I am willing; be cleansed

 

 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, who yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

 

- Matthew 7:28-8:4 

 

In our recent readings, we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday we read Christ's final words in the Sermon: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'  Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."   

 

  And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  These sayings refers to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7), which Jesus has just completed, and which we have gone through in our recent readings (starting with the Beatitudes, in this reading).  Let us note a repeated theme in the Gospels, that the people are astonished at His teaching, because He teaches as one having authority.  This differs from the scribes who would speak by citing famous rabbis; but Christ (as representing His identity as Lord) speaks from His own authority.

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, who yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  Here is Christ's first encounter following the Sermon on the Mount.  Let us note how it is concerned with the Law.  My study Bible points out that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13; 14.  Deuteronomy 24:8 describes the purification of lepers and leprous houses.  This was a duty which was entrusted to the priests.  My study Bible adds that leprosy was considered to be a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they weren't allowed to live in the community, or to worship in synagogues or the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden in the Law (Leviticus 7:21), but Jesus touched the leper.  This shows His compassion, and also that He is not subject to the Law but over it -- another indication that He is Lord, the Lawgiver.  To the clean, my stud Bible notes, nothing is unclean (see also Romans 14:14). 

Immediately after giving the Sermon on the Mount, Christ's "sayings" as He has called them in yesterday's reading (above), Jesus immediately expresses the authority which so astonishes the people.  In being asked to be healed by the leper, we're given many elements in today's reading that tell us about Jesus, and they tell us about God.  First of all, Jesus identity as Lord and Lawgiver is expressed in His response.  That He can touch the leper, although touching those considered unclean was forbidden in the Law, expresses that He is the Giver of the Law, He has that authority witnessed by His hearers in the Sermon on the Mount.  But Christ's violation of the Law -- or perhaps the new Law expressed by His touch -- does not come from a stern declaration or a powerful command.  It comes purely from compassion, and it is in the aim of healing.  Of course the Law given to Moses was made with the same aim, for community and for healing in God's perspective of what that means, and through compassion -- and all of this has to do with salvation in God's sight.  So this is one example of how Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, as He declared in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17).  What we observe is that through the way He lives, Christ will make His identity known.  So that we understand truly that He is the fulfillment of the Law (and not its destroyer), Jesus gives the command to follow the Law: 
"See that you tell no one; but go your way, who yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  In John's Gospel, Jesus tells Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), and today's reading is just one example showing us that is true.  Salvation comes to the leper, one in the unclean state associated with sin in the Old Testament.  Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, the fullness of God's salvation plan for us and for the life of the world.  His authority to do so is contained in a simple statement, "I am willing; be cleansed."

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock

 

 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'  Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall." 

 

- Matthew 7:22–27 

 

Recent readings of the past few days prepared us for the Feast of the Ascension, which in the Western Churches (and the Armenian Apostolic) was celebrated yesterday.  Please see yesterday's reading for the reading and commentary for the Feast of the Ascension:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.   Prior to the preparation for the Feast of the Ascension, the lectionary had taken us through the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 - 7 of St. Matthew's Gospel).  In our previous reading in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached:  "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.  Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

 

 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'  Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  Here Jesus is speaking of Himself as Lord, a reference to the divine name "Yahweh" (YHWH) of the Old Testament, and therefore as judge.  His sayings are those which give to us "the will of My Father in heaven" (see the previous reading from the Sermon on the Mount, above), and therefore whoever hears and does not do is among those who practice lawlessness.  My study Bible comments that hearing the gospel alone is not enough, for salvation is based not on hearing alone, nor on faith alone -- but rather faithful living.  That is, also on doing the things spoken by Christ, His "sayings" which are given so fully in the Sermon on the Mount, concluded here (see James 2:24). 

 

