Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation

And they went into a house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house.

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

- Mark 3:19b-35

Yesterday we read that, after the Pharisees began plotting with the Herodians to destroy Him (see Saturday's reading),  Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, and a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.  And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 

And they went into a house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."   It may seem strange to us, but the Gospels show conflict between family and the religious life, particularly the work of the Spirit or holiness in the world (see also, for example, John 7:1-9).  Here, St. Jerome comments that even Christ's family seek to put a stop to His public ministry, which at this point has become overwhelming in its popularity, by claiming He has a weak mind.  Perhaps the sheer volume of people crowding into this home to see Him render His ministry "unseemly" or too conspicuous in their eyes; more likely, in the context of this explosive public attention, they are also responding to the new threats against Him from both the religious and state authorities.  But conflict and hostility do not deter Christ from pressing forward with His mission.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house."  Beelzebub, or Baal, was a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  The name Beelzebub is one given to Baal by the Jews, a disparaging epithet which means the prince of the "dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here the scribes call him the ruler of the demons.  But Jesus responds to their charge with a rational question, "How can Satan cast out Satan?"   He makes it clear through the example of plundering a strong man's house that He is, in effect, the One who has come to bind Satan in opposition to his kingdom, and to liberate the world, his plunder.  My study bible says that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees and scribes in their opposition to Jesus.

 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Here Jesus takes His argument further, in a warning to these men of the leadership themselves.  To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to blaspheme against the divine activity of the Spirit, my study bible explains.  It is blasphemy against pure goodness.  The scribes to whom He speaks are the experts in the Old Testament Scriptures, and because of this they are fully aware of what the work of the Spirit in the world is.  My study bible says in this context that therefore their blasphemy against the Spirit -- in effect, calling the purely good "evil" -- comes from a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.   A hardness of heart which refuses repentance remains, in effect of such a state, without forgiveness.

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."    Once more the interaction of Christ's family with His ministry illustrates the conflict between the social structures of the world and the holy.    My study bible comments that Jesus' relatives haven't yet understood His identity and mission.   Considering what we read earlier about their concern for Him, this is perhaps another time they try to speak with Him about His ministry.  Jesus remains firm in His mission,  pointing to a spiritual family,  based on obedience to the will of God.  There need be no real conflict here, and in the case of His mother, we know already of her love and obedience to God (Luke 1:38).

It's interesting to consider the images that Mark's Gospel gives us of the repeated attempts at intervention by Christ's family.  They may simply be trying to protect Him from the attention of both the state and religious authorities.  Perhaps they themselves are suffering from undesirable public scrutiny in their own lives in the wake of the effects of His ministry and the public response.  Whatever the reason, we are given to observe how deeply conflicts may play a role in the lives of the faithful.  The impact of the holy is one that shakes up the world.  The powers that be -- that of the "strong man" or "prince of this world" -- are shaken through holiness, the work of the Spirit in the world.  The nature of Christ's kingdom is clearly illustrated in the example He provides to the scribes as that which is in opposition to Satan.  The illustration teaches us, also, that this is not a peaceful opposition but a violent one, one designed to thoroughly shake up the hold that evil has on the world and to "bind up" its power.  As such, it shouldn't be so surprising that Christ's ministry shakes up His own world on so many levels:  from the religious leadership to the state power, to even those members of His own family.  In that light, it is interesting and important to consider Jesus' words about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  He tells us,  "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation."  Let us note that He compares other sins and blasphemies to this one significant act of blasphemy of the Spirit.  It's an acknowledgement that sin goes on all the time; it is simply part and parcel of our world.  But blasphemy against the Spirit falls in a particular category.  St. Gregory Nazianzinus comments on this passage that the Holy Spirit is God himself enabling our faith, and moreover, that God the Spirit is not only the one whom we worship but the one by whom we worship.  It is the Spirit, in other words, by whom we have faith in the first place.  What Jesus declares, then, about relatedness and relationships is that there is one overarching branch above all other things that gives us right-relatedness, and that is our love of God, our desire to be obedient to God.  This passes through all other things, and surpasses all other relationships in terms of the power and authority to create "family" -- the ones whom Christ calls His "brother and sister and mother."  It is ultimately God the Father who determines true relatedness in this picture, what the "family" is.  As it is God the Holy Spirit who is at work in the world, it is the work of the Spirit that reveals and inspires; in a sense it is God the Holy Spirit who declares what is real and what is truth.  Hence, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit becomes the one "unforgivable" thing.  This is not to say that we cannot be forgiven for this sin, but that this sin above all is a denial of life and truth.  As such, should we remain in such a state in which we call good "evil," we will remain outside of the reality of God's love and the basis for true relationship to all things.  What we should note is that the invitation to this family is open to all people; there are no barriers to faith, to the true desire to love God.  Indeed, in the eyes of the Gospel, this is our true natural state as creatures of God. And there we come to the notion of Satan the "strong man" who must be bound by Christ, as it is this influence, ultimately, which aims to keep us from true right-relatedness.  Christ lays out the pattern, the strength of faith, and it is the Holy Spirit at work in us and at work in the world who helps to us get there.  Let us take rest in that faith, so that we may truly see the reality of what is.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, and a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 

