Gospel for 5 April, 2007

After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; so that, just as you have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me comes from you for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures. But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth. I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them. (John 17:1-26 NJB)

One of the most amazing aspects of the entire story of Jesus' last few hours on earth is that while at table with His friends, He took time out to pray for them and for those who came to faith trusting in their testimony. Have you ever thought of the hypothetical, 'what if you knew you had 24 hours to live?' How many of us listed praying for our friends as a priority; something to be certain to do, in that final 24 hours? Yet here in today's Gospel, Jesus does exactly that. He prays that we may be protected from the Evil One, that we might be consecrated in God's own eternal truth and that we might be united, even as He is united with the Father. His heart must have been breaking, tearing itself apart with every beat, knowing that His own people were rejecting Him and His message of love, peace and reconciliation. Yet even in these last hours His concern, His focus is on those very people who are rejecting Him. The old standard Gospel hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross"speaks of a "a love so divine, so wondrous'. Here is the proof of just that.

Gospel for 4 April, 2007

Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. (John 12:27-36 KJV)

The storm clouds continue to gather. The time is short. Jesus knows full well what the result of His refusal to accept Kingship at the head of an army will mean. He will be lifted up, just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the desert, and by being lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself. His kingdom is not Israel only, but universal, and to claim it, He only has to die.

Gospel for 3 April, 2007

Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, ‘Sir, we should like to see Jesus.' Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied to them: Now the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. In all truth I tell you, unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me, must follow me, and my servant will be with me wherever I am. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him. Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it is for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name! A voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will again glorify it. (John 12:20-28 NJB)

The prophet Zechariah, who foretold that Messiah would come to Jerusalem humbly riding upon a donkey, also proclaimed that Messiah would declare peace to the Gentiles, and that He would rule from sea to sea. (Zech. 9:10) The Greeks coming to see Jesus in the selection from the Gospel for today is presented by St John as yet another proof that what was foretold was foretold about Jesus. His hour is now upon Him and the truth of Who and What Jesus is is about to be revealed for all the world to see and to hear.
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Gospel for 02 March, 2007

Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus. The next day the great crowd of people who had come up for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took branches of palm and went out to receive him, shouting: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.' Jesus found a young donkey and mounted it—as scripture says: Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion; look, your king is approaching, riding on the foal of a donkey. At first his disciples did not understand this, but later, after Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that this had been written about him and that this was what had happened to him. The crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead kept bearing witness to it; this was another reason why the crowd came out to receive him: they had heard that he had given this sign. Then the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see, you are making no progress; look, the whole world has gone after him!' (John 12:9-19 NJB)

The last verse of the Gospel for today sums up the reality of the last week of Jesus' life. The Pharisees are talking amongst themselves and their only concern is that the people have chosen to follow Jesus and they are losing their influence. They must, therefore, not only oppose Jesus, they must ramp up the opposition and turn it more militantly against Him. Their determination to put an end to this Jesus problem is set. There can be no turning back now.

Gospel for 1 April, 2007

Jesus then went into the Temple and drove out all those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove-sellers. He said to them, ‘According to scripture, my house will be called a house of prayer; but you are turning it into a bandits' den.' There were also blind and lame people who came to him in the Temple, and he cured them. At the sight of the wonderful things he did and of the children shouting, ‘Hosanna to the son of David' in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes were indignant and said to him, ‘Do you hear what they are saying?' Jesus answered, ‘Yes. Have you never read this: By the mouths of children, babes in arms, you have made sure of praise?' With that he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

The acclaim that Jesus recieved was never refused. Jesus never denied His right to Kingship over Isreal. All He denied was the use of military force to bring it about. His Kingship was not to be bought with the shed blood of armies. His kingsom was purchased with His own Blood freely sacrificed on the cross.

Gospel for 30 March, 2007

There was a man named Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha, and he was ill. It was the same Mary, the sister of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, ‘Lord, the man you love is ill.' On receiving the message, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory so that through it the Son of God may be glorified.' Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard that he was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judaea.' The disciples said, ‘Rabbi, it is not long since the Jews were trying to stone you; are you going back there again?' Jesus replied: Are there not twelve hours in the day? No one who walks in the daytime stumbles, having the light of this world to see by; anyone who walks around at night stumbles, having no light as a guide. He said that and then added, ‘Our friend Lazarus is at rest; I am going to wake him.' The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he is at rest he will be saved.' Jesus was speaking of the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by ‘rest' he meant ‘sleep'; so Jesus put it plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.' Then Thomas—known as the Twin—said to the other disciples, ‘Let us also go to die with him.' On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask of him.' Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.' Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? ‘Yes, Lord,' she said, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.' (John 11:1-27 NJB)

By the time that today's vignette occurred, the Twelve knew what was coming. They knew that Jesus had antagonized the powers that be once too often. They could read the writing on the wall. Jesus was marked for death and those who were identified with Him were also going to be marked for death. As Jesus had told them before, "the servant is not greater than the master". What was going to happen to Him would also catch up with them. They all knew it and Thomas was brash enough to say it out loud. "Let us also go, to die with Him".

Those of us who live in North America really do not understand what this means. We may cry and pout that we are persecuted because we are Christians, but in truth we have no idea what it really means to be persecuted and hated for the sake of Jesus. We whine because sales clerks say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" and loudly proclaim this is evidence that we are a suffering minority. All this really proves is that we are are so spoiled that we have no sense of proportion. We ignore the brothers and sisters we have who are daily living with starvation or bombs exploding around their ears, and focus on "Happy Holidays" as if that really makes a hill of beans worth of difference in the grand eternal scheme of things.

It is well past the time when we should look at what really transpired during Holy Week and then throughout the first Centuries of Church History and realize how marvelously wonderful we have it. And also realize just how poorly we have performed in our task of proclaiming the Gospel to all men and making disciples of all nations. As Holy Week approaches let us truly fall on our knees with our face to the rising sun and cry out, "O Lord, have mercy."

Gospel for 28 March, 2007

In all truth I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a bandit. He who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out all those that are his, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not recognise the voice of strangers.' Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus spoke to them again: In all truth I tell you, I am the gate of the sheepfold. All who have come before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: such a one will go in and out and will find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; he runs away because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and I must lead these too. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, one shepherd. The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down, so I have power to take it up again; and this is the command I have received from my Father. (John 10:1-18 NJB)

Today's Gospel recounts one of Jesus' most famous sayings. "I am the good shepherd." What does that really mean though? Is it just that sentimental picture of Jesus carrying a lanb on His shoulders? No. It means that He is willing to sacrifice His all for the protection of the sheep. It means that He will even lay down His life to keep the sheep safe and protected. He does it willingly so that might have life and have it abundantly. As we approach Holy Week and are so close to once again re-living the events which have accomplished so great a salvation, we should ask why then do we so often act as if we are paupers merely existing on subsistence rations?

Gospel for 27 March, 2007

However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind without first sending for the parents of the man who had gained his sight and asking them, ‘Is this man really the son of yours who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?' His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but how he can see, we don't know, nor who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.' His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to ban from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, ‘He is old enough; ask him.' So the Jews sent for the man again and said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We are satisfied that this man is a sinner.' The man answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I don't know; all I know is that I was blind and now I can see.' They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?' He replied, ‘I have told you once and you wouldn't listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples yourselves?' At this they hurled abuse at him, ‘It is you who are his disciple, we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where he comes from.' The man replied, ‘That is just what is so amazing! You don't know where he comes from and he has opened my eyes! We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but God does listen to people who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of someone born blind; if this man were not from God, he wouldn't have been able to do anything.' They retorted, ‘Are you trying to teach us, and you a sinner through and through ever since you were born!' And they ejected him. Jesus heard they had ejected him, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of man?' ‘Sir,' the man replied, ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.' Jesus said, ‘You have seen him; he is speaking to you.' The man said, ‘Lord, I believe,' and worshipped him. Jesus said: It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see and those with sight may become blind. Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, ‘So we are blind, are we?' Jesus replied: If you were blind, you would not be guilty, but since you say, ‘We can see,' your guilt remains. (John 9:18-41 NJB)

One of the main themes in St John's Gospel is the continual war between darkness and light. Those who are pure in heart and seek after God live in the light and those whose motives are filled with self-interest and lack honesty are denizens of the darkness. The Jews who are questioning the man born blind and his family have their minds made up and refuse to be confused by any facts that do not match their preconceived ideas of how the world should be. In their duplicity they prove that they do not belong to the light but are truly those who have been blinded by selfishness, greed and envy. They can have no part in God's Kingdom because God's Kingdom is made manifest in self-sacrificial love and an embrace of truth.

