If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever

 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

"I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me. 

"These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me a commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here."

- John 14:15-31

 In our current readings, Jesus and the disciples are at the Last Supper, and He is speaking to them.  He has revealed that He will be betrayed.  He said to them, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

  "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."  The word in Greek translated here as Helper is "Parakletos."  It refers to the Holy Spirit.  My study bible says that this title also means "Comforter," "Counselor," and "Advocate."  The word parakletos literally means the who comes by your side when called, and meant something similar to an advocate in a courtroom.  Furthermore, my study bible says that the Spirit of truth is in each believer, and we are called to know Him.  It notes that the Holy Spirit prays in us and for us when we do not know how to pray, enabling us to pray in Christ's name (see yesterday's reading, verses 14:13-14, also Romans 8:26.)  The Holy Spirit also gives us words of witness when we speak the gospel (Mark 13:11), also related to testimony and the language of justice.

"I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me."  My study bible notes that the brief separation of Jesus from the disciples at His death will lead to a deeper mystical union after the Resurrection and to the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.   When Jesus says, At that day . . ., He is referring to Pentecost.  St John Chrysostom writes that it is "the power of the Holy Spirit that taught them all things."  And here is the depth of love:  the Holy Spirit communicates to us all truth concerning Him, and the promise is that for those who keep His commandments, Father, Son, and Spirit will return that love and make Our home with him.

"These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."   Here Christ affirms the relation of Father, Son, and Spirit and their dwelling with us and in us.  Peace, my study bible points out, was the customary Jewish word of both greeting and farewell.  Perfect peace is given by Christ, who reconciles humanity to God (Ephesians 2:14).  Peace is also part of the traditional greeting of Christians to each other (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3).  The greeting "Peace be to all" is offered many times during liturgical services of the Church. 

"You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I."   My Father is greater than I does not indicate nature or essence, because Father and Son share one divine nature.  Also the Son is not created, but begotten from all eternity (as John's Gospel has taught is in its Prologue (John 1:1-18).  What Jesus means is that the Father, as Fountainhead of the Trinity (as the Church calls Him), is the eternal cause of the Son.

"And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me a commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here."  Before it comes is a reference to Jesus' Passion; He has given the disciples a full warning of what is coming so that it strengthened their faith.  The ruler of this world is the devil, whom my study bible says dominates the realm of those who do not love Christ or keep His commandments.  Jesus says the devil has nothing in Me because there can be no compromise between Christ or His followers and the devil.  Although Jesus became Man, He was never stained with sin.  That Jesus says let us go from here has been understood to mean He takes His disciples to another room or location to finish His talk with them, in order to get their undivided attention.  St. John Chrysostom writes that their current location was open to intrusions, and the disciples likely to be distracted from fear.

Once again we observe that Jesus uses the language of love -- this time even more explicitly than in other examples in the Gospel -- to teach the disciples in this farewell address at the Last Supper about what is to come.  The great good news in today's reading is about the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Helper.  This Third Person of the Trinity adds yet another degree of depth to the teachings of Jesus about love and communion of the Father and the Son and those who become children by adoption through faith.  He has spoken to the disciples before about what is coming, His Passion, death, and Resurrection, and taught them that He goes to the Father so that they can be with Him.  But here He becomes more explicit about the work of the Spirit, the Paraclete, in the world and in them.  The language of love becomes more clear:  "If you love Me keep My commandments ... He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him ... If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me ... If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I ... But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me a commandment, so I do."   Let us observe that in all of these statements, love and obedience are intertwined.  This love is a kind of loyalty at the depth of the heart that cannot be reached by any other means, because His talk of love is mingled with the knowledge and the certainty that Father, Son, and Spirit not only love us first but even dwell within us in a depth of communion deeper than all that we know.  The power of this love is something unbreakable when it is bonded with our faith and our love in return.  Therein is the peace that He promises for us:  not that we will not have troubles and tribulation, but that we will know this depth of His love that is always with us and always made present through the Holy Spirit -- so that all three Persons of the Trinity dwell within us, to use Christ's language.  He gives not as the world gives, but fully and wholly, so that we who are His children may always be with Him and He with us:  "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."  This is the living Spirit, the promise of the living water that He made to the woman at Jacob's well, the Spirit about whom He taught to Nicodemus.  Can we measure such a gift that helps and shapes us at such a depth and gives us so much?  What does it take to receive this gift?  The measure of love that we can give to it, to hear, to learn, to follow.

