, with His own authority.  He even commands the unclean spirits, who obey Him.  He commands the spirit to be quiet!  His own revelation as the Christ will come through His own ministry and its unfolding.  Isaiah prophesied His refusal to fully disclose His identity in Isaiah 42:1-4.

When Jesus tells the unclean spirit to be quiet, it is a command that means to "muzzle."  A muzzle is a contraption used over the mouth of an animal, to keep it from biting or grazing, especially work animals.  It speaks to us of full control, superior authority and power.  The very words that Jesus uses convey this personal authority that so astonished the people.  They have never seen nor heard anyone like Him.  What we must notice to distinguish between Christ and anyone else who would cite personal authority in this way is Christ's deliberate humility in all ways.  He does not amass material power for Himself, and neither does He seek wealth or property.  His authority does not come from any social position.  Neither does this authority come from His person as Jesus, the man from Nazareth.  Rather it is the time of fulfillment of His divine mission, and His identity as the Son of God.  It is the time to reveal this identity as Incarnate Son.  But neither will the unfolding and revealing of His identity come with great fanfare and announcement.  Only the unclean spirits recognize and know Him, and they fear His authority.  My study bible gives several reasons for Jesus' refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah.  First, there is the growing hostility of the leadership.  Also, the people do not understand the true nature of the Messiah, and expect an earthly political leader.  Christ also wishes to evoke genuine faith which is not based purely on marvelous signs.  It is the authority of His true Person that must shine through the ministry, and faith asks of us that we come to this recognition via something in ourselves that deeply desires to be in communion with Him.  It is a call of the soul for its own value and redemption, its growth and realization.  It is in Mark's Gospel that Jesus will ask, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (8:36).  Jesus preaches about repentance, metanoia in the Greek, change of mind.  His first proclamation as He begins His public ministry is to teach that the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  His first command is to "Repent, and believe in the gospel."  To repent, as we said above, is to turn toward God.  It is not that the people were not already turned toward God and their covenant, in expectation of the Messiah.  It is not that the people had forgotten the Mosaic Law.  Christ calls the people -- and all of us -- to a consciousness that breaks in upon the world, the force of the kingdom of God which is "at hand."  It is, to use the word that Mark's Gospel so frequently employs, immediate.  It appears right in our midst.  To seize the moment of repentance is to turn toward that Kingdom, to deeply desire to participate in it.  It is to do as the disciples do, to drop everything else that stands in the way and heed the word that places us in it, helps us to participate in it, makes it a part of ourselves.  To truly repent is to turn toward God, to live our lives in the place where our soul can grow, be preserved intact, and to consider Christ's words about what is truly needful.  It is all about what we put first, choose first, where our first true love is.  This is where He calls us, and that call upon us is always urgent, to be responded to immediately, before all else.  He is the one who calls to the heart, the place of the soul.  In that place, the kingdom of God is always at hand.

Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You."
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.'"

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

- Mark 1:1-13

Yesterday we read that while the disciples were telling one another about the appearances Jesus had made to them, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.  Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  Amen.

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."   "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.   Gospel (Greek εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion) literally means "good news" or "good tidings."  My study bible says that gospel doesn't necessarily refer to Mark's writings per se, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is, it is the good news of our salvation and redemption.  In the beginning points to these opening events of Christ's public ministry; that is, the preparation by His forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and of Jesus' encounter with him.  Mark quotes from the prophets Malachi and Isaiah to introduce us to the time and its fulfillment in the figure of John the Baptist, who is the one who will "prepare Your way before You."  His baptism and confession of sin is a preparation of the people for the manifestation of the Christ.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."   In another sign of the time, and of the role of John, he is clothed in a way similar to that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  This helps to show that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return (Malachi 4:5-6).  John's life reflects that of the most dedicated prophets in his radical poverty, an expression of a life lived wholly for the word of God.  His humility reflects a sense that all glory is from God.  Here He prophesies the ministry of Christ.  In one of the infinite ways that the poetry of the Gospels always connects us to a communion, this beginning of Mark, and John's prophecy of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, is fulfilled in Christ's words at the Ascension -- which we read yesterday in the ending of Luke's Gospel (above), when Christ tells the disciples that He will send "the Promise of My Father upon you"; that is, the Holy Spirit.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."   Jesus' baptism is a momentous event, but given simply these verses in Mark.  The Holy Spirit does not descend as a gift to Christ, but rather as a revelation that it the Holy Spirit is Christ's to give as gift to the world, which Christ called "the Promise of My Father" at the Ascension (see yesterday's reading from Luke, above).  The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one in communion; therefore this is a manifestation and revelation of the Holy Trinity to the world.