- Mark 3:7-19a

On Saturday we read that it happened that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, and a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.   As we read in Saturday's reading (above), by this time the Pharisees and Herodians (the followers of Herod Antipas, "king" or tetrarch of Galilee) are plotting against Jesus, to destroy Him.  My study bible says that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (although it is not time for Him to die), and also to preach in other places.  As we read, many from Galilee followed Him, but now His fame is spreading so that not only are people coming from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and also from beyond the Jordan River to the east, but also from far northern "Gentile" territories of mixed populations, from Tyre and Sidon.  (See this map for locations.)  All of these are the territories that make up the home of the Jewish populations that remained at Christ's time in and around historical Israel.  The emphasis is on how great the multitude is, and also how assiduously they seek Christ, as He now directs His disciples to keep a small boat ready so that He can leave if He needs to avoid being crushed by the crowd.  We're told that this is because those who have afflictions seek Him for healing, desiring even to touch Him.  But also there remains the phenomenon of the unclean spirits who know who He is.  We read into the text on these occasions the surprise of the spirits that He is among them and in this world, but also Jesus' admonition -- His command reflecting His true authority -- that they should not make Him known.  His ministry must unfold in a particularly way and in a particular time.  These facts we would do well to appreciate in our own lives and in accordance with our own faith.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  The experiences described as up on a mountain are that hint at the heavenly mingled with the worldly, times of spiritual revelation.  Here at this time the twelve are appointed from among His disciples.  Christ invests them with authority and power.  They will now also become apostles whom He might send out to preach (apostle in the Greek means one who is "sent out" on a mission), and He also shares with them the power to heal sicknesses and cat out demons.  In all listings of the Twelve, we note that Judas is always mentioned as the one who betrayed Him.

