At a Loss For Words

The study of linguistics has always fascinated me. To be human is to express oneself to others, and we do that through and ever expanding structure of words and grammar that create endlessly shifting possibilities as we learn and experience language as it applies to our own lives as well as how it applies to the lives and experiences of others. We are able to speak on most anything, describe most anything, and, to an extent, encapsulate most anything into words and phrases that paint pictures all their own in the minds of our listeners.

However, no matter who we are or how eloquently we are able to speak, our language still falls short in many aspects. We can try to describe our personal experiences and feelings to others, but this operates only on the assumption that their experience overlaps enough with ours that they are able to relate. Otherwise, we stand unable to express the full depth of our experience or, for that matter, our being. We stand at a loss.

This is also the case when we talk about things that go far beyond our experience, or anyone's experience as it stands created. To speak about God or the truth of faith is to automatically bind oneself into an inherently limited framework. Yes, language has the ability to encapsulate all that stands before us as created beings, but it cannot and can never begin to fully express, let alone capture, the reality of God or of Eternal life. These things stand beyond our experience. We know them through the divine and generous revelation of God, but even these revelations, which are only a snapshot of reality, stand beyond what can be captured by words.

So we use language that is understandable. Heaven is wedding feast. Jesus the Lamb. God is Father. The Church is the Body and Bride of Christ. But even these expressions are limited. God is Father, but his fatherhood so far exceeds any fatherhood that we can know here on earth. The same applies for words spoken about Mary as Queen of Heaven, or of the many titles of Jesus. A word spoken by a creature such as ourselves cannot describe the Creator who exceeds creation. So, as a consequence, we express our faith in limited terms, not in some feigned attempt at acknowledgment, but to the best of our ability which is due to God. We can never be truly just to God because he deserves more than we can offer, but we speak as truthfully and as reverently as we can, knowing that we must fall short, but will do so by striving.

This is what we refer to as the principle of transposition; the idea that lower ranks of things attempt to encapsulate or describe high forms through varying combinations of limited expression. Take for instance a pencil drawing. I can use a line, shade or smudge in an attempt to draw a flower. The lines I use can take different shapes, but they are still lines. On the level of the image, the elements used to create the image may seem repetitive and unsatisfactory, especially when you know what it is trying to represent. You may even scoff at the idea that a line used to make a stem can also be used to make a leaf. However, when the image is seen in the light of what it is trying to represent, the lines, while limited, still express truth. This way, the lines used are pulled into the reality of the flower, and justified in relation to the higher thing by expressing truth through lower means.

Look at this principle in the realm of faith. We know heaven as a wedding feast between Jesus and the Church, but the idea is often passed over or scoffed at. We know weddings by our experience, and when we try to limit the higher image of heaven into the lower expression of the word "wedding", we shoot ourselves in the foot and lose credibility. However, when we see our metaphor in light of the higher reality, suddenly the word takes on more meaning as it describes an element of the higher reality.

So, as we can see, transposition, works in two directions. The lower element tries to describe and capture a bit of the higher truth, but it cannot until the higher truth is revealed and pulls the lower expression into itself. By this, our words are sanctified, and we can speak truth about exceeding goodness, love, and truth despite our own limited nature and expression.

So what happens with the disparity left over? What happens within the person to which truth is revealed if he cannot express it totally? This is the individual and personal love of God. He knows that the human person cannot express totally the revelation he is given, even when the revelation is itself just a snapshot. There will always be a part that goes unsaid because it cannot simply be spoken. This is the gift God gives to the person who speak of him. God provides both the speakable and unspeakable realities, and that which is unspeakable in it goodness only enriches the person gifted with it.

This is why we must pray for revelation and speak the Gospel at all times. We are speaking truth in order to receive truth. We are making known what we can with the faith that the knowledge itself is a gift.

St Joseph, pray for us.

God, Father in Heaven, bless us

Skepticism or Fear?