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  And again, Mark's Gospel gives us the simplest of statements in referring to these two key events of the beginning of Christ's ministry:  His baptism by John and His temptation by Satan, in the wilderness (see also Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13).   We note His place during temptation:  He is with the while beasts, and ministered to by the angels.  It is a kind of image of our place in the world as human beings.

In this story of the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as written by Mark the Evangelist, Christ's ministry and presence seems to simply break in upon the world.  Although it has been prophesied for centuries before this appearance of Christ, the Son, Mark's Gospel introduces us to its manifestation as a kind of sudden event.  All of the events in Mark's Gospel tend to appear quickly, and Jesus' ministry unfolds at a rather rapid pace (indeed, Mark's Gospel itself is not lengthy, and is the shortest of the Gospels).  But the rapid pace that we experience in Mark, and in its simplicity, we should not mistake brevity for a lack of depth or message.  In fact, in its very directness and fast pace, Mark gives us a sense of how the kingdom of God "breaks in" upon the world, and how it can suddenly manifest and make its appearance to us, breaking in upon our own lives.  In this light, we notice how frequently the word "immediately" appears in our reading, and in the entirety of Mark's Gospel.  For hundreds of years, this hope of the Messiah has been watched for in Israel, but these events break in suddenly in the Gospel.  There are times when we call upon God -- we may pray many times for a particular kind of help, for understanding, for the courage to break through a particular kind of barrier in life, even for a resolution to a long-standing problem -- and we think we have no answer.  But illumination or enlightenment can break in upon us suddenly.  We'll wake up from a dream and find ourselves resolved in one sense or another.  In the midst of prayer, we receive an answer we didn't expect, but were only being prepared to take in, such as St. Paul's famous answer to a repeated prayer to be relieved of a "thorn in the flesh":  "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).  The appearance or manifestation of the Lord in our lives can be paradoxical, unexpected, giving us answers we doubt or would at least have an impulse to deny.  Like the appearance of the Holy Trinity in today's reading, a manifestation of God may break in suddenly -- and just like that, change our entire perspective on the spiritual life and just Who God is and how God is at work in our lives.  Most often, as it is in today's reading if we but think a little bit about it, it is the revelation and expansion of our understanding of God's love that happens suddenly.  We get an answer or have an experience we didn't expect.  We go through our own times of trial and are torn between "the wild beasts" and the ministrations of the angels is our temptations.  There will always be "good reasons" why we should give in to the temptations!  There will always be a seeming strangeness in our refusal to do so.  This is part of the temptation.  When we're called to resist, we're called to stand up for something, to make an effort, and to say No.  To give in to temptation is always the easy and apparently less troublesome route, making fewer "waves" in our immediate circumstance.  But the Lord will call us where the Lord will, breaking in upon our own lives through an expression of love and care for us that surpasses what we know, and teaching us the power and importance to care for ourselves, for our own valuable soul.  Let us consider how the Kingdom breaks through.  Our lives may be simple and we may consider them unimportant.  Great issues may happen to others, while our concerns seem petty and small although they loom large and can be overwhelming.  But that is another part of the temptation.  Trust to God in prayer, ask for help and guidance, even when the answers don't seem to come.  They break in when we stand up and make the choices we need to, and it is always God's love we really need and what we want -- even when the answers are neither easy nor simple, and like St. Paul, may be the last thing we thought we wanted to hear.   In today's reading, one who dedicates his whole life to God's purpose and mission comes teaching us to prepare the way of the Lord.  His message is still what we need to hear, and what we need to do.

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  Amen.

- Luke 24:36-53

Yesterday we read that after hearing the stories of the women about their encounter with the angels at the empty tomb, Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself what had happened.  Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.  Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."   My study bible notes that this resurrectional greeting of Christ, Peace to you,  is proclaimed by a priest or bishop frequently in worship services.  We recall Christ's teaching as He sent out the Seventy on their first mission:  "But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you" (10:5-6).

But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.  My study bible says that Christ eats not because He in His resurrected body needs food, but to prove to the disciples that He is truly risen in the flesh.  There is a spiritual significance to the elements of food Christ eats:  the fish is associated with active virtue, and the honeycomb is the sweetness of divine wisdom. 

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things."  Christ puts emphasis (as He did to the two apostles in the story of the road to Emmaus in yesterday's reading; see above) on the necessary condition of the Christ to both suffer and rise.   My study bible reminds us that it is only a partial faith to include one without the other.  The remission of sins, according to my study bible, refers to the putting away of sins in baptism, which is preached by St. Peter at Pentecost (see Acts 2:38).

"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  The Greek for endued with means to "put on" as in putting on clothing.  It is the same verb used in Ephesians 6:11, which indicates the complete protection of spiritual armor.  The word in Greek for tarry means literally to sit down, which my study bible says is an instruction not only to stay in place, but also to take rest and to prepare attentively before a great and difficult task (compare Mark 14:32).  The Promise of My Father is the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4). 

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  Amen.   Bethany, we recall, is east of Jerusalem, and was the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Lazarus being the one whom Christ raised from the dead (see John 11).  The Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  My study bible notes that this event fulfills the type which was given when Elijah ascended  in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11).  This marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation, all of the cosmos.  At the Incarnation, my study bible says, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  But in the Ascension, He brings human nature into the divine Kingdom, essential to our understanding of our place in the entire order of life itself, "seen and unseen," as human beings.  My study bible says that He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, revealing His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  An Orthodox vespers hymn of this feast proclaims, "The angels were amazed to see a Man so exalted."  In many icons and other depictions of the Ascension, Christ's robes are tinted with red, indicating the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, and also the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 24:7-10).

Our Gospel comes to an end in today's reading.  But this is not an "end" in a conventional sense, and it's not an "end" also because of the ways in which the Greek of the Gospels renders our understanding of what "end" truly means.   For in the language of the Gospels, and also in the truth of the story of the Gospel and Jesus Christ, "end" has a particular meaning.  In Luke 22:37, Jesus says that "the things concerning Me have an end."  This word for end is τελος/telos in the Greek.  Telos does not mean "end" in the sense of the English word.  Telos, rather, means "end" in the sense of fulfillment.  It is an end because it is fully completed, it has gone as far as it can go, the fullness of a drawn out process -- that means only that all the things of Christ are fulfilled.  And that "end" of Christ is Ascension, which is but a beginning, and a beginning to an infinite and absolute change that we cannot comprehensively know nor categorize, so much does it affect the very foundation of all things, including the spiritual world and the Kingdom.    Telos is an end in the sense of the aim, purpose, or goal of something.  And here we come to our sense in which this is the "end" of the story of Christ.  It begins the "end times" in which we still live, in which the Kingdom of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in the world (the Promise of My Father) continue their unfolding, and the mission of the Church.  It is the "end times" in which Christ's glorified humanity becomes a part of heaven, of the Kingdom, and the angels are astonished, for even they did not expect this kind of end -- which is in reality a new beginning which is always being fulfilled.  It is a revelation of our very natures and what they might be made for.  In the Ascension, we find the hope of Christianity, for if humanity in the person of Jesus Christ is glorified, then we, too, may follow, as He has taught us:  "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (see John 12:31-33).  Christ's Ascension as an "end" teaches us that all of our "ends" may also be but beginnings, for in Him all things are transcended.  We are not left merely with an ending, but rather a kind of infinite beginning that traverses all limitations in and of the nature given to Christ even as Jesus, in His humanity, and therefore to the rest of us.  The gift of the Holy Spirit will secure for us an infinite kind of creativity, whereby we are assured that when we are crucified by the world, when we carry our own crosses and something dies for us in our lives, whatever it may be, we still have a future -- with faith -- that we can't calculate in its possibilities.  We have a future that transcends our own expectations of limits and ends, for we are clothed with purpose, a future fulfillment, a face and identity we don't yet know (Revelation 2:17).  For the Holy Spirit and Promise of the Father becomes an infinitely creative and un-limiting force, one that connects us with a whole communion of saints, a Kingdom, and a living Way to go forward and to fulfill our true nature.  This is the nature of the life in Christ, which we secure through the communion He has given us, the Eucharist ("thanks" in Greek), and our faith -- for all of which we must be truly thankful, if we can but carry the cross to realize that any worldly end is just the start of a new beginning for us as well.  We live in this time of fulfillment.  We must remember that all good things take time; this living way is not a magic trick, but one which unfolds.  Let us continue to find its meanings and new starts -- and not to fear even its "ends."

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent"

 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself what had happened.

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.  Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

- Luke 24:12-35

Yesterday we read that the women who had prepared spices and fragrant oils to anoint Christ's body rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

  But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself what had happened.  The apostles don't believe what the women tell them happened at the empty tomb (see yesterday's reading, above), but St. Peter ran to the tomb, and  saw the linen cloths by themselves.  He alone marvels to himself what had happened.  After his experiences of denial (see this reading), we can simply imagine the tumult of his feelings.

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  The two of them are considered by tradition to be Cleopas (named in the text further on) and St. Luke himself.  Like the unnamed "beloved disciple" in John 13:23, who is considered to be St. John himself, so here it is assumed is the common literary practice of a writer not giving his own name.

So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  My study bible comments that the nature of the resurrected body is so different from its previous state that it isn't immediately recognizable (John 20:14; 21:4, 12; see 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).   My study bible notes that this resurrected body can also take on different forms, which is what occurs here (noted as well in Mark 16:12).  The nature of the resurrection transcends not only physical space and time, but also appearance.  Sometimes Jesus is recognized and other times not.  On the text's telling us that their eyes were restrained, my study bible comments that Christ intentionally prevents them from recognizing Him in order to expose their doubting thoughts, and then illuminate and heal them through the means of the Old Testament Scriptures in His reply to their subsequent discussion.

And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel."  My study bible comments that the disciples' hope for redemption was as yet embedded in a foolish misunderstanding of the Messiah as a political savior or national deliverer, such as an earthly king in the image of David.  But with Christ's death, this worldly political hope is gone.

"Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.   We observe also that these disciples are stupefied as to the subsequent events that have taken place since Christ's crucifixion; they simply do not know what to make of them.  My study bible says here that it is partial faith to believe either in a Messiah who only suffered, or conversely, one who would only reign in His glory.  A complete faith is one that sees the Messiah as embodying and encompassing both -- as all of this has been foretold in the Law and the Prophets. 

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.  My study bible comments that the Lord breads bread in the same manner as He did at the Last Supper (22:19), giving an image of the Eucharist of the New Testament Church.  It notes that all those who commune with Christ in His risen Body in faith have their eyes opened to know Him, as He is known most perfectly in the breaking of bread (as expressed in the final verse of today's reading).  The disciples remark to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us":  My study bible calls this the inescapable effect of hearing the Holy Scriptures taught correctly and with faith (see 2 Timothy 2:15).  It says that this burning is the conviction that the words and promises are true. 

How does Christ appear to us?  Modern times are not such as those right after the Resurrection, and before Christ's Ascension.  But to us faithful who live now Christ "appears" in various ways.  As my study bible says, He is in the Eucharist for the faithful.  In the privacy of our prayer, our Lord's presence may be felt as response, especially, as with the apostles who feel a burning in their heart, in a kind of inner communion in the depth of the heart, the place of the soul.  Sometimes this is felt as a deep and full silence, especially in the words of the Christian mystics and desert hesychasts in the long tradition of the Church.  But, like the apostles who journey toward Emmaus, Christ's presence can come to us any time, when we least expect it, especially in an answer to a prayer, a deep wish for communion, a true longing of our faith.  This is not a spectacular occurrence, something we necessarily need to share with the world (but perhaps with someone close to us spiritually, or a pastor who shepherds us in the faith).  Our lives are meant for this communion.  This is what our faith is, indeed, all about.  Christ is not a deliverer in the material sense, although we may be surprised what results in life from our faith, especially when we seek that communion and guidance through all circumstances.  But let us note once again the "quietness" of this encounter.  They, the two disciples, do not even recognize their risen Lord.  They speak and empty their hearts in a long discussion about what has happened to their Master, what they expected, what they have subsequently heard after His death, all the things that perplex them, trouble them, consume them in their lives which have been so turned upside down through events they can't understand.  In the privacy of their walk along the road to Emmaus, in the quarters they will share with this stranger, they confess.  That is, they empty out their hearts of all the things that are troublesome and worrying and perplexing and confusing.  They can't make head or tail now of their faith and even their Lord.  But He is there in the midst of them, and responds to what is, in fact, to my way of thinking, a model of confession, which can be made to a spiritual elder, a pastor, any true friend in the faith.  And then they are given the word that they need in response.  This "Stranger" at first chastises and corrects them, saying, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  Then He educates and explains, opening up their eyes to what they already know of the Scriptures:  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.    Finally, they persuade Him:  "Abide with us."  And this is the place of the Lord that we know, the One who tells us, "Abide in Me" (John 15:5-6).  This is the place where we find Him in our midst, in the Church, and especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist, our communion in Him and with Him.  These are realities that live to us, but only through faith, and we must find them in seeking them (11:9-10).  The disciples who have no idea what has really happened to their Lord, and what will transpire to them, simply are images of our own place in our faith.  We need the Lord's presence to illumine us, and to keep walking that road with Him, for He is present to us, but we need to ask and seek and knock.  He asks us to abide in Him, and also to let Him in to abide with us.