Christ's ministry has reached a kind of tipping point; He is ready now, with the swelling ranks of people who seem driven to see Him and even to touch Him, to appoint the Twelve -- those disciples who also become apostles.  My study bible notes that frequently the words "disciples" and "apostles" are used interchangeably for these twelve men.   In the Greek, disciple means literally "learner" and apostle means "one sent out."  In this sense, we are all disciples of Christ, and our learning is a lifelong journey of following Him, His way.  As we live our lives in accordance with our faith, we are also, in one sense or another, "sent out" to live as faithful in a world frequently hostile to His teachings.  In today's reading, up on a mountain, Christ shares His power with these men.  It is, my study bible points out, His own power which He shares with particular people in particular ways.  To my mind, this is a kind of investment by Creator in creature.  The early Church will come to know special charisms, or gifts of the Spirit, which St. Paul writes about.  In Galatians 5, St. Paul lists "fruits of the Spirit" which are the result of a life lived in faith, products of the synergy between the divine and human in this new covenant given by Christ (see Galatians 5:22-23).  Christ, in a revelation of this new covenant, shares His divine power and authority with human beings.  We don't know why and how, but through the lives of the saints of the Church over two millennia we are given what it means that particular people show forth the gifts and fruits of this divine/human synergy -- embodied through the Incarnation itself -- in their own lives.  As I have often written in commentary, there really is no such thing as a cookie-cutter saint.  Each becomes his or her own dynamic personal  story, a life of devotion to God unfolded in particular ways, reflecting our origin as unique creatures of an infinite and infinitely creative God, and also the particular ways in which grace works in the world through each of us.  The saints are not stories told in holy places and ancient literature simply for our interest.  They are rather examples, models given to us of what God's work in our own lives might take on.  For this very reason, saint's lives often look to us strange or peculiar in light of modern society -- and even, we must come to recognize -- the particular mores of their own time and place.  In the Orthodox tradition, for instance, there exist a type of saint called "Fools for Christ," whose own deliberately chosen actions or lifestyles resemble forms of mental illness, chosen to reflect that which is outside of the society and frequently manifest in times when strict social hierarchy and structure were harshly enforced.  It is simply one way in which grace pours into worldly life when it would seem to be impossible, a perfect image of the work of the Spirit in the world.  This act of Christ taking these men to the mountaintop, and investing His own power in them for ministry, healing, and the casting out of demons is the perfect image to capture the work of God overcoming the "prince of this world," and what a truly revolutionary or radical ministry is always at work.  From the roots up, the purely materialistic structures of this world are shaken.   These powers Christ comes to displace in our world are still at work, but they always take on new form, ready to call the reality of the divine illusory.  But the Spirit is infinitely creative, and the lives of the saints reflect how the work of the divine will always find a way to make Christ's ministry felt and known, even by the fruits which St. Paul lists.  St. Paul also speaks of the "peace that passes understanding" (Philippians 4:7), even as Christ promises the Twelve in John's Gospel that He gives them of both His joy and peace, but that He gives "not as the world gives" (John 14:27).  We should understand that these forces are still very much at work in the world, and they work through us in ways hidden to those who cannot understand them, even in the surprising depths of our own hearts -- even as Christ taught us to pray and do good works in secret, so that our "Father who sees in secret" may also reward us openly (Matthew 6:1-20).  That is, in ways those without spiritual perception will still fail to understand, but which appear openly in the world.  It would do us good to consider the ways in which our modern lives hide the gifts of the Spirit, and a fully material understanding of what is "good" or worthwhile also seeks to blind us to this synergy of God at work through us and in the world (i.e., do our prayers make a difference?)   Our faith may depend upon this very thing, and our understanding of our love of God and how it works in us and through us as well.  Our focus is not on what the whole world seems to think; rather, our faith must work through our experience of it, and the journey of its deepening and unfolding.

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

 Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

- Mark 2:23-3:6

Yesterday we read that Jesus went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.   And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."   The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

 Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  In yesterday's reading (above), Jesus spoke of the "new wine" for which it was necessary to have "new wineskins," indicating the new covenant and His physician's action of redemption in the forgiveness of sins and healing.  Here Jesus refers back to David his ancestor, who ate of the showbread when he and his men were in need.  Moreover, Christ declares that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, further enforcing His own role as physician and healer.  Moreover He links this doctrine to His divinity and His identity as Christ, when He declares that the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.  The Pharisees had built up certain traditions around the Mosaic Law.  In accordance with those traditions, healing was considered work and therefore not permissible on the Sabbath.  There were exceptions to this, however, which included the effort to save life, even that of an animal in need (see Luke 13:15).  But Jesus has already had His conflicts with the religious authorities, who have questioned His authority to forgive sins (see this reading), and also His association with tax collectors and other known sinners (see yesterday's reading, above).   Jesus defies their hard-heartedness in performing a healing which is not strictly interpreted as saving a life, but restores a man's hand.  Ironically, as is so often the case in the Gospels, by doing so He is at least figuratively (and most likely literally) restoring this man's full capacity to work. 