Today is the feast day of St Thomas the apostle. Thomas, called Didymus or the Twin, is often spoken of in the scriptures. He is most well known for the passage in John read at today's mass (John 20:24-29). The reading goes as follows:

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples aid to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

 So, for whatever reason, Thomas was absent when Jesus appeared to the apostles the first time (John 20:19-22). Maybe he was out getting food or water. Maybe he was mourning the loss of Jesus who has died three days earlier. Maybe he was just using the ancient Palestinian equivalent of a toilet. Regardless, he returns to hear the other ten apostles proclaiming the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead and shown himself alive. To this, Thomas famously replies, "Unless I see the mark of the nail in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25)

Now, why would Thomas have responded in such a closed off and confrontational manner? Perhaps he is simply a skeptic. Wouldn't you be? The idea of a man, even a man like Jesus, rising from the dead after only three short days is a fantastic story, not to mention crazy. There are countless people today who are skeptical of the same thing.

However, I don't think skepticism is really at play here. Thomas had followed Jesus for three years. He had see the man work miracle after miracle, even going so far as to raise others from the dead. Thomas, like the others, believed the profession of Peter that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-20). No, I think the refusal of Thomas to believe in the resurrection reveals something much deeper: the destruction of hope.

Imagine following Jesus. Imagine believing that he is the Messiah, the one who has come to save Israel from captivity and free them from bondage, both earthly and spiritual. Imagine putting all of your hope, all of your faith, and all of your expectation into this man who can walk on water, raise the dead, and drive out demons with a word. Now, imagine watching this man be savagely beaten, spit upon, whipped, and made to carry the instrument of his own execution. Imagine what it must feel like to watch him be nailed naked to a cross in full view of the people he professed to save. Imagine the heartbreak that Thomas must have felt, not just for Jesus, his dear friend and mentor, but for himself and every other person who put faith in this poor rabbi who was made to die a criminal's death. In a way, Jesus was not the only one to die that day. All of the hopes, dreams, and faith of the people who followed him, including Thomas, had been nailed on that cross alongside Jesus. Thomas' hope was killed as well that day, and it must have been agony.

Now, fast forward three days. The eleven are hiding, scared to suffer Jesus' fate.The terrible memory and deep anguish of a hope demolished were still fresh in Thomas' heart. Then, after a short time away, Thomas returns to hear that Jesus is alive! This was not only too good to be true, it was too good to be believable. It was too good to be taken seriously. To a man who had not had the time to even begin rebuilding his faith and hope in God, this must have come as just another slap to the face. So, in anger and frustration at nobody in particular, Thomas makes his proclamation that he will not believe unless he has seen and touched the man himself. He cannot believe. He cannot open his heart to have faith, especially after it had been so hurt the last time he had believed in anything.

Thus, the gospel reveals to us, through the person of Thomas, a kind of mirror into our own experience of vulnerability, suffering, and the feeling of betrayal. Thomas, though offered a way out of his misery and self-devouring heartbreak, opts to remain in the belief that Jesus is dead. Why would he do that? Simply put, Thomas, like the rest of us at some time or another, has been fooled by the enemy into accepting and dwelling in suffering as a way of avoiding the new and unknown. Even though consolation is offered to him, the Devil uses the feelings of betrayal and loss in order to make Thomas avoid vulnerability, and in turn, reject love. We, like Thomas, tend to accept the suffering we know in order to avoid or put off the joy that we don't. Thomas' reaction to the news of the resurrection reveals to us our own fear of heartbreak that manifests itself in a lack of openness and vulnerability.

In his pain, the enemy convinces Thomas that to believe in anything is to suffer, and suffering is to be avoided. So Thomas puts a condition on his belief: He must touch and feel the risen Lord, and then his heart will begin to accept the invitation of consolation.

And it is important that Thomas asks for something tangible. He needs to experience the fullness of Jesus resurrected to have his heart healed. The simple news of it will not due. Is this not true in our own world as well? The news of Jesus is good, but without the fullness of an experience, the Gospel is just a collection of stories and the scriptures just another book. Thomas, like many of us in a hurting and broken world, need to experience Jesus with all of our senses to make up for the hurt and demoralization we feel.