Gospel for 26 March, 2007

As he went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should have been born blind?' ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned,' Jesus answered, ‘he was born blind so that the works of God might be revealed in him. ‘As long as day lasts we must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.' Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam' (the name means ‘one who has been sent'). So he went off and washed and came back able to see. His neighbours and the people who used to see him before (for he was a beggar) said, ‘Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?' Some said, ‘Yes, it is the same one.' Others said, ‘No, but he looks just like him.' The man himself said, ‘Yes, I am the one.' So they said to him, ‘Then how is it that your eyes were opened?' He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, “Go off and wash at Siloam”; so I went, and when I washed I gained my sight.' They asked, ‘Where is he?' He answered, ‘I don't know.' They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. It had been a Sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had gained his sight, he said, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.' Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘That man cannot be from God: he does not keep the Sabbath.' Others said, ‘How can a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was division among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?' The man answered, ‘He is a prophet.' (John 9:1-17 NJB)

The story of the man born blind is really the story of each and every one of us. Each of us in born blind, spiritually. Unless and until we have our own encounter with Jesus and are washed clean, bathed, in the waters of baptism, we are unable to see the truth. Afterwards though, enlivened and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we too can see with new eyes and testify that Jesus is not only a Prophet but much more.

Gospel for 25 March, 2007

Then he began to teach them that the Son of man was destined to suffer grievously, and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter tried to rebuke him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God thinks, but as human beings do.' He called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. What gain, then, is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life? And indeed what can anyone offer in exchange for his life? For if anyone in this sinful and adulterous generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.' (Mark 8:31-9:1 NJB)


Today is both the 5th Sunday in Lent and the Great Feast of the Annunciation. The Annunciation is the promise that our Saviour is coming and indeed is already Incarnate among us. Today’s Gospel, and our entire Lenten pilgrimage up to Jerusalem, ending once more at Calvary and the rock-hewn tomb tell us how our salvation, promised in the Annunciation, is to be accomplished. The Incarnation is a necessary ingredient, but it is via the cold, unfeeling truth of betrayal, abandonment, mocking, torture and death of the Son of God, that our salvation, our reconciliation, our restoration are made complete. Jesus, who was born of a woman, born under the Law, had to die under that Law to redeem those who stand condemned under that Law.

One of the paradoxes of the Gospel is that the way of life goes directly through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Jesus came precisely for that reason, to travel that road through the Valley, tp prepare the way for us and so that along with Him we might be made alive once more.

Gospel for 22 March, 2007

Meanwhile the Jews were complaining to each other about him, because he had said, ‘I am the bread that has come down from heaven.' They were saying, ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven?” ' Jesus said in reply to them, ‘Stop complaining to each other. ‘No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God; everyone who has listened to the Father, and learnt from him, comes to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except him who has his being from God: he has seen the Father. In all truth I tell you, everyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that a person may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.' (John 6:41-51 NJB)

Today we see one of the basic reasons that the religious leadership could not and would not accept Jesus, or His message. They knew His family. They knew Him. Their familiarity blinded and deafened them. "A prophet is not without honor, EXCEPT in his own country", among his own family and friend, among those who know him.

We experience the same trials when we try to bear witness to those closest to us. They know us so well that they can't accept what we have to say. They know all of our quirks and foibles. And knowing all the details about us they see all the contradictions between what we say and what we do. That gives us all the more reason to make certain that we practice what we preach and are not being hypocritical.

Gospel for 21 March, 2007

Do not work for food that goes bad, but work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal. Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to carry out God's work?' Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is carrying out God's work: you must believe in the one he has sent.' So they said, ‘What sign will you yourself do, the sight of which will make us believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers ate manna in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' Jesus answered them: In all truth I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. ‘Sir,' they said, ‘give us that bread always.' Jesus answered them: I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will ever thirst. But, as I have told you, you can see me and still you do not believe. Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me; I will certainly not reject anyone who comes to me, because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me. Now the will of him who sent me is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, but that I should raise it up on the last day. It is my Father's will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and that I should raise that person up on the last day. (John 6:27-40 NJB)

Again Jesus' opponents want to see a sign. The truth, as Jesus points out, is that every time a sign is given they turn away. They refuse to see it or willfully fail to comprehend what is happening in their midst. These will never come to faith because they choose their unbelief. To thise who do believe however, Jesus gives food and drink that leads to eternal life. What am I having breakfast today?