Jesus asks the question, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  In certain ways, Jesus is extending our understanding of what life is all about and what it means to save a life or to kill.  Moreover, in the phrasing of His question He links either choice with doing good or doing evil.  In the restoration of this man's hand, we can see full capacity restored to this man, most certainly his own capacity for work, especially in the economic context of the time period.  This is a subtle detail to notice, but it appears elsewhere in the first healing of the Gospel, that of Peter's mother-in-law (see this reading).  There, her fever is rebuked, and she immediately resumes her place in the household, that of serving Christ and His followers, a position considered to be one of honor.  Her capacity for her own work, her place in life, is restored to her.  Emphasis on believers as those whose capabilities may be fulfilled through "good work" is further expressed in Jesus' Parable of the Talents, and also His admonition to think of ourselves as those who serve by fulfilling Christ's commands as duty (Luke 17:10).  These restorations of capacity for one's work and the fullness of fruitfulness in life are not-so-subtle hints of what Jesus is all about, and what His Incarnation means for human beings.  St. Athanasius (whose memory was commemorated yesterday), prominent in the history of the Church, is known for defending the doctrine of Christ's full divinity and full humanity.  He wrote, "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."   What this means is that the Incarnation serves as transfiguring power for all of us, so that we as human beings could be restored to the fullness of communion with Creator -- and thereby all of our capacities for God-likeness, including creativity and spiritual fruit-bearing.  In this sense, to restore people to places of productivity and fullness of capacity is an act of Creator restoring creature to the image and likeness in which we are created.  However, the most important factor in this restoration is not Christ's power and authority, but rather the very nature of that power and authority, which is love.  The real conflict here is not so much between notions of authority and power, as it is between the hard-heartedness in the legalism of the Pharisees, and Jesus' grief at their lack of compassion.  This conveys to us a true and deeper notion of what it is to be "God-like," for this is the character and even essence of God (1 John 4:7-21).  Indeed, if we understand these events reported in the reading as we ought to, everything depends upon our own response to this compassionate love and our capacity for mirroring its likeness in our own lives.  In this reading is the one place where we are told that Jesus responded with anger or wrath; it is the word used also in the New Testament when referring to God's judgment.  Here is the place where Jesus leaves us with the open question of our own response to God's love, and what we do with the capabilities with which we've been endowed.

But new wine must be put into new wineskins

 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 

And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." 

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

- Mark 2:13-22

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

Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.   Levi is also known to us as Matthew (Matthew 9:9).  He is a tax collector.  That is, he collects taxes for the Romans.  My study bible explains that Roman overlords assigned specific areas to Jewish tax collectors, who were free to collect extra revenues for their own profit.  In other words, with the backing of Roman force, they also extorted money from their own people.  My study bible adds that their collaboration with the occupying Romans, their fraud, and their corruption caused other Jews to hate them and consider them unclean.  For the Jews, Jesus calling a tax collector as a disciple and also dining at his home with many other tax collectors and sinners is scandalous.  But it reinforces the nature of Christ's ministry in His capacities both as Redeemer and forgiver of sins.

And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."    Jesus couches His ministry in the perfect language to characterize what He does:  He is a physician who goes where the need for Him is greatest.  His ministry is about redeeming, transforming, in both the forgiveness of sins and the practice of repentance ("change of mind") among those who follow Him.  He offers transcendence and healing of our lives.  As in the story of the paralytic in yesterday's reading, above, those like the tax collectors are not "stuck" in their sins, but He offers a way forward to righteousness.

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."    Here Jesus gives a deeper revelation of the difference of His new ministry in the world.  He is the Bridegroom.  This bridegroom is the One whose bride is the heavenly Jerusalem, the people of God.   Incarnate as Jesus Christ, He is both human and divine, and so for the time being, He is with them. 

"No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."  Here is a statement affirming the great difference that the Incarnation of Christ makes to the world.  It is an affirmation of the healing nature of Christ as Physician, as well as His authority to forgive sins, and the power of repentance in His ministry.  In some sense it is also an allusion to Christian baptism, which is a form of death and rebirth. 