Jesus teaches, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."  Since this statement (as well as the inverse statement that to fail to found one's house on the rock is to invite disaster) is couched in clear terms of judgment, we can presume that Christ is speaking in an eschatological sense.  That is, He refers to the final state of a person.  The addition to the example of one who fails to build the house on the rock, "And great was its fall," certifies this understanding.  It is equivalent to Jesus' warning (found twice in the Gospel of St Matthew), "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him" (Matthew 13:12; 25:29).  But at the same time, Jesus gives us the metaphor of this foundation, the rock, which we find in so many places.  Simon will be given the name of Rock, or Stone (Petros in Greek; rendered to Peter in English), and it is a reference to faith after His confession that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:13-20, esp. verse 16).  In St. Luke's Gospel, when the religious leaders try to silence those who shout for joy at Jesus' approach to Jerusalem as Messiah, Jesus replies to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (see Luke 19:37-40).  St. Peter himself writes that we the faithful are the "living stones" who build up the Church (1 Peter 2:4-6) upon the chief cornerstone, who is Christ Himself (Matthew 21:42).  Therefore we can understand through this metaphor of "the rock" that Christ's focus on judgment and our ultimate state leaves nothing out of how we live our lives in the present day and present moment.  The final state is simply a culmination of a journey that begins long before. To build on the rock is to live one's life faithful to His sayings, taking every day for the precious time it is, this life that we are given.  We build on the rock not simply so we don't lose or fall greatly in the end, but so that our very lives are on a secure foundation that can withstand the floods and winds that seem to shake us from our sense of security, our understanding of who we are and what we need to do in life.  The greatest security we have, in fact, is this rock of faith that teaches us what to do in difficult times of stress and tension and testing, and do so much to help us get through them intact.  Christ's sayings, and our growth in discipleship, affirm, support, and grow our own sense of ourselves.  This kind of confidence can see us through many storms and turmoil in life, even times that seem greatly threatening to our well-being. This is because it is a confidence that comes from faith in God and with God's help, and is not merely of ourselves alone.  Moreover within our communities of "living stones" we receive the kind of support for life that can be so very needed.  This house we build is a lifetime plan of work, embellishment, care -- but Christ clearly tells us that its foundation is all-important, for He is the chief cornerstone.

 

 

I am with you always, even to the end of the age

 

 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

 

- Matthew 28:16–20 

 

Our recent readings have given us preparation for the Feast of the Ascension, celebrated today in Western Churches (and the Armenian Apostolic Church).  For the Eastern Orthodox, the Feast of the Ascension will take place on June 13.  Tomorrow our readings will continue from the final verses of the Sermon on the Mount.  On Tuesday, we were given Christ's explanation to the disciples of the parable of the Sower:  "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receive it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

 

  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  Here, Christ declares that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature, my study Bible explains.  This is essential for us to understand as this remains with Him in His Ascension.  My study Bible adds that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy, which is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .."  This is known as the Great Commission.  It is Christ's final commandment given on earth.  My study Bible tells us that it is to be lived out in the Church until He returns again.  To make disciples, it says, cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  Moreover, the power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

" . . . teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study Bible notes that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always, both personally and in the Holy Spirit -- as neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age is not meant to imply we'll be separated from Christ at that time.  In effect, He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

 

 My study Bible tells us two very important things to consider and to keep in mind, both as one celebrates Christ's Ascension in Eastern or Western Churches, but also every day for the Christian believer.  First, it notes that the power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  The second important thing has two parts:  one, that the Church makes disciples not in our own power as human beings, but in the power of God; and two, that Christ is always with us; that is, present in us as human beings, both personally and in the Holy Spirit.  In this sense, we need to remember that where there is one Person of the Trinity, all are present:  Father, Son, and Spirit.  These may seem like quite heady things to ponder, and open up many questions.  But effectively, we are taught about the extraordinary love and care of Christ (and the Father and the Holy Spirit) for us as human beings.  We need to accept, first of all, that it is Christ's glorified human nature that also rises with the divinity of Christ.  In this, it is humbling to recall His statement to the disciples:  "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" (John 14:2).  His "preparing a place" would seem to indicate not just making room for us as if we're staying in a new place to live, but that He has made it so that the very nature of human beings can dwell with Him, an ontological reality in which "making room" for us is giving us the ability to dwell with God.  This is a cosmic reality, made possible through Christ's own voluntary sacrifice on the Cross, giving His Body and Blood for us so that this becomes possible.  Moreover, we don't have to wait for the judgment of the world, the end of the age, for it to be true that Christ, in fact, dwells in us and with us at the present moment, for He is with us, as He has declared.  We call upon Him, we call upon the Helper, the Holy Spirit, so that we have His light to help guide us through our lives.  And in this sense we are on a path, a journey to that place He goes.  This is the path of discipleship, which He has offered to all of us, and is timeless and without limitation.  We have only to turn to Him and seek His way, receive Him, and practice the repentance He calls us to -- the ways in which our minds, hearts, and lives change in discipleship.  Christ has "paid it forward" for us on the Cross -- not in terms of a debt we owe before we owe it, but in terms of His cosmic love which fills a universe, makes room for us, and awaits us when we are ready to receive and turn to Him.  All of His preaching teaches us about "paying love forward" -- His commands are in the positive.  He teaches us to "ask," "seek," and "knock" in Matthew 7:7.  He teaches us that we become neighbors by being a neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.  In Matthew 11:12, He teaches, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" -- a vivid image given to us in which we can understand the energy and initiative He asks for and seeks in disciples.  In Tuesday's reading, Jesus replied to the disciples' question about why He is teaching in parables with a quotation from Isaiah indicating our own need to be responsible for our "hearing" and "seeing."  He invites us to take the initiative to receive Him and what He has for us, to "work the works of God" (John 6:27-29) - to believe in Him whom God sent, to be faithful.  It is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who, through the Son,  pay forward divine love and care.  That includes all the promise of the life and resurrection He offers both in the present and in the eternal sense -- so that all we need to do is take the initiative to receive, and to follow in discipleship, to meet His love with the love He awaits from us.  Jesus teaches, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  Before we were born, this gift of love and life was given to us, a promise -- so that when we decide to be a friend, His love always awaits us. 