Gospel for 19 March, 2007

After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee—or of Tiberias— and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he had done in curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside and sat down there with his disciples. The time of the Jewish Passover was near. Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?' He said this only to put Philip to the test; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would not buy enough to give them a little piece each.' One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said, ‘Here is a small boy with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that among so many?' Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were sitting there; he then did the same with the fish, distributing as much as they wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing is wasted.' So they picked them up and filled twelve large baskets with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. Seeing the sign that he had done, the people said, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, as he realised they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, fled back to the hills alone. (John 6:1-15 NJB)

So very often the resources that appear to be available to us seem completely inadequate to accomplish a task, so we despair and do nothing. Yet if there is anything that we can learn from the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, it should be that no matter how meager the circumstance that we find ourselves in, with Jesus, we have more than enough to accomplish anything He sets before us. All we need do is follow the example of St Andrew, who brought what was available to Jesus, and then allow Him to accomplish the miracle.

Oh, and then gather up the leftovers, so that we have seed for the next time.

Gospel for 14 March, 2007

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The Pharisees then said to him, "You are bearing witness to yourself; your testimony is not true." Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true, for I know whence I have come and whither I am going, but you do not know whence I come or whither I am going. You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone that judge, but I and he who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true; I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me." They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would know my Father also." These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 8:12-20 RSV)

It was an established principle of Jewish law that for any matter to be legally proven you needed two or three witnesses to agree upon the facts of a case. So today when Jesus points out to His accusers that both He and the Father testify that He was sent from God, He is claiming that His ministry, His works are being established in their sight as a matter of law. I wonder what would happen today. if I was accused. Would I have two witnesses to testify that I was following Christ?

Gospel for 11 March, 2007

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Ger'asenes. And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him, "Send us to the swine, let us enter them." So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood. And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. But he refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decap'olis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled. (Mark 5:1-20 RSV)

St Mark presents us with the story of the Gerasene demoniac, who had been possesed by Legion, to prove a point. That point is not only that Jesus has power to cast out unclean spirits, but that Christ comes to us, finds us as we are and transforms the whole of life. Where there was nothing but lonliness, injury, uncleaness and death before, Jesus restores health, order and sanityto our lives and reconciles us with family and friends, often to the amazement of those who witness the transformation.

Gospel for 08 March, 2007

Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:19-29 RSV)

"...the Son gives life..." St. Augustine said that we Christians are an Easter people. He meant that we live in the reality and power of the resurrection. He meant that we have accepted the life given by Christ. Yet so often we act as if Christ, and we, are still lying buried in the grave. I hesitate to guess whiat that will mean for us on that day when we hear His voice and are brought forth from the tomb.

Gospel for 06 March, 2007

After the two days he departed to Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they too had gone to the feast. So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Caper'na-um there was an official whose son was ill. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was living. So he asked them the hour when he began to mend, and they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live"; and he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

There was an official from Capernaum whose son was deathly ill. He came to see Jesus and asked that He come to heal his son, his little boy. The child that brought a light to his eyes, that gave a bounce to his step, that made him stand just a mite taller for pride lay dying.

"But Jesus could help. He could heal. If only He would come to see my son... But Jesus said "Go. Your son will live." And so, I went. He doesn't lie. He tells the truth. I guess, I believed. And just when He told me that my boy would live, the fever broke."

The official from Capernaum believed Jesus' words. I wonder how many of us today would do so, if our child's life were at stake.

" Lord, I believe. Help Thou my unbelief!"

Gospel for 05 March, 2007

Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has any one brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, `There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, `One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:27-42 RSV)

Jesus said to the disciples, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." If we were to rely on that diet, how long would it be before we died of starvation?

Gospel for 10 February, 2007

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'") And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. (John 1:1-18 RSV)

"...to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God..." That's a pretty impressive title, the choldren of God. But what does it entitle us to? It entitles us to live lives of selflessness that are dedicated to serving others. It entitles us to be hated by the rulers and authorities of this world. It entitles us to be despised and beaten, persecuted and reviled. It entitles us to give up our lives that others might live. In short, it entitles us to the same special place in the heart of the Father that Jesus has.

The Gospel for 18 Fenruary, 2007

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John 12:24-32 RSV)

A grain of wheat remains nothing but a single solitary grain if left to its own devices. But plant that grain in good soil, give it water and sunlight and nutrients and... it dies. It cracks, splits, bursts asunder and ceases to exist, as it is. It is changed. transformed, given new life as a sheaf of grain, reproducing itself untold times, so that it may feed the multitudes who hunger for its goodness and vitality. Maybe we should take lessons...