Why and how is Christ's ministry so different?  How is He introducing something brand new into the world?  There is first of all the power to forgive sins, disputed by the religious authorities in yesterday's reading (above).  Illustrated by the calling of Levi/Matthew the tax collector, Christ's ministry is not only one in which sins may be forgiven, but one which is transforming, offering a type of new birth.  Repentance (literally "change of mind" in the Greek) becomes a constant form of rebirth, illustrated by Christ in His repeated teaching that we must take up our crosses day by day in order to follow Him (Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27).  In using the term "new wineskins" Jesus gives us an affirmation of the completely new nature of this ministry, this new covenant that has come into the world.  He is not just another teacher, neither is He a prophet.  His is not merely a philosophical movement, a set of principles, an intellectual design for a new method of finding God.  He brings holy power with Him, an authority to forgive sins, and very real spiritual help of grace for transformation, redemption, and the renewal of life.  This is the essence of what it means for Him to be seen as our Physician, why He "did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."   The illustration of the new wineskins tells us all about this shocking and scandalous ministry.  It doesn't look like what is already known, it tells us something new.  And this is also the very nature of the Christ Himself; His work will always reflect the role of Creator, the One who is always making all things new.  As such, we must remember His words as affirming our own need to take up our personal crosses day by day, to live within this prayerful relationship that will ask us to change in some sense, for constant renewal day by day.  To be a follower of Christ is to be this new wine, for which new wineskins must be provided to contain it.  We are always in the process of change through a kind of internal enzymatic action, and this is the work of grace within us and among us.  The story of disciples like Levi/Matthew and the rest of them is a whole history of lifelong transformation and growth, as shaped by the Spirit and the ongoing ministry of Christ.   Can we truly follow that call in our own lives? 

I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house

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

- Mark 2:1-12

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

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"  So far in Mark's Gospel, throughout chapter 1, we have observed Jesus as Liberator, the One who lifts the oppression both of demons and human suffering.  Here, that effect of liberation takes on another of its spiritual aspects.  My study bible comments that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins.  This is a freeing of humanity from another sort of bondage.  To forgive sins, it notes, is an even greater power than physical healing.  As the scribes note correctly, God alone can forgive sins.  Therefore, the easier task is to grant physical healing.  Moreover, even though Christ is fully God, and He holds the authority to forgive, here He condescends to those gathered and heals this man in order to draw people to God, whom they glorified.

In the tradition of the Church, paralysis has been viewed as a symbolic representation of sin.  When we sin, it is as if we are stuck in a particular place of repetition and lack of growth.   Sin is habitual; there is something that might be a particular weakness, or a place of ignorance in which we function in ways that are limited and damaging -- harmful to ourselves or to others.  In this case, the healing of the paralytic illustrates that no such healing takes place without the presence of faith.  But faith isn't limited to our own efforts alone.  The prayers of others can help to bring healing, illumination, and divine energy in the form of grace to a problem in which we are "stuck."  When we're too paralyzed to help ourselves, the prayers of others may avail to bring to us the energies we need, help for healing whatever it is that has us frozen in our behavior or habit, unable to overcome what it is that binds us in a  particular place.  One bad habit may be anger that overboils too easily, a habit of seeking to find blame elsewhere when we really need to take a look at our own behaviors that are faulty or ill-advised.  The blindness that has us stuck in habitual behavior that causes us problems can be a sort of paralysis, an inability to see further down the line of our own possible changes, an incapacity to grasp just how things might go better if we did our own work of growth.  Faith works not only to connect us with something bigger and greater than ourselves, to take us beyond our own "stuck" places, but also to draw on strengths and wisdom and the grace to overcome habitual behaviors.  It makes us capable of using spiritual "muscles" and "strength" we did otherwise do not know we have.  In today's reading, the friends who help the paralytic not only conceive of bringing him on his bed to Christ, but faith makes such an effort with them and among them to facilitate his healing that they collectively come up with the idea to lower him through the roof -- something so unusual it is reported to us until today in the Gospels.  Faith makes this persistence and creativity, this capacity for thinking outside of our own boxes possible.  Faith connects us to wisdom and intelligence through grace, to energies that supply us with what is necessary when we don't have these resources of ourselves alone.  In this sense, today's reading is a brilliant illustration of the power of faith -- and that collective prayer can do things for us when we can do nothing of ourselves, even when we may find ourselves unable to pray for ourselves.  In turn, it teaches us what our prayers may do for others that they haven't found a way to do for themselves as well.  Faith connects us to the Source of our liberation, our freedom from bondage and slavery to that which keeps us stuck, pinned down, chained to something we'd like to break free of but can't quite do it of ourselves.  We should not underestimate the strength found in prayer, as we come to learn reliance on God and God's grace for what we need.  Even through others, faith connects us to that which is meant for our good, and can lift us up from the beds we've made for ourselves.  This is part of the journey of faith.  Christ offers His command for us to arise; but this is only possible through that which opens us up to those potentials beyond the "stuck" place we remain without Him.

If You are willing, You can make me clean

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

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

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

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

- Mark 1:29-45

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

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  In Luke's Gospel, we're told that Jesus "rebuked the fever" of Peter's mother-in-law (Luke 4:39).  In both this text and Luke's, the effect happens immediately.  In this it resembles the exorcism that has jut taken place in the synagogue, in both the immediate effect and in the rebuke reported by Luke the Physician.  In either case, Christ is the One who has come to relieve us of oppression and suffering.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.   Again, we are told of the link between oppressive suffering and the demonic.  We should note that although medical science was not what it is today, in the ancient world in which the Gospels are set, all diseases were not attributed to direct demonic causes.  However, pain and suffering are seen in general as effects of a world given to sin, and under the influence of that which is opposed to God.  As Son of God, Christ brings into the world the living love of God.  My study bible notes here that He does not allow the demons to speak and to publicly identify Him as such.  This is foretold by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  It lists a number of reasons for secrecy, including the growing hostility of the Jewish leadership; the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and our Lord's desire to evoke a genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  Jesus' forbidding the demons to speak also teaches us once more about the power of humility; all things are in the hands of God to unfold and reveal in the proper time (Mark 1:15).

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  My study bible remarks that Jesus sets forth for us an example of spiritual life.  He is God incarnate, and yet He prayed constantly.  We're frequently told that He finds a solitary place so that He is freed from distraction, despite the growing crowds of people who need Him.  My study bible comments that Our Lord's ministry comes forth from His communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and from there flows to people in their needs.  This is an example for us all regarding how we are to live our lives.  Jesus' praying in the morning teaches us to put into place as our first priority in life our commitment to God, and this in turn equips us to serve others (see Mark 12:28-31).

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

The commentary in my study bible states, "To the clean, nothing is unclean."  We find this also somewhat inversely noted in Romans 14:14 by St. Paul, who writes, "I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean."  To the most holy One ever living in our world, nothing is unclean of itself.  The essential and important orientation here is that nothing that is created by God is unclean or evil in and of itself.  We may be burdened with oppressive cares, diseases and illnesses, struggles with all kinds of forces and difficulties, but none of these things make a person evil or unclean in themselves, as a creation of God.  This orientation is fully upheld in the Gospel, and particularly in the passages of today's reading, in which Jesus comes into the world as Healer and Deliverer.  Part of His role as Redeemer is to liberate us from these oppressive things which are considered unclean, teaching by His touch, as St. Paul writes, that nothing is unclean of itself.  In this context we note the link between "the evil one" (as the words in the Lord's prayer literally mean in the Greek; see Matthew 6:13) and those things which afflict mankind with suffering and oppression.  This "spiritual battle" in which Jesus comes as Liberator has to do with that which causes harm and destruction to human beings, and whose effects are deadly.  When we are in thrall to a false ideal we also suffer oppression and destructive effects.  When we labor under lies we do the same.  A disease such as anorexia afflicts individuals with a focus like a harsh taskmaster, as a fixed way of thinking that insists it is for the victim's good, but is ultimately destructive and even deadly.  According to statistics, anorexia is the most lethal of all psychiatric disorders (see this article).  In its harsh rules and regulations, an individual is "unclean" for having eaten.  It is an example of living under a lie, and the "evil one" has also been called by Christ the father of lies (John 8:44).  Christian fasting is not a practice in which foods are good and bad, but rather one in which we are encouraged to rely more deeply on a loving God, learning that we are fully capable of making free choices and that we are not simply slaves to desire -- the opposite of the oppression of an eating disorder.  By tradition with such practices, over-severity is recognized as the product of false piety, a form of pride or self-centeredness which is ultimately personally destructive.  In the Orthodox tradition, excessive or morbid guilt falls into the same category.  (As one dear friend, a priest I've known for years, puts it, "We have tools, not rules.")  Christ comes into the world in today's reading as Healer and Liberator, the One who is strong enough to fight what oppresses us and afflicts the world.  Illness and the demonic are bound up with the opposing and freeing force of God's love at work in the world.  And in this love is the message that nothing is unclean of itself, that all that is created by God is essentially good.  We are given to understand that we have choices.  We are offered a basic choice regarding that into which we will put our faith, and into whom we put our trust.  Here is the true spiritual message of Jesus beginning His day with prayer:  we first turn to our faith in and love for God, and from there we are taught right-relatedness to all of God's creation, including how we must think of ourselves as human beings.  Mark's Gospel has only just begun.  We are still in chapter 1, and yet it leads with this message of the "good news" of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  We are loved by the One who knows us as no other can know us, but we must find that love and return it in our own hearts to find His way for us, and the freedom we so desperately need for ourselves.

I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!

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

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

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

- Mark 1:14-28

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

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."   My study bible remarks that Mark's emphasis on John the Baptist being put in prison before Jesus begins preaching the gospel reveals that a key purpose of the old covenant -- that of preparing the people for Christ -- had been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).  After Christ came, the time of preparation was fulfilled.  What does it mean to repent precisely?  The word in Greek literally means "change of mind."  It is to do an "about-face" in the words of my study bible.  It notes that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart.  That is, a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ.  And this choice for repentance -- reorientation to Christ, and reconsideration of our ways of thinking -- is simply an ongoing process throughout our lives.  It is a lifelong journey on Christ's "Way," one of patience, humility, and especially of grace.

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.   As we noted in yesterday's reading, these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  (See also John 1:35-51.)  My study bible says that although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."   Here we are given one immediate effect of the gospel and the coming of Christ.  We are exposed to a battle taking place behind the scenes.  Jesus has clearly come to disrupt a particular order of things, and there are those in this "hidden" world who do recognize Him but want nothing to do with Him and fear Him.

And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.  My study bible comments that the word immediately occurs almost forty times in Mark's Gospel.  Nearly all of these references occur before the Lord's entrance into Jerusalem.  It says that the sense of urgency and purpose as Christ journeys toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps make Mark's account not simply the shortest, but also the most direct of all four Gospels.

What is spiritual battle?  In yesterday's reading, we read that immediately after Christ's baptism by John the Baptist, at which He was revealed as beloved Son of God, the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan (see above).  This time of temptation is reported in more detail by Matthew and Luke.  But this very struggle against spiritual temptation is itself spiritual battle.  It is a battle not like anything we know on worldly terms, but rather a battle for hearts and minds.  It's a battle that runs at the center of ourselves, with battle lines drawn in the heart.  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn writes (in The Gulag Archipelago), "If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"   Spiritual struggle, or battle, is all about faith.  It is all about this call of Christ to repentance, to an ongoing understanding of what it means to turn to Christ in love and to accept a correction, to find a better way, His way.  What we learn from the Gospels is humility and grace, and turning to Christ is what spiritual struggle is all about.  Like Solzhenitsyn writes, it is all about a kind of dividing line of the heart.  Solzhenitsyn asks, "Who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"  But this question is answered firmly by Christ Himself, when He teaches that we must cast out an "eye or hand or foot" that causes offense.  (See Matthew 19:8-9, in which this statement is made in teaching the apostles how to care for the littlest ones they are responsible for with humility.)  In this image of casting off seemingly essential pieces of ourselves, Christ teaches that ways of thinking and being that we need to cast off can seem like pieces of our own heart we must give up.   Christ's struggle with temptation in the wilderness gives us the keys to our own battles:  a constant returning to our relationship of love with God, the humility before God this asks of us, and the willingness to reconsider the things the world offers us in that light, even things we may hold as good and precious that are not really so.  Therefore, the ongoing process of repentance or "change of mind" is in itself the very spiritual battle we need be concerned with.  The casting out of the demon in today's reading is perhaps an extreme example of what may be possible in such a battle; but it is Christ who is the "stronger man," and our faith in Him is the true strength upon which we rely.  His "way" is our guide.  The great weapon is humility.  St. Paul writes about this spiritual battle when he teaches us to "put on the whole armor of God" (see Ephesians 6:10-20).  Among other elements of that armor, St. Paul writes that we should "pray always."  These are the battle lines that go through our hearts and minds, our protection and strength is in the faith that teaches us reliance upon Christ and the grace of the Spirit.  Let us consider, in all the wide world that calls us in clamor and conflict, where our true heart is and what we need in that center of ourselves and our lives.