 

I am the way, the truth, and the life

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

- John 14:1-14

On Wednesday, we read the words Jesus said at the Passover Feast, just after He met the Greek-speaking inquirers who'd come to Jerusalem for the festival:  "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heart it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.   The lectionary skips over John 12:37-13:38.  In these verses we are told that despite the hostility to Him by the rulers of the Council, nevertheless many in the Council did believe in Him.  He and the disciples prepare what is called the Last Supper, at which Jesus washes the disciples' feet in an act of deep humility which teaches them His leadership.  He also identifies Judas as His betrayer.  He teaches the disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  And He tells Peter, in the face of Peter's statements that he will lay down His life for Christ, that he will betray Him three times before the rooster crows. 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Jesus continues with His great sermon to the apostles at the Last Supper.  My study bible says that many mansions is a word-picture of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  Mansions also addresses the great multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  Once again, as noted frequently throughout John's Gospel, Jesus' words aren't mere promises.  They are couched in the language of love, connection, communion.  He will be the One to receive them to Himself; where He is, we may be also.  And they are prepared already:  where He goes, they know -- and the way they know.

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."   I am the way, the truth, and the life:   Here is the crowning statement of how Jesus defines Himself for us.  As Christ, He establishes the way to reach the Father in His Person and work as Son.  My study bible says that the Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  Christ is the life who became Man so that we might have life, and because He is our life, then not even death can hinder us from coming to Him.  Only in Christ can one come to know the Father, my study bible tells us, because only in Christ is the way of all truth and all life found.

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"  This statement, He who has seen Me has seen the Father, teaches us that our response to Christ determines our relationship with the Father.  His words convey that if we reject Christ then we will not find the Father; if we believe in Him and follow Him, then we will become "children of God" through participation and adoption, living eternally in the love of the Father (1:12). 

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."   My study bible tells us that while human beings are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), the Incarnate Son is Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Christ doesn't say, "I am the Father," for He is another Person.  He declares instead that He and the Father are one in essence and undivided in nature, although they are distinct Persons of the Godhead.  Again, this isn't a dry sort of theoretical statement, but a statement of love and communion at its greatest possible depth -- extending to the works themselves that He has done.  This is the relationship into which He invites us also as disciples and followers.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."  Jesus names greater works here.  In the understanding of the Church, these greater works are those performed because Christ works through human beings after Pentecost -- and those works are greater than His performing signs and wonders directly.  Those works, which are attested to in the book of Acts, my study bible reminds us, include spreading the gospel throughout the world, miraculous healings, and raising the dead.

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  Praying in Jesus' names is not simply attaching the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers.  Instead, to pray in Jesus name means that we pray according to His will.  His name is an extension of His Person.  As my study bible puts it, just as an emissary of a king can only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say, so also are we only praying in the name of Christ when we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose here isn't to get God to do our will, but rather for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10). 