 

Therefore hear the parable of the sower

 

 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receive it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

 

- Matthew 13:18–23 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught the parable of the Sower:   On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed,lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.' But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." 

 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receive it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."   Here Christ explains to the disciples the parable of the Sower.  It is a story about how we receive the word of the kingdom.  A lack of comprehension makes us vulnerable to the wicked one, so that we lose the value of the teachings.  This is an indication of what we observed from Christ's teachings in yesterday's reading, a need to make an effort to grasp the teachings.  Then Christ moves on to the next stage in the possible progress of discipleship:  one who immediately receive the word with joy, but endures only for a while -- when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, he stumbles and falls away.  This teaches us about the depth of the heart that needs to be involved in receiving the word.  Joy is a beautiful thing, but love is a deeper communion that calls us to a more rooted place within ourselves.  The one who received seed among the thorns is illustrative of how we can be distracted: by the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches.   We should recall here Christ's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, in which He taught against worry and anxiety (see this reading).  His example in this parable strikes us as warning against how our lives and life purpose can be carried away by such distractions, we are "choked" by these thorns of preoccupation and cares through an unbalanced focus on outward worldly concerns which leaves no room for the life which Christ offers.  In our present world of great distractions and preoccupations, an intensely materialist popular focus, and endless demands magnified by media of all types, this becomes an extensive concern, and one we must take quite seriously.  As popular forms of media give such a great focus to our own image in the eyes of others, such concerns become ever more magnified.  See St. John's Gospel passage regarding those religious leaders who valued the "praise of men" above the praise of God.  Although they believed in Christ, their fear of ostracism ruled their choices (see John 12:42-43).  In a modern context, we might consider how this is related to fear of "being cancelled."  Note that for Christ the problem is ultimately whether or not we live this life He teaches, and bear spiritual fruit.  Those who are choked by the thorns He describes as becoming unfruitful.  Finally, Jesus teaches, "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."   Note the process here:  we are called to truly hear and to understand -- and in the living of what we hear and understand we bear spiritual fruit.  This is the description of a lifelong process.  That is, not a one time-assent or belief, but of fully living out His word and teachings, seeking to grasp them and understand them, and then living them throughout our lives, with a clear promise of potential for spiritual fruits He as one would describe the multiplied produce of an agricultural crop at harvest:  a hundredfold, or sixty, or thirty.  Jesus does not ask us to compete with one another for that final count, but He does ask us to make the effort, to be a good disciple, as best we are able.  

Why do You speak to them in parables?

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; . . . "

 

- Matthew 13:1-16 

 

In our recent readings, the lectionary has been taking us through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.  Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Today's reading skips forward in St. Matthew's Gospel, to chapter 13, in which Jesus introduces the concept of parables in His preaching.  In the setting of the Gospel, by this time in His ministry Jesus has garnered a wide following, so that great multitudes were gathered together to Him.  He sits, as if in an amphitheater by the sea, in a boat close to the shore, so that the people gather and listen to Him on shore.  The parable given today is the parable of the Sower.  This is a sort of "keystone" parable, the one with which Christ begins.  He introduces parables by introducing this one (and does so also in Mark 4 and Luke 8); it forms a kind of picture of His ministry.  Regarding parables themselves, my study Bible explains that metaphors of sowing and harvesting are common (Psalm 126:5, Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Joel 3:12-14), as these were a part of people's everyday lives.  Here, He reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, who is the sower in the earth, foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible tells us that the mysteries of the kingdom do not refer to simply obscure concepts or various religious truths only given to the elite; and neither is the understanding of the parables a simple intellectual process.  Even the disciples find them hard to understand.  My study Bible notes that while Jesus taught the same message to all, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message. 