So Jesus comes, and the first thing he says is to Thomas. "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." (John 20:27). I imagine that Jesus, knowing full-well the depth of the heartbreak that Thomas felt, must have looked upon him with love and care. "Come", his eyes must have said, "and have your hope restored." And how does Thomas react to this? He cries out, with tears in his eyes and renewed faith in his soul, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). His experience allows him to believe again in the hope of the Messiah. In a way, Thomas' belief was also raised from the dead on Easter Sunday.

Jesus ends this passage by teaching Thomas by his experience. "Jesus said to him [Tomas], 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed'" (John 20:29). Jesus tells us that the more blessed faith is that which does not falter in the face of adversity. True faith does not shrink under hardship or wither under pressure. True faith goes beyond the sensual experience of life and penetrates deep into our very being, changing us, strengthening us.

May we all pray for this blessing as the Israelite man did in Mark 9:24, "I believe, help my unbelief!" Let us pray for the faith the size of a mustard seed that changes us and allows us to move mountains, and let us recognize the blessing that Jesus tells us it truly is in today's gospel. But let us also understand the smallness of our own faith, and let us run to Jesus in the Eucharist. Let us fully experience him with all of our senses as Thomas did, and let that experience reveal to us a deeper faith and allow us to truly hope in things that are yet intangible and yet unseen.

St Thomas, Pray for us,
St Jospeh, model of manliness, pray for us
Father in heaven, bless us

What Now...?

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Lord of the Universe, is dead and laid in the tomb. Imagine that you are one of his disciples. Yesterday Jesus was beaten, scorned, insulted, gored, and hung on a cross to die naked in front a crowd of those who hated him and celebrated his demise. And what did you do? Maybe you ran. Maybe you hid. Were you afraid for your own life? Did you think, maybe they would do the same to you if they found you? How do you feel today, Saturday? What do you do when the man you gave everything for is gone?

Scripture doesn't really tell us much about what the apostles did on Holy Saturday. We know from Luke (23:56) that they rested according to the Sabbath. Did they go to the temple? If they did, they must have tried to remain inconspicuous. The voice of Jesus must have still been ringing in their ears when he said, "No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you... they will do these things to you on account of my name" (John 15:20-21).

The Apostles together on Holy Saturday

They must have felt lost. They must have thought to themselves, "what now?". Maybe the words of Peter came to mind. "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68). Imagine the quiet emptiness that they must have felt. Imagine the feelings of abandonment. Imagine what it must have felt like to give three years of your life to a man and his cause, only to see him die. Not only that, but to know that you just ran away; to know that you valued your own life so much that you weren't even there to comfort him. I'm sure that Peter is not the only one who denied knowing Jesus that day.

We do know some things, however. We know that they returned to the upper room and stayed together. Indeed, on Easter Sunday, Jesus finds them there together (Jn 20: 19, 26). They were supporting and consoling each other. They must have been praying for a next step. We know that Mary of Magdala was there. When they saw Jesus, it says they returned to the upper room to tell the apostles (Jn 20:1-2; Mt 27:7-8; Mk 16:7; Lk 24: 7-8).

We can also assume that Mary was with them. John took her into his home (Jn 19:27), and as they were all together, she must have been there too. Imagine the comfort she must have been to them. She had a faith that surpassed all of them. She knew from the moment she gave her 'yes' to the angel (Lk 1:38), and from her encounter with Simeon in the temple those many years before (Lk 2:34-35), that this day was coming. She was their mother now (Jn 19:26). Yes, she was mourning  Yes, she must have been in more pain then any of them, but she knew that her son would come through. She believed.

Mary the Comforter

So, on this day of quiet contemplation, on this day of quiet desolation as our Lord rests in the tomb, I encourage you to be seek comfort in the arms of Mary, our mother. She is a model of faith. She is a model of patient perseverance. As we entered the tomb with Christ last night and stay there today, ask Mary to pray for you. Ask her to dry your tears and lead your prayers. Let yourself be buried in her embrace and allow her to bring you deeper into the Paschