As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening

Transfiguration icon, Theophanes the Greek, 15th cent.

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.  But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

- Luke 9:28-36

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was first alone praying; when joined by His disciples, He asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"   They said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah and others say that one of the old prophets has risen up again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."   Jesus warned them to tell no one, and said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  He taught them, ""If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?   For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.   Repeatedly in the Gospels, we're taken to a mountain.  This is a place of prayer, of interaction with the divine and holy.

As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  My study bible has a long note here:  "The Transfiguration demonstrates Jesus is the Lord of glory, despite the fact that He will later suffer and die on the Cross.  Jesus' humanity was filled with splendor, was made Godlike, deified.  His Transfiguration is the most evident expression of our hope for glorification in God's eternal Kingdom.  St. Paul writes, 'Behold, I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51).  And St. John writes, 'We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is' (1 John 3:2).  For eternity, we shall be like Jesus as He appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration."  The light in this image is a light that shines in the darkness, an "uncreated light" in the words of the Eastern Church, often appearing with a blue tinge in icons to denote its "whiter than white" appearance; it's a soft and "cool" light, one that doesn't burn but illuminates.

And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.   Here, the language is important:  in the Greek, "decease" is translated from the word exodos.  Moses and Elijah, says my study bible, appear in the glory which reveals the transfiguration of our humanity.  They are representatives of the Law and the Prophets, giving us the image of the fulfillment of the Old Testament.  Of the use of the word exodos, my study bible says, "This term makes it clear that through His death Jesus will perform an exodus from Jerusalem, in which He will deliver mankind from the slavery of the evil one.  It is revealed to the disciples at His Transfiguration that He will suffer, so when they see Him crucified, they will remember this day of glory and that His suffering is completely volitional."  This image makes it clear that Jesus' Passion is met in the confidence of faith, of communion with God.  He speaks of His exodos with Moses and Elijah, a conference on a holy mountaintop in the context of the salvation plan of God.

But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  The tabernacles or booths (or tents) that Peter suggests are not that far off from an understanding of exodos.  The Feast of the Coming Kingdom (or Succoth) was one which celebrated the time Israel lived in tents, during the Exodus from Egypt toward the Promised Land.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.  The cloud on the mountaintop is another reminder of Moses, as well as the voice from the Father.  We are in a lineage of events of Israel's (and the world's) salvation.  My study bible says that "Peter, James and John kept quiet because the Lord commanded them not to speak of this experience in those days, meaning until after the Resurrection."

What does it mean to have a "mountaintop" experience?  What is it when we meet God in a place in which prayer becomes a medium for living and experiencing who we are?  A mountaintop experience can be one in which we have a quiet insight, an understanding that teaches us where we need to be, something that reveals direction.  Recently I spoke with a young man who told me of being arrested quite unfairly for something unexpected (an old traffic ticket he couldn't recall).  For inexplicable reasons, he wasn't allowed to pay a fine but rather, at 18 years old, incarcerated.  Due to bureaucratic procedures in the facility and overcrowding, he was put in solitary confinement, and forgotten about in yet another oversight.  He spent six days in this cell.  He told me it was the best thing that could have happened to him at the time; he asked for a bible and read and studied, and wrote, and thought about his life.  To this day he feels it was a God-given time-out, something that would set his life in a good direction, and is most grateful for the experience.  I would say that he was taken aside for a kind of mountaintop experience, an encounter with grace, with Christ in his life at a time he really needed such an intervention to teach him about his future, and to make his choices strong.  So a "mountaintop experience" can come to us in all kinds of ways, but it all depends on our openness to it.  Life doesn't always work with a kind of understanding that sets us apart in a spectacular way, but God does come to us and set us apart in the cool softness of this light, in this place of the heart.  In prayer and communion, we may find that place that helps set us on the right road, prepare us for what is to come, and give us the acceptance of the things that are ours to choose.  Let prayer be the "place" that helps you, and others, to those choices.

Who do the crowds say that I am?

And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah and others say that one of the old prophets has risen up again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."   Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?   For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

- Luke 9:18-27

In yesterday's reading, Jesus sent out His twelve disciples on their first mission.  Luke tells us He gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bad nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  When Herod Antipas heard about Jesus, he wondered who He was; some said Jesus was John the Baptist resurrected, whom Herod had beheaded; some said He was Elijah returned.  When the Apostles came back from their mission, Jesus withdrew with them to a deserted place near Bethsaida, but when the crowds heard Jesus was there, they flocked to Him.  Jesus spoke to them of the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.  At the close of the day, the Apostles told Jesus He should send the crowds away to find food, and places for shelter.  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  They said they had only five loaves and two fish -- where were they going to get food for this crowd?  There were about five thousand men there (and more women and children).  Jesus told the disciples to make the people sit in groups of fifty, and they did so.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah and others say that one of the old prophets has risen up again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  My study bible has an important note here:  "What the crowds have to say about Jesus is of little importance.  The disciples learn that lesson here.  In the New Testament, the opinion of the crowd is seldom, if ever, clear, and often completely wrong."  It also says, "A great moment in the ministry of Jesus comes when Peter, on behalf of the disciples, acknowledges Jesus as the Christ of God."  In other Gospels, Jesus adds that it is the Father who has made this known to the disciples, revealed it to them.  But we get the strong flavor here of the difference between the crowds, and the intimacy of the disciples' relationship.  We come to know Christ truly in the heart.  Jesus will teach elsewhere, and repeatedly, that we cannot judge by appearances, but must judge by good judgment.  If the story of Jesus tells us nothing else, it tells us this truth.

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  My study bible tells us, "Jesus desires to keep His messiahship hidden to avoid (1) popular political misunderstanding and (2) quick intervention by the Romans."  It also points out that Luke omits Peter's objection to Jesus' announcement of His Passion -- just as it also omits Jesus' statement about the Father's revelation that He is the Christ.  But the basic importance here is not lost on us:  just as He is revealed to be the Christ, the adversity that will come to Him is also revealed, both to us as readers and to the Apostles.  Even without Peter's objection, it is a stunning, shocking revelation.  In the life of the Church, we will come to understand it as scandal and stumbling block.

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?   For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  The real message of the Cross is here, delivered to the Apostles, and given to us and all who would follow in the disciples' footsteps.  We are all to take up our crosses daily.  This is a strong message to the Apostles, and the lives that they will lead as His followers and bearers of the Kingdom into the world.

What does it mean to you to take up your cross daily?  Have you had experiences where you have had to choose between your faith and something else that was precious to you?  Really, I find that these choices can come in all kinds of forms.  In the present reading, we can see the juxtaposition of appearances, of what the crowds think, and what Jesus is teaching His Apostles here.  Not only is it truly revealed to them who He is, in opposition to the opinions of the crowds (and the wondering of Herod in yesterday's reading), but juxtaposed against the "power" of the crowds, and the "power" of Herod Antipas, is the power of the Cross, and what will come to be in Jesus' Passion.  Perhaps it's the most powerful message of the Gospel, that Jesus' life isn't one of ease and comfort and material power.  It's not that this power isn't there -- but the power in this Kingdom is one that allies itself with all things within us, one that will teach us to value soul and spirit as well as body.  It is a kind of power that has to infuse all of our lives and make of us a wholeness and completeness, and one that continues to grow.  But the growth of this Kingdom comes through the cross, and for each one of us, growth will come as we shed lives that often are structured by appearance.  Above all, we see the intimacy of relationship which Christ establishes with His Apostles.  What He will ask of each one really comes down to each one.  How God will develop their talents is a question of that relationship, and the relationship each has to the Body, as a separate and unique part of the Body.  And so it is with each one of us.  Like new wine in old wineskins, this life will ask us to grow, and also to cast off our own "old wineskins" it must ask us to grow out of -- and that is the life of the Cross.  There will be ways of relating and thinking that we need to grow out of; we need to learn how not to "follow the crowds."   We will "put away childish things."  How do you take up your cross daily, in His name, as one of His followers?

He said to them, "You give them something to eat"

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bad nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.