Jesus gives His last teachings to the disciples at the Last Supper.  He teaches about the unity of Father and Son, about the works that He has done as revelation of the Father in the world.  But there are greater works that will come, after Pentecost, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.  This Third Person of the Trinity, about which Jesus will speak further in tomorrow's reading, adds yet another level of depth to the love in which Jesus couches all of His teachings about His identity, His union with the Father, and His teachings to His disciples and followers.  It compounds the sense in which we are to abide in Him as He abides in us.  Through the Third Person, the Holy Spirit or Paraclete, even greater works than He has done Himself will be revealed through His followers.  This statement reminds us of the teaching given to St. Paul, when he felt his prayers had failed to alleviate an affliction.  In prayer, St. Paul received this word:  "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  And "therefore," says St. Paul, "most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  The power of God to work through perceived "weakness" is somehow the great power of love at work as well.  One can't help but feel that the extension of "greater works" doesn't only include those tremendous things we've read about, but also the very fact of God's work through our own infirmity, as St. Paul writes to us.  Jesus' teachings throughout the Gospels include His deep care of the "little ones," those who are dependent upon leaders and others for their care and "upbringing," so to speak, in the true teachings of the Church, in the spirit and love of God that Jesus has revealed and given to us.  These teachings and concerns run all through Jesus' many sermons and many works.  That God the Father should be revealed to us through the Son is already the sign of God's great love for us, coming to we who are so limited and tiny by comparison, in all dimensions.  And yet, God does not merely come to us, but asks that we abide in Him and He in us, in the depth of love and communion, the deepest bond possible.  This bond grows exponentially through the revelation of the coming of the Holy Spirit, and through the greater works to come, those like the words of St. Paul, teaching us that God's grace works through our infirmities, so much so that he will boast in them, so that Christ's power will rest upon him.  With this understanding, we must come to look at ourselves and the world through different eyes than the sense of competition and survival gives us.  We must understand that as His followers we strive to live and dwell with Him, and He with us, all the time -- drawing on that love to teach us what is what, and how we need to see our lives and our own works and what opportunities for love there are.  That is the teaching we take with us, the life He gives us, just as there was life in the tomb.

Father, glorify Your name

 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heart it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

- John 12:27-36

Yesterday's reading told us that there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the Passover feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor." 

"Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Jesus' human soul is troubled.  The Gospels give us indications of Jesus' struggle in the fullness of His humanity and His human will.  But nevertheless He submits His human will to the Father and His divine will that is one with the Father's when He says, For this purpose I came to this hour.  It is an indication that this is a voluntary submission.  My study bible says that it shows that each person must submit his or her own will to God's will.    The Father's name is an extension of His Person.  The Son's death completes the purpose of the Father, says my study bible, and shows His love for all, thereby glorifying God the Father.  In His divine response to His troubled human soul at the the thought of the Cross, Jesus effectively says, "Father, lead Me to the Cross."  

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heart it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."   Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake."  The Father's response to Jesus embraces both the works that have been done by Jesus (the signs in the Gospel) and His death and Resurrection to come.   Though the Father spoke clearly, my study bible tells us, some people heard indistinct sounds like thunder because they lacked faith.   Those with a little faith heard the words but did not know the source, and though it was an angel.  But the disciples knew that the Father had spoken, as indicated by Jesus' words to them.

"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  Lifted up refers to Jesus being hung on the Cross (also used in 3:14-15, and 8:38).  My study bible says that this death will bring salvation to all peoples, while at the same time rendering judgment on the faithless and destroying once for all the power of Satan, the ruler of this world.

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  The light refers to Christ, as both Jesus and the Evangelist have done throughout the Gospel (see 1:4-9, 8:12).  My study bible says that this teaching has several facets of meaning.  First, Jesus will soon be completing His public ministry.  Also, our lives are very limited.  In that sense, we have a short time to repent and to believe in Christ before death.  And finally, Christ's second coming is but a little while when compared to eternity (see 2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4).