It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed like idle tales, and they did not believe them

 And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

- Luke 23:56b-24:11

Yesterday we read that at Christ's crucifixion,  it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' "  Having said this, He breathed His last.  So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"  And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.  But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.  Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.  He had not consented to their decision and deed.  He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.  That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.  And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.  Then they prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

 And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing spices which they had prepared.  Those who rested on the Sabbath are the women who had come with Christ from Galilee; on Friday (the Preparation) they had prepared spices and fragrant oils for anointing His body for burial, against corruption.  The first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath; that is Sunday.  In Christian tradition this is called the Lord's Day, the day of worship (in Greek, Κυριακή/Kyriaki).  See Acts 20:7.

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  My study bible says that the stone is rolled away not because Christ needed to be let out, but rather so that we can witness His Resurrection.

And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  These men in shining garments are angels.  We note the similarity to the shining garments of Christ at His Transfiguration (9:28-36).

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "  And they remembered His words.   My study bible says that in order to cast away any doubt, the angel confirms the message by recalling Christ's words to them.  In calculating the third day, the first day is Friday, the day on which Christ died before sundown.  The second is Saturday, which is the Sabbath on which He rested in the tomb.  The third day, which begins after sundown on Saturday, is the day of Resurrection, Sunday.

Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed like idle tales, and they did not believe them.   Some Church Fathers teach that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (6:15).   But most hold that this Mary is the Virgin Mary, who is in fact the stepmother of another James, called "the Lord's brother" (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47).

The text tells us that the apostles did not believe the women when they told of what they saw, that their words seemed like idle tales.  Once again we have to be impressed by the Gospels.  Our Book does not gloss over mistakes!  It does not gloss over poor behavior, it does not gloss over the failings of the followers of Christ.  It gives us the whole story, the real deal.  Let us remember that the angels, as reported by Luke, repeat Christ's own words to the women to affirm the Resurrection.  They say, "Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "   Seemingly everyone has forgotten this.  The women need to reminded again, and the apostles don't believe a word the women say, it all sounds too fantastical.  But at least, in the people who form the cast of characters in the Gospel and the story of the Church, we have the reality of all of us given to us.  That is, we all begin in faith from the place we know, the worldly.  There is nothing left out here.  The assumptions of the apostles and of the women going to the tomb are the same as all of us, the same as those who find faith in this story impossible, preposterous, foolishness and stumbling block (see 1 Corinthians 1:22-25).  We are there with them, they are there with us -- the Gospel takes us through this story of faith right from where we all start.  It does not gloss over the difficulties and "foolishness."  It does not constrain us to say that there is something wrong with us if our faith is not immediately perfect.  It takes us as we are -- as they are -- and leads us through the story of our faith, the story of life and Resurrection, of that which is raised from the dead and also has the power to bring life to the places where we feel we are dead, hope is lost, despair our only choice.  The Resurrection is not simply the good news of Christ as the One who lives.  It asks us to come along with Him, to a life in which our own dead ends are nothing of the sort, but may be simply a crucifixion before Resurrection.  It asks us to come along to the place where there is life, and in our own lives, to stop seeking the living among the dead.  It asks us, like the apostles and the women, to find the life He holds for us -- and to continue although our own story might feel like it's done.  This is the reality of the empty tomb, and the disciples who cannot believe the women.  We are all here in this world with its dead ends and its finalities, its certainties, only that's never really the end of the story.  He brings us life, and where we least expect it.