 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

- Luke 9:1-17

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus had returned to Capernaum from the country of the Gadarenes, where He had healed a man possessed by a "legion" of demons.  On reaching Capernaum, as He was surrounded by the crowds, Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue approached Jesus for help.  His twelve year old daughter was dying.  As Jesus went through the crowd toward the house of Jairus, a woman approached Him from behind.  She had a blood flow or haemorrhage for twelve years; she'd spent all she had on doctors who had failed to make her well.  Instead, she simply got worse.  She touched the hem of His garment and was immediately well.  Jesus stopped in the crowd and asked, "Who touched Me?"  The disciples insisted that in such a crowd it was impossible to tell Him -- but He said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."   The woman came forward trembling, and explained what happened.  Jesus told her in front of the crowd, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  Someone then came to Him in the crowd from the house of Jairus, telling them not to come because his daughter was already dead.  Jesus said, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." He took only His closest circle of disciples to the girl, and her father and mother.  Jesus said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  Those who mourned in the house ridiculed Him.  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  My study bible says, "After being with His disciples for a considerable period, Jesus sends them out on their first mission, giving them power and authority to perform exorcisms and healings as well as to preach the dawn of the kingdom."  I think it's interesting that in yesterday's reading, we had a splendid example of this power in the healing of the woman with the bloodflow; that simply through faith she touched His hem, and she was healed.  Now we see His power "go out" in new ways, through the apostles, and we can read about how this first mission is commissioned by Him in the working of that power and what it is used for. 

And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bad nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Here in these instructions, we get a sense of a requirement for that power to work appropriately through us:  especially is stressed in all of these instructions a great deal of humility.  They are not to take anything for the journey (clearly relying on the power and love of God) -- they will not make ostentatious travelers.  To stay in the first house in which they are welcome is another form of humility -- they are not to "trade up" if offered better lodgings but to stay in the home of whoever it is who first welcomes them.  When they are not received, there is no strong outward expression of material power, but a testimony:  shaking the dust off their feet in rebuke.  This is a powerful mission of peace; it is not a worldly army that is sent out in the name of this Kingdom.  Their actions on this mission are preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.    Herod is the one who has beheaded John -- Herod Antipas,  ruler of Galilee under Rome.  Here as the first mission of the Kingdom is sent out with Christ's power, the rulers of great worldly power, in the name of Rome, become curious about Him.  Pilate will send Jesus to Herod at His trial in Jerusalem.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  Now, my study bible points out, these disciples are called apostles "(meaning 'those officially sent on a mission'), their proper title after Jesus' Resurrection."

But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."   Jesus welcomes those who come to Him, who truly want what He has to offer.  Once again, in the instructions to the disciples, Jesus teaches them to rely on what is present, just as in His instructions when they were sent out on their first mission.

And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  With God's help and instruction, with God's power, what we have is enough, enough to grow this Kingdom His Way.  My study bible says, "All are satisfied when Jesus feeds them.  No one need go away hungry.  This feeding of the 5,000 is a messianic sign."  There are yet twelve baskets left over:  one for each of the apostles who will go out to continue this work of the Kingdom, a reflection of the Eucharist.

There are many things we can read out of today's reading, but most of all we get a sense of the Kingdom's power, Jesus' power; how it works, how it is "sent out" to be at work in the world, how it cannot be contained and cannot be limited, how it doesn't work according to our very human and worldly limitations and expectations.  It's borne (in yesterday's reading) through even the hem of His garment, and in today's reading it's borne out into the world through His apostles.  It works through and in this world to build up this Kingdom.  It's not something we can narrow down and determine step by step and pin down exactly how it works -- this is not for us to know, nor to limit through our own understanding.  But it works here and now, in and through us, in our world, in even our imperfection.  This is the great mystery and paradox of this Kingdom, that God is with us.  The Orthodox have a prayer to the Holy Spirit, used to begin every liturgy; in it, the Holy Spirit is called "Spirit of truth who are everywhere present and filling all things."  As Jesus Christ was God with us, so the Spirit is God with us.  St. Paul has said that in response to a repeated prayer to be healed of an infirmity, he was told, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  In this great statement about God's power, we are told of our greatest paradox:  that right here and right now, God's power is with us, working in us and through us, right here in our imperfect world, our troubled lives, and with our own inadequacies, as we would see them.  You can't sell God short.  Our understanding of what works for this Kingdom is not God's understanding.  We can but pray and live in prayerful relationship to God, giving ourselves and our lives to this Presence and trusting in this power that works with us and through us, even as we are so far from what we might think is perfection.  Can you accept His grace?

Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace

So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' "  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her, but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

- Luke 8:40-56

In yesterday's reading, Jesus and the disciples had sailed to the other side of the lake (or Sea of Galilee), into Gentile territory.  There they met a man who lived at the tombs, possessed by demons.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!"  for He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  The demons begged Jesus not to command them to go to the abyss, but to be allowed to enter a herd of swine nearby; Jesus gave them permission.  The swine at once ran down the steep cliff there and plunged and drowned in the lake.  When the townspeople were told what happened they all returned and saw the formerly tormented man, healed and fully clothed and in his right mind.  But they were seized with great fear nevertheless, and asked Jesus to leave their region.  The formerly possessed man begged Jesus that he might go with Him in the boat with the disciples, but Jesus told him, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him

So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.    Jesus has returned to Capernaum, His Galilean ministry's home base.  Here a ruler of the synagogue knows Him and what He has done, and begs Him for help.

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.   Luke gives us the story of yet another woman, approaching Jesus from behind, in love and faith.  With this one, we are told her desperate situation.  We get a sense of women and their position in the society; the deference of not approaching boldly, but from behind tells us a story.  Here, this woman simply touched the hem of His garment.  This story is found also in the gospels of Matthew and Mark.

And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' "  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Most students of the Gospels would agree that Jesus surely knows who touched Him, but He clearly wishes to draw her out.  He wishes to draw attention to this event and make a sort of spectacle of it, and to draw attention to this woman who has suffered so, and even become impoverished through her suffering and lack of healing.  My study bible has a significant note about Jesus' power:  "Healing power flows from Christ.  That which Jesus touches or which touches Him, is sanctified.  The power to heal comes through the garment of Jesus but originates within Him.  . . . Jesus taught that one thing sanctifies another.  'Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?'  (Matt. 23:17).  Therefore, to trustingly touch the border of His garment was to touch Him.  Others may have touched Christ, but this woman's faith draws His power as well." 

Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."   He draws the woman out, calls her daughter.  The word for "to be well" here is also "saved."  He brings her forward to witness, to testify -- and also to claim her as "daughter" before the crowd.  Let us be aware that because of her blood flow she would have been deemed unclean within the community.  Here she is restored in many ways.

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."   Jesus once again confronts fear, as He has so often in the recent readings in Luke's gospel.  He puts faith in juxtaposition to fear; or rather asserts it in the midst of fear.  We should understand that fear so often accompanies evil, that which seeks to take away our faith and relationship to God.

When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her, but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.  Jesus performs another astonishing revival, a claiming of a child from the dead.  (In Luke's gospel, we have also read of the widow of Nain -- a story that is only told by Luke.) 

Today's reading is all about precious daughters.  There is the twelve year old daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue.  She has a great many people mourning her, all the town knows what has happened -- a greatly beloved little daughter is lost.  But then there is the other daughter in the story, the woman with an unfortunate haemorrhage that has lasted as long as Jairus's daughter has lived, who has been so unfortunate as to lose all her income on doctors who've never healed her, and she's only grown worse.  One is the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue; the other is most likely not allowed within that sole place of community because of her blood flow.  And yet, she is the one drawn out, drawn attention to (as opposed to the daughter of Jairus, about whom Jesus tells all to say nothing).  She is the one publicly praised by Jesus as His "daughter."  She is the one whose faith has made her well, saved her.  Two daughters, both beloved, and they couldn't be from more different circumstances.  My study bible makes a great note of what it is to be touched by Jesus' power, and sanctified by this grace.  It may be transferred to holy objects, even through Jesus' clothes.  And there are stories in other books of the New Testament in which similar miracles happen through the clothing of the apostles.  So in Jesus' healing power, in this sanctification of grace, family is created.  This power, which is expressed, unleashed through the connection with faith, causes healing in so many ways.  But it happens through connection and relationship.  And this is what we remember.  In the fellowship of Christ and Christ's Body, we are all linked in faith so that God's power may be at work and revealed through that connection.  How does the experience of this type of relatedness work in your life?  We see that it can even be conferred through objects, and thereby through all material things, in a world created through and for God's love, and cared for by God.  How does that power work in you?