What is the light?  We have Christ's words themselves telling us, "I am the way, the truth, and the light."  These words are not interpreted as merely symbolic metaphors for the fact that Christ is a great Teacher.  On the contrary, theology teaches us that Christ is the Person who is Truth.  He is a kind of lodestone, a polestar.  That is, He's something by which all other things are measured.  He is the way when we have need of discernment, when we need to make a decision, when we are trying to choose which way to go.   He is the light that illumines the way forward, like the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the darkness.  As the light, He illuminates not only the good, clear way but also casts His light on the dangers we might not recognize, the traps and stumbling blocks that are set for the unaware.  He's the light toward which human beings reach, even if they do not know His name.  Christ in His Person is the ultimate manifestation of these realities.  But He's also the light that casts light that can be reflected by others.  He shares His light with us.  We may participate in it and also reflect it back into the world.  In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus tells us that a lamp isn't lit to be hidden, but to be put on a lampstand where it can give its light to all who are in the house (Matthew 5:15, Mark 4:21, Luke 8:16).  This isn't just a metaphor teaching us how we can be little shining lights in our own regard, but rather He tells us that we may glorify our Father in heaven by doing so.  And thus, we get back to the language of today's Gospel reading.  We may be like Him by glorifying the name of the Father, by participating in this light, following His way and His truth.  What Jesus shares with us isn't an easy symbol or metaphor in the same sense that the Mystery of Christ's mystical Body and Blood aren't simply easy metaphors or symbols.  Rather it speaks of a depth of love, participation, and even identity that John's Gospel has continually referred us to.  Jesus will tell us, "Abide in me" (15:4).  He has repeatedly spoken already in the Gospel to tell us that He will be lifted up so that we may be lifted up with Him, and be with Him where He is.  Thus our Light isn't just the light that helps us to know where we are going.  He is that which gives us life, which gives us meaning and identity and substance, which allows us to participate in His very life.  He is the foundation of love and He brings us the fullness of love.  He will be lifted up on the Cross, defeating death so that we may have life with Him.  His depth of obedience to the Father is a measure of His love which embraces all, embraces us.  He invites us into that love so that we, too, may reflect it back into the world with Him.  The Judgment comes as we decide whether or not we follow, sharing in that love or not, and what we will embrace for ourselves.

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life

 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

- John 12:20-26

Yesterday we read that a great many of those from Judea and Jerusalem knew that Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Lazarus and his sisters; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of their followers went away and believed in Jesus.  The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion;  Behold, your King is coming,  sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

  Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."   These Greeks are Gentiles who believed in the God of Abraham, and who have come to participate in the Passover feast.  That the Gospel calls them Greeks shows that they weren't yet full proselytes (or converts), according to my study bible.  Jesus had earlier taught His disciples not to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5, 15:24), and so the disciples approach Jesus before bringing these inquirers to Him.  When Jesus says that the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified, He is referring to His death on the Cross.  This "obscure response" means two things, says my study bible.  First, the answer these Greeks are seeking won't be found in words, but rather in the Cross; and secondly, the Cross will be the event that opens all manner of grace to the Gentiles. 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."  This image of the grain of wheat dying in order to bear fruit teaches us that Christ's death will give life to the world.  In many Eastern churches, the tradition at memorial services is to prepare boiled whole wheat kernels, sweetened and spiced, to affirm God's promise that those who have died in Christ will rise again to life.  Jesus once again reaffirms the consistent teaching and promise we read throughout John's Gospel, of the closeness of relationship between Himself, the Father, and His followers in an absolute bond.

"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."  Jesus follows His teaching about the grain of wheat with one that emphasizes those who follow Him, and our own responsibility for obedience and love.  It extends even to all the things of our own lives.  He calls us to be like Him.

Christ teaches that he who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.   He is not only speaking about Himself, but He is teaching us all that His example is just that -- an example for the rest of us.  It is the supreme example, but He calls all of us to follow Him.  In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus ties today's teaching with the cross for each of us.  He says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" The kind of obedience Jesus asks for isn't a soulless, mindless obedience.  It is the obedience found in the love of and loyalty to God who is love and who loves us.  Over and over again, Jesus has emphasized that the true lodestone of faith is the love of God.  He has repeatedly chastised the religious authorities for knowing the minutiae of the Law and scrutinizing the Scriptures, but failing to have the love of God in their hearts.  It is this love, this bond, that unlocks the value and the blessings of everything else.  It is out of this love that Jesus' obedience comes, even unto death -- to the Cross.  It is this love that makes sense of the Crucifixion.  It is the answer to Job.  It is the key to Jesus' teaching, "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."   It is the key to that rock over which the gates of Hades cannot prevail.  It is in that love and loyalty and faith that Jesus can liken His life to that of a grain of wheat, and in which we can behold the working of God whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts.  It is in this sense that we are bound to Christ, and in which He can tell us that we must follow Him, and then where He is, so we shall be, for the Father shall honor those who serve Him.  Let us remember what is truly precious, what binds us in love, even beyond the life we know.  It's only in love that we can follow Him, and it's in this love that the Son of Man is glorified.

Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!
'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'
The King of Israel!"

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey's colt."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!" 

- John 12:9-19

On Saturday, we read the conclusion of the raising of Lazarus (see the first part here).  Martha went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.   Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  We should understand that the lectionary has skipped over some passages (see 11:45-56), in which we are told that after the raising of Lazarus, many from Jerusalem went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus did.  Then the chief priests and Pharisees met in a Council, and decided that Jesus should die.  Jesus was aware of their plotting and stayed away from Judea until the time of the Passover.  He then again visited Bethany, at which time many came to see Him because of the raising of Lazarus, and Mary anointed Him with oil (John 12:1-9).  At this time there are open orders from the Pharisees and chief priests that if anyone knew where Jesus was, it should be reported so that they could seize Him.  Here the text tells us about the effectiveness of this final sign in John's Gospel of the raising of Lazarus.  Many from Judea believe in Jesus as a result, including those from the ruling classes and parties of the Council.  Lazarus therefore is also targeted for death.  It is now just a few days before Passover, and the beginning of what we know as Holy Week.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  This is Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the day that we celebrate as Palm Sunday.  The people hail Him as a king and Messiah.  At that time in Israel's history, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and reestablish the kingdom of David.  In humility, Christ shows His mission is not for an earthly kingdom.  He doesn't have military power accompanying Him like chariots and horses and weapons, but rides on a young donkey.  This is a sign, says my study bible, of humility and peace (see Zechariah 9:9).  Rather than a worldly kind of kingdom, the entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It's also a promise of Christ's final entrance, says my study bible, into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  The people meet Him with words from Psalm 118:25-26, associated with Messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waived.  It's a cry to a deliverer:  Hosanna means "Save, we pray!"

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"  John's Gospel gives us more affirmation of the envy of the leadership, who now actively plot to put Jesus to death.  The people go out to greet Christ as if to greet the hope of a Deliverer, a king, a Messiah.  Many were witnesses to the raising of Lazarus and had been with Martha and Mary to mourn their brother.  Still others come because they have heard about this sign from the witnesses.  This is all in Judea, home territory to those who control the affairs of the Temple.  The Pharisees show their exasperation with the following Christ now has, and His popularity with the people.

As the events of Holy Week begin to unfold, we see the seeming contradiction in the swirl of all the forces moving around Christ.  The people come to see Him, and they greet Him as Messiah and king.  But the leadership have only cemented and hardened their resolve to do away with Him.  Not only do they plot to put Jesus to death, but also Lazarus as well.  The many witnesses from Jerusalem at the raising of Lazarus have spread the word, and the very home base of the authority of these religious leaders has now seemingly gone after Him, in the words of the Pharisees to one another.  So many forces have been unleashed, and everything will happen in just a few days.  This is the time of Jesus' glorification, but it will be a holy act with a holy power that those who believe will come to know and understand -- but a stumbling block to those who do not.  There are so many conflicts and contradictions.  Jesus will be put to death, and the plot of the Pharisees and chief priests seemingly therefore "successful."  And yet, of course, it's not successful at all in terms of stopping the movement of the followers and believers in Jesus.  It isn't successful at all in terms of the holy power of God at work both in the victory of the Cross and the Resurrection to come.  His followers will be scattered, martyred, and in exile.  They will go on to vicious persecution by both religious and state authorities.  And yet, they will spread this faith through the known world in a relatively short period of time.  Where is victory, and where is defeat?  Perhaps most importantly, as we contemplate this beginning of Holy Week, we should just consider that amidst these most extraordinarily contradictory understandings of the story of Jesus Christ, these great tensions and conflicts and opposing ideas, it is God's power that is at work.  When we are fooled or betrayed, when secret plots seem to win out over truth and justice, we should just take note that God's work happens through all things.  There is nothing that stops the reality of this Kingdom.  Indeed, everything is used in order to fulfill what is promised, to bring us Resurrection in the midst of sorrow.  The victory of the Cross is the victory of faith, the overcoming of the world.  Let us understand and see how Christ Himself works through all things, embraces the reality of His mission and God's work in the world, and invite this perspective into our own lives.  He told Peter, after Peter's confession of faith, "on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).  The rock Jesus speaks about isn't just Peter. It is the confession, and not only Peter's confession, but one made on behalf of all the apostles and all of us who follow. It is our bond of faith with Christ.  It is this bond against which the gates of Hades shall not prevail.   Our story teaches us that Hades did not prevail and does not prevail.  It is our faith we cling to, and that is the victory of the Cross.

Lazarus, come forth!

And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.   Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

- John 11:28-44

Yesterday, we read that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."   Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."   So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  We recall that Martha has gone out to greet Jesus, while Mary was sitting in mourning inside the house, together with those who've come from Jerusalem to mourn with her.  (Once again, we recall that the term the Jews in John's Gospel is used like a political term.  It denotes those from Jerusalem who belong to households of members of the ruling parties.   All the people in this story are Jews, including Jesus and the author of the Gospel.)   And we also note again the different characters of these sisters, consistent with all the Gospel stories we know of them.  Martha is concerned with hospitality, while Mary sits in the house in the position of mourning.  But Mary responds immediately when she's told that Jesus is calling for her.  And then we see that her words are those of her sister, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But Jesus' response to the two sisters differs.  He engaged Martha with words.  But He engages Mary with deeds, as we read farther along in the text.

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Jesus wept is the shortest verse in the Bible.   John's writing emphasizes that He wept and also groaned in spirit to show He had fully taken on human nature and was subject to grief as any human being would be.  Weeping, says my study bible, is the natural human response to the tragedy of death.  In the Orthodox Church calendar today is known as Lazarus Saturday.  An Eastern hymn of the Compline service sings of Jesus,  "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt love."

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"   Although Martha's faith had increased, she still did not understand Christ's will nor His power.  We note that John's Gospel often shows us the evolution of faith in the people who interact with Jesus.  The spices and oils that were used to anoint a dead body would only keep away the stench of decomposition for a short time.  In icons of the Eastern Church that portray this event, many include bystanders covering their noses, illustrating both the time that has passed since Lazarus' death and the resulting decay, and also the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise Him after four days.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."   Jesus expresses the fact that His divine will is one with the Father's, and that His human will is freely subject in every way to God the Father.  He prays aloud for the sake of the people who are standing by -- and by implication, for everyone.

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  My study bible notes here that Christ calls Lazarus to come forth, not in the name of the Father, but by His own authority.  This is a clear command from God the Word.  It shows the people that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself. 

 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."   The picture of Lazarus walking out of the grave, bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth, is a sort of indelible image.  Many Church Fathers hold that it's an indication that Lazarus will need these graveclothes again.  His resurrection continues an earthly life which will again end in death.  This is contrasted with the fact that Jesus' graveclothes would be left in the tomb (20:5-7).  My study bible says that unlike Lazarus's, Christ's Resurrection transfigures human nature.  He will never die again.  This seventh sign in John's Gospel of the raising of Lazarus prepares the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection.  My study bible also cites more words of the Eastern hymn for this day:  it "confirmed the universal resurrection."  This proves that Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:-13). 

Tradition in the Church teaches us more about Lazarus' subsequent life after he was raised by Jesus.  The Gospel goes on (in chapter 12) to say that because of this extraordinary miracle witnessed by many from Jerusalem, the plot to kill Jesus also included the plan to put Lazarus to death.  In fact, it tells us that many in the crowd who come to greet Jesus on Palm Sunday do so because of the miracle of this seventh sign of the raising of Lazarus, and this gives another motive for the leadership to put both of them to death.  The Pharisees exclaim in frustration, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!" (see John 12:9-19).  Lazarus' pivotal place in the story of Jesus' life and death placed him in grave danger, and Tradition teaches that he eventually fled Jerusalem and came to Cyprus.  There, he was made bishop by Paul and Barnabus in what is now Larnaca, Cyprus.  He lived for thirty more years.  Tradition says that he never smiled after his miraculous resurrection by Jesus, and gives the reason as being the souls he saw awaiting redemption during his four-day stay in Hades.  There is one story in which he smiled on a single occasion.  Seeing someone steal a pot, he said, "The clay steals the clay."  We can't imagine what it was like to be Lazarus, friend of Jesus, among this family of close friends to Jesus.  We know that this great miracle was the occasion for greater persecution, and for a life, it seems, marked by the experience of seeing what most people never understand.  But the understanding of our own mortality is not seen as a negative in the spiritual tradition of the Church.  It is something which monastic tradition has held is an important reality for us to contemplate, keeping us aware of the here and the now -- the mindfulness of the present moment and the importance of our choices and in what (and Whose) light we make them.  It seems also important to understand that this supernatural power of Jesus has effects that none of us can foresee nor contemplate.  The great miracle of Lazarus' resurrection is the final one of seven in John's Gospel, occasion of affirmation for those who believe, but also spurring on the plot to kill not only Jesus, but also Lazarus, and eventually leading to the persecution and martyrdom of many followers of Jesus.   It teaches us that the power of God will not necessarily force those to believe who wish to reject what is on offer in that power.  Rather, it instead works as Jesus has said in the previous chapter, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  God's power does not persuade in the sense that it destroys our free will. No one is compelled to love God.  But the power of God at work in the world does, in fact, accelerate and heighten the effects of our choices, at least as told in the story of the Gospels.  Intrigues swirl and heighten the degree of instability, the suggestions of injustice and murder and false witness, the strategies of those who live for their own power instead.  All of these things add up, not to compel us to follow one way, but to make our own choices:  in what or Whom do we put our trust?   We will find that the world remains in this place, right here and right now.  It is the allegiance that we choose, the trust with which we choose to align.   These choices are always with us.  Uncertainty and instability are times of danger because they invite in the illusion of false, easy choices which seem expedient, but deny the spiritual values of truth and justice and mercy.  Let us be alert and endure, His way.

I am the resurrection and the life

 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."   Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." 

- John 11:1-27

Yesterday we read that there was a division again among the religious leadership because of these Jesus' responses to them at the Feast of Tabernacles (see Wednesday's reading).  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"   Then the Gospel turned to the time of the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter (about three months later).  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."   Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."   My study bible says that this message about Lazarus' illness is sent back to Mary and Martha to strengthen them, so that when Lazarus dies, they may take confidence in His words.  The Son of God being glorified mustn't be understood to be the cause of Lazarus' dying.  Rather the indication is that Christ will be glorified as a result of his death (occurring from a natural illness) and his being raised from the dead.  We note that Jesus gave a similar teaching about the blindness since birth of the man He healed at the Feast of Tabernacles (see John 9:1-5).   That was the sixth sign in the Gospel.  The raising of Lazarus is the seventh.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."   Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  Jesus delays His trip to Bethany (in Judea) so that Lazarus is dead long enough for the corruption of his body to set in.  This would mean that there would be no doubt about the miracle, and the might of the Lord would be clearly seen by all.  The apostles remind Him that the leadership has tried to stone Him (10:29-39), so it is clear that Jesus' choice to return to Judea is deliberate and made with full knowledge of the circumstances into which He walks in order to raise Lazarus before the coming Passover festival.  His words remind us again of events at the previous miracle of healing the man blind from birth, when He said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  My study bible adds that Thomas's statement is an unwitting prophecy of his own martyr's death.  It also says that it illustrates the path that all believers must take -- that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23-24). 