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; . . . "  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  My study Bible explains that, according to St. John Chrysostom, Isaiah's prophecy does not mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is, instead, to be understood as a figure of speech common to Scripture, which reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).   He has blinded means that God has permitted a self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  The people did not become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke (as all prophecy works) because he foresaw their blindness.

Today's lectionary reading has skipped forward to chapter 13 because we are being prepared for the Feast of the Ascension, which takes place on Thursday for Churches of the West (and also for the Armenian Apostolic Church).  For the Eastern Orthodox, the date of Easter/Pascha is calculated differently; it was celebrated yesterday, meaning that Christ's Ascension will be celebrated on June 6.  We're being prepared for the Feast of the Ascension with readings that skip forward in the lectionary.  On Friday we'll return where we left off, in the final verses of the Sermon on the Mount.  Today and tomorrow the readings focus on the parable of the Sower.  In the reading that follows this one, we will read Christ's own explanation to the disciples for this parable.  But for today, let us focus on what we're given.  First, in the context of Christ's answer to the disciples, who wonder why He now speaks in parables, Jesus gives an explanation:  "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given"   Now this saying, while speaking of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, is in itself rather mysterious.  We need to look closely at His follow-up, as explanation:  "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   What Jesus is implying here has to do with our discipleship.  How far have they followed Him already?  What have they grasped of His teaching?  Have the disciples begun to understand the ways of the Kingdom, and His ways as they have lived with Him?  What Jesus implies is that those who truly seek a close communion of love with God will receive all the more.  But those who fail to engage their own capacity for understanding will receive none; in fact, without some initiative on the part of the learner, even what he has will be taken away from him.  It is with this teaching in mind that Christ quotes from Isaiah: "Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  We need what Christ has to offer -- which in its entirety is the fullness of the love of God.  But without recognizing our own need, and making an effort to be a good student (a disciple, or "learner") we will make no progress in finding our own healing.  For true fulfillment of our identity as human beings, we need a communion with God, and what Christ has to offer us.  When we engage with our Lord, the mysteries that await are those things that will form and shape us, teach us who we are, give us identity within a family.  Regarding this family, it is important that we know the reading previous to this one in Matthew's Gospel is the one in which Christ declares, "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother" (see Matthew 12:46-50).  Christ's love is always awaiting us, but it is we who must also make a positive effort to receive and take in that love which teaches us what and who we are, and in which we will need to repent and turn away from the things that cannot stand in that love.  This is the work of faith, the ground of the seeds the Sower must sow.

 

Enter by the narrow gate

 

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

 

- Matthew 7:13–21 

 

In our current readings, we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 - 7 of St. Matthew's Gospel).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." 

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."   My study Bible informs us of the "two ways" that was widespread in Judaism (see Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:18-19, 12:28, 15:21; Sirach 15:17) -- and also in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  Luke's version of this teaching (Luke 13:24-30) is more eschatological, as it refers to the end of the age.  My study Bible explains that because we wrestle against sins and human weaknesses as well as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12), entering the Kingdom is the more difficult way.  

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them."  My study Bible notes that because they can easily deceive others, those who put on a show of virtue or religion are more dangerous than those who are evil outright.  So, therefore, we need to be all the more cautious among those who are outwardly virtuous.  In Matthew 3:10, John the Baptist preached the same statement, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

 

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  My study Bible calls this a threefold testimony to the deity of Christ.  First, He calls Himself Lord -- a reference to the divine name "Yahweh" (YHWH) of the Old Testament.  Second, He speaks of the will of My Father, which He fully knows and shares.  Finally, as judge, Christ is revealed as God, as only God can execute true judgment.  In that day is a reference to the final judgment.  

 

 In today's reading, Jesus teaches, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  My study Bible commented that this saying is also found in St. Luke's Gospel (Luke 13:24-30), but it notes that there the saying is placed in an eschatological context.  However, reading through the verses that follow here in the Sermon on the Mount, we see that indeed, Jesus also has hints of "end times" considerations here, and especially of the judgment at the end of the age.  He warns us and teaches us how to discern false prophets.  They're people who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  For the early Church, it seems quite likely that this is a warning against false teachers, which would become an essential concern in the Church -- and remains so.  But Christ teaches us that by their fruits you will know them, so essentially this teaching becomes useful for many circumstances, and even discerning what effect behaviors and doctrines carry over into practice.  He says, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit," again teaching us to use discernment and to be wise, and giving us a hint of the judgment to come.  He says, in an echo of John the Baptist, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  As He does so, this brings in the eschatological element of judgment that is in St. Luke's Gospel.  "Therefore by their fruits you will know them," becomes the warning and teaching to all of us, for all time about who we follow and who we might trust.  Finally, He teaches, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  This not only teaches us more about wolves in sheep's clothing, but about hypocrisy -- a focus in the Sermon on the Mount, and Christ's greatest critique of the Pharisees and scribes to come.  Moreover, He again brings in eschatological elements of judgment.  He reminds us that He's not looking for statements of faith, He doesn't want us to swear to anything to try to prove something.  He's looking for faithful behavior -- those who seek the will of God and live it, who do it.  Let us understand that the focus on eschatology is meant to give us a solemn note to emphasize the importance of the teaching, for it is not in another time -- at the end of time -- when all of this matters, but each day we live this reality is with us.  So let us find the narrow gate, the way that is not easy, because after all, in the end it's all that really matters.  It's the way which leads to life.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

 

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 

- Matthew 7:1–12 

 

In our present readings, we are going through the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." 

 

  "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study Bible comments that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the same things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  That is, we have also failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  It notes that to pass judgment is to assume the authority of God.  The second part of this verse is found also in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38, each in a different context, as Jesus no doubt repeated this message many times.  

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  This is a continuation of Christ's teaching in the previous verse, but with more specifics.  Note how it continues on themes of the "eye" -- and whether or not our eye is "full of light" (Matthew 6:22-23).  Here the plank in one's own eye is that which obstructs true vision.  But Christ is speaking of our own faults and flaws we need to correct, and our "blind eye" toward ourselves.  Moreover, Jesus will recommend mutual correction in the Church.  But how can one become a true  brother and teach others when we have failed to implement our own correction or repentance?

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study Bible says that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but this would also include Jews who do not practice virtue.  According to patristic commentary, "dogs" here is meant to apply to those so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, and "swine" are images of those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, including the teachings of Christ (Matthew 13:46) and the great sacraments.  My study Bible says that these holy things are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant, not to protect the holy things themselves, for Christ needs no protection.  Instead, we protect those who are faithless from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  Let us also note the context of mutual correction which Jesus discusses above:  while humble correction or teaching can be helpful and instructive, it is wasted on those who cannot value it, who may even in fact respond with vicious hostility.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?"  My study Bible explains that the verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives.  That is, they convey the teaching that we should "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  There is a synergy here:  our effort is commanded, but not apart from God's immediate help to us.  My study Bible says that we ask in prayer; seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will.  

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study Bible comments that Jesus calls human beings evil not in order to condemn the whole human race, but rather to contrast the imperfect goodness that is in people (in other words, our goodness is also mingled with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see Matthew 19:16-17).  If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, it notes, all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  This is known as the "Golden Rule," and it fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  As my study Bible importantly notes, it is a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:39-40).  This is, it says, a first step in spiritual growth.  The negative form of the Golden Rule was well known in Judaism ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you").  Christ's form is positive:  this is the action that begins to draw us toward God. 

In chapter 18 of St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus lays out a model for mutual correction in the Church (see Matthew 18:15-17); it's a teaching for what to do with a sinning brother, particularly one who has caused offense.  It's given in the context of Christ's teaching on forgiveness.  When Jesus teaches today that, first, we must not judge, and second we must correct our own flaws before we can helpfully teach others, we see an overarching context of mutual correction or edification, which includes constructive criticism -- and must always be done with love and mercy.  In St. Luke's Gospel, we find the similar teaching of the Golden Rule, "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise" (Luke 6:31).  On that passage, St. Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love" the basic standard of how we're to treat others.  As Christians, the entirety of today's passage conveys, we're meant to be continually growing.  This is, in effect, the purpose of discipleship.  As Jesus teaches us also to "keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking," He's implying also a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and for the things of God.  For these are the mysteries into which discipleship initiates us and continues to take us more deeply.  To understand one's own errors and make correction is to become capable of helping or teaching others along the way.  But without that effort, we simply judge; we are not practicing mercy, love, or the Golden Rule.  For indeed, if we would desire to excel in real discipleship to Christ, then we might understand how to help others who desire the same thing.  But we shouldn't presume to cast those pearls before people who find no value in such discipleship, as Christ warns us here.  So our growth must be seeded with mercy and kindness, our conduct so -- but the righteousness and love Christ teaches is also meant to be discerning.  It is quite similar to His teaching to the apostles upon sending them out on their first mission:  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  Let us keep asking, seeking, and knocking to grow in learning Christ's ways of loving righteousness, and in those "good things" God will give to us.