What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!"  for He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

- Luke 8:26-39

On Saturday, we read first Jesus' preaching after teaching the parable of the Sower:  "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  Then we read that He was told His mother and brothers were outside waiting to see Him.  Jesus said, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  Then Jesus desired to go to the other side of the lake, the Sea of Galilee.  As they sailed, Jesus fell asleep, and a great storm began - so great the apostles felt they were perishing, as the boat was filling with water.  They woke Jesus.  He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" 

Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. Here, on the "other side of the lake (or Sea of Galilee)" they are in Gentile territory.  It is a kind of unknown, a setting out, a new way of going forth.  Here we will see swine being raised, animals considered unclean to the Jews.

And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  Here is "outer" and "outside" territory indeed, strange and foreign -- a man living in the tombs, having had demons for a long time.  He's in the land of the dead; symbolically that which is completely "other" - a land of great evil symbolically, that which not only makes greatly ill, but kills.  He wears no clothes, he is naked to God and all, and in a forsaken place as if seemingly completely lost.

When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!"  for He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.   Here we get a glimpse of the further torture and illness of the man, how afflicted he is!  The demons know who Jesus is.  This poor man has been bound with chains and shackles, an image of the "fettered" - great unmovable burdens that keep one from living life.  He's an image of spiritual and psychic illness in so many ways.  This was the way in which the violence against him (done by the demons) was sought to be contained by human effort.  Breaking his bonds, he was simply driven by the demon further into the wilderness - by tradition, abode of the demons, a place of complete isolation and separation from God, abandonment.

Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  For the abyss, we may possibly understand a place in image that of a bottomless chasm - a place of complete death, without remembrance.  Instead, Christ allows them to enter the swine (considered unclean in Jewish thought), and so they plunge down the steep place into the lake and drown, a death of great violence.  Rather than entering the abyss, the demons create something unforgettable in yet another display of their extremely destructive violence, something that will not be forgotten as it will be told as part of the story of this great act of Christ's power to heal and to reclaim.

When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear  Here are the miraculous results:  the man is clothed and "in his right mind."  But the people (who've lost a herd of swine) are simply terrified.  They can't accept Christ's power; they're used to life a certain way and they won't go outside of what they know -- even seeing the blessed results for the healed and healthy man who is no longer possessed.  Jesus has gone outside of Israel, outside of Jewish territory, to heal and reclaim a lost humanity.  But these people can't go outside of their way way of life to embrace Jesus and what He has done. They are simply seized with a great fear, which faith hasn't touched.  This distinguishes them from the disciples sailing in the storm in yesterday's reading.

And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.  Here is a part of the story that adds even a deeper reclamation:  this healed man becomes an evangelist of the good news of Jesus, a witness who testifies.  This event has shaped and changed his life.  Although, perhaps at this point because he is a Gentile, he is not allowed to join the disciples, Christ gives him a great commission:  he will become a kind of apostle (one who is sent on a mission by Christ) among the Gentles.   My study bible says, "Jesus does not call all whom He saves to join His band of disciples.  This man, wonderfully healed, is sent back home to witness to the power of Christ there."

If we look very closely at this story, we will see that this "lost" and abandoned man, living in the tombs, has in fact become a part of a new family, that is Jesus' spiritual family (again, see yesterday's reading, in which Jesus' mother and brothers were calling for Him).  He's in a place that has rejected Christ out of sheer fear, and yet he has a mission now, a job as part of the family or Body of Christ -- he proclaims what great things the Lord has done for him.  He will start his own "family" of faithful, of believers, one presumes.  And so, being lost and found involves a great deal of transformation.  We're not simply "healed" by going back to our previous state, one in which it may be thought that one is "normal."  Here, "normal" among these people means to be so afraid of the powerful effects of Jesus' healing presence that they cannot accept Christ.  This man, far from being simply no longer lost, is recovered in a way that is claimed by God, by Christ, by the Lord -- not simply by his kinsmen and townspeople.  He's in a different relatedness now to all of them because of his love for God, and the great things the Lord has done for him.  And that's how healing and transformation really work.  They bring us back into true family; that is, with the love of God, a spiritual sense of union in our hearts, and we then are able to relate to others in a new way.  Tasting of that love and healing and power used on our behalf, we meet brothers and sisters, as it were, in ways that are tinged with the light of that good news.  As my study bible puts it, not everybody is called to join His band of disciples.  But each of us, in our own lives, can share in this experience of healing and the effects of God's love, and that will change us as it changes the ways in which we meet others.  Some of us, like this man, will not be able to return to any old way of believing and relating, even among our "group" -- be that friends, kinsmen, neighbors.  But it will give us a light to shine, and good news to share.  How does this reclamation work in you?  How does His life change your life?

Nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

- Luke 8:16-25

In yesterday's reading, we read first about the many people who populate Jesus' ministry.  While there are twelve chosen apostles, there are many more who are a part of this ministry and form its support and company, including many women.  Luke tells us that besides the apostles, with Jesus were also "certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance."  When a great multitude had gathered to hear Him ("who had come to Him from every city"), Jesus told the parable of the Sower.  Some seed fell by the wayside, some on the rock, some among thorns, and some in good soil.  Jesus said, ""He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Jesus explained the parable to His apostles:  "Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."   Here is another collection of teachings we also read in Matthew's Gospel.  Here, emphasizing and "reflecting" on the parable of the Sower, we're given meaning in juxtaposition with what Jesus has just taught the apostles. My study bible says, "Taking heed to hear Jesus, the Word of God, brings light within the soul.  It must not be covered but allowed to shine forth.  The more one permits God's light to shine, the more light is given."  We are initiated into mysteries with real "seeing and hearing."  But it doesn't stop there; the Fount of light continues giving.  But it's up to us to "take heed how we hear" -- for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.  Bearing fruit takes real perseverance.

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  At first glance, this may seem to be a poor reflection His mother and brothers!  But if we look closely, Jesus is simply teaching another truth, offering more light to all.  His closest family is also His adopted family, to which anyone may belong.  That is, those who "hear the word of God and do it."  My study bible puts it this way:  "Jesus declares His true family is a spiritual one."  By sharing in the light we may all be related at true and deep levels in God's love. We may become children by adoption, even as Christ is only-begotten.

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"  Besides the fact that Jesus, as Christ, has power over nature, there's something else deeply powerful in this story.  We've read about Jesus' now teaching to multitudes; so much so, that He now teaches in parables.  His ministry is great and spreading, He has many close followers and supporters.  Like the parable of the Mustard Seed, which will appear later in Luke's gospel, this ministry and presence of the Kingdom is spreading and growing, they are "coming from every city."  Jesus' growing family is a spiritual one.  But here, they venture off across the lake, into Gentile territory, and it's a new break in the ministry, another turning point.  They are heading for unknown territory, uncharted in some sense, as it is outside of Israel.  What do we receive when we venture into the unknown, encounter something very "other" than what we know?  The human response, very much conditioned by our life in the world, is fear.  But Jesus has the answer to worldly fear, and it is faith.

Expanding our lives in faith in the world, we will encounter many obstacles.  I think we can safely say that the Gospel stories, and especially the story of Christ and His Passion, teach us that the world will set before us obstacles, some seemingly great, some not.  But all of them will involve an element of fear.  We encounter our own limitations in this struggle to receive and share the light, as Jesus puts it in the verses above about the lampstand.  But this ministry, wherever and however it may come to us, will always involve a growth and a spread:  whether it be within us or external to us or both.  We will encounter our worldly obstacles, our fears and limitations, our own conditioning, our fear of what is "other" and different from what we know.  Many modern theologians have applied just this fear of "otherness" or "difference" to teach where faith leads in communion, as adopted children who are each unique and different from one another.  But I believe the gospel stories today speak for themselves:  that no matter what we encounter in life, especially in the pursuit of a life following His word and what we perceive in our hearts in relation to Him, we must keep in mind that it is a part of our lives in this world such as it is and as we are that we will encounter our limitations and fears.  They are obstacles to be met with faith and trust in Christ.  This is not an egomaniacal assertion of our own power as instruments, but rather a constant placing of trust in the heart, a prayer for guidance, and a deeper love in this spirit of adoption.  His light is meant to shine and to continue to grow, and it grows in us and with us as we must accommodate that growth in ourselves.  How does the light shine for you in new ways?  What limits does it cast itself upon for you to give to Christ in faith?

Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

'Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.'

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

- Luke 8:1-15

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus had been invited to dine in the home of Simon, a Pharisee.  A woman known in the city as a sinner came to the house when she heard that Jesus was dining there.  She brought with her an alabaster flask of fragrant oil.  Luke tells us she stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Simon, the Pharisee in whose house Jesus was guest, wondered to himself:  "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." Jesus told a parable:  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he free forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more." Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged." Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see the woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but the woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  My study bible says, "The group that accompanied Jesus as He went about teaching and healing was not limited to the twelve.  A number of women were part of that band as well, and they provided for Jesus from their possessions."  It's important that we know the fullness of this story, because it gives us an idea of the early "Body of Christ" already present:  there are all kinds of ways in which people can contribute, in their uniqueness, to this ministry.  All are essential.  It's interesting that in this assembly reported here, there are people from all walks of life and strata of the society, from Mary Magdalene out of whom had come seven demons, to the wife of Herod's steward, a very high social position indeed which administered and supervised great wealth.

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"   Jesus' ministry has reached a milestone, a special sort of turning point.  Jesus begins to use parables.  He's reached a stage where great multitudes have gathered, and they're coming from every city.  Some will understand, and some won't.  It's the first hint that what He has to offer isn't necessarily going to be responded to the same way by everyone.  The key is, who has ears to hear?  As in Matthew's gospel, first we receive the parable of the Sower.

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that  'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' "  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9.  This ministry is not simply about handing out rules to follow, but something quite different.  It's an initiation into mysteries, mysteries that can only be known through relationship, a certain kind of reception in the heart.  There is a discernment at work here:  both in the receiver and in the Giver.  My study bible says, "The mysteries of the kingdom [which it translates as "secret or hidden truths"] are revealed to the faithful, but hidden from those with unresponsive hearts."

Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  Here is the explanation of the parable, offered to His disciples.  Jesus Himself is the Sower.  It's a kind of parable about parables, and it's a parable about the ministry itself.  My study bible has an interesting note here:  "The explanation of the parable is easily grasped.   But only with the eyes of faith does one see and know that Jesus Himself is truly the Savior)."  It's also a parable about faith and what we do with faith.

Let's take a look at, and think about, this parable as faithful.  What does it represent to us?  What does it say?  I can think of times in my life when I might have seemed to fit each one of these stages.  There were times in my life when I heard the word, but for various reasons it didn't seem well-planted in my heart, at least not so that I understood it very well in a conscious way.  The devil, we may say, can come in many forms.  I believe that deep down in my heart, beyond my conscious grasp, the word was always planted -- there's just no other explanation for my faith.  But there have certainly been many temptations.  To my mind, these stages bring to memory immaturity, especially of childhood and teenage years.  When Jesus speaks of those who are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, it reminds me of all the greater temptations of adulthood, abounding in our lives today, where all thought is of material survival or success, image, and a million and one different temptations to think that something is more urgent or important or socially relevant than our one basic faith and relationship to God.  And I am surrounded by others, who in one way and another, fall into these traps of temptation, or manage to somehow surmount them.  And all of these stages can seemingly come intertwined with life at many ages.  But the one thing we hold dear is Jesus' final stage:  that of those  who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.  It is this which is the real fruit of faith, our patience through all things, our learning to endure in this faith.  Not everyone is going to follow the same journey, but in some way we all face temptations, whatever they may be for us.  The endurance and forbearance in the world, the "good and noble heart,"  and the patience required for this true bearing of fruit -- those are the things which we truly hold dear.  They are the true marks of an experienced faith, and I daresay in some way those too can come at any age.  What we want to understand is the essence of relationship, that it moves deeply into our hearts and grows in us, so that we become more like the One in whom we truly trust, with whom we seek union, an internal marriage, an adoption.  How does that trust lead you through all things?  How does it give you ears to hear and to truly perceive?  How does the love of God, above all else, teach you endurance, patience, forbearance?