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.   There was a contemporary rabbinical opinion that the soul lingered about the body for three days.   But after four days, resuscitation would be impossible.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Mourning would begin on the day of a person's death.  Weeping and wailing lasted three days, according to my study bible.  Lamentation lasted one week, and general mourning lasted 30 days.  What we seem to be told here is an indication that this is a prominent family; those who come from Jerusalem are among the families of the men who belong to parties in the Council.

Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  As in the story in Luke 10:38-42, the two sisters respond differently to Christ's arrival.  Martha, the one inclined to active service, rushes out to meet Jesus.  She is concerned with matters of hospitality.  Mary remains in mourning until she is called by Christ (later in the story).  Sitting was the traditional posture in mourning and in receiving other mourners (Job 2:8, 13; Ezekiel 8:14). 

Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."   My study bible comments that while Martha possesses great faith, her statements indicate a lack of understanding about Christ.  When she says, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died," she reveals that she doesn't fully see that Christ is God, as there is an assumption that He would need to be present to effect healings (contrast 5:46-54).  In saying, "whatever you ask of God, God will give You," she shows her lack of understanding that Christ possesses full divine authority to act as He wills.

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  In order to correct Martha's misunderstanding (that He must be present to effect healings), Christ declares His divine authority to raise the dead at the last day (to use Martha's words), as well as here in this world.  The power of Jesus' words is so great that Martha is immediately led to her confession of faith, which is explicit and similar to the one Peter made on behalf of the Twelve earlier in the Gospel (John 66-69).  My study bible says that do you believe this? is a question directed not only to Martha, but to all of us.

It's quite remarkable that John gives us this story of Martha, and we get a picture of a woman making a similar confession to Peter.  In this, we are blessed that John's Gospel fills us with so many good things.  It tells us about the future of this Church to come, and that these women are precious to the ones for whom this Gospel was written even at the time of John, as they are indeed to us.  Another aspect of today's reading is the understanding that Jesus knows very well what He is walking into.  He's not only come to Judea (where, as Thomas reminds Him, it was only recently that the religious leaders wanted to stone Him), but He has come to the home of this prominent family, where there are many who mourn who have come from Jerusalem and are thereby connected to the leadership in the temple.  In addition to that, what He plans to do here is the astounding and unheard-of seventh sign of this Gospel, in which Lazarus is raised.  It is this act, made before witnesses who've come from Jerusalem, that will really tie His future to the Cross.  It is of such extraordinary magnitude that it won't be denied, and its power and impact will be such that the leadership who already has tried to stop Him will be determined to take Him to His death.  Jesus deliberately comes here, outside of Jerusalem, in this season between Hanukkah and  Passover, in order to do what He must do.  As the text tells us, this is the opportunity for the glory of God -- and in Jesus' words and teachings, the ultimate glory for Him will be the Crucifixion.  How can we understand this?  We live in a time when convenience, ease, and simplicity seem to combine as goals with affluence and technological power.  Commonly we are taught to seek that which gives us an easier and more beautiful or "perfect" life through what we can afford to purchase.  But "perfection" takes on a completely different character in Jesus' teaching than a simple life free from difficulties and complexities.  The way the Gospel seems to tell it, we will always have tribulations -- and that is particularly true if we are followers of Christ.  In John's 16th chapter, at the Last Supper, just prior to His Passion, Jesus will tell His disciples, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (16:33).  Our goal, then, for His peace, for our simplicity and for overcoming, even for joy, is to be there with Him.  We are there with Him as His followers, with crosses of our own, in the midst of a world that isn't perfect but rather afflicted with the one who would tear down His work and our harmony.  But it is the Cross that saves.  It is there that we know overcoming, and the power of His victory.  It's in that place where we accept the reality of the world, that we understand perfection is really in how we endeavor to handle what comes to us, in just the endurance that says I will struggle for my faith, with Him.  Our goal is just to abide in Him, as He has taught.  Our goal can't be a problem-free life, because that's not truly reasonable.  It is rather to remember the one thing most needed, to endure, to learn from Him, and to overcome in that place.  This is the win, the victory.  Therein is our joy, our peace, our simple perfection.  His resurrection is not only for the next life, but is right here and now with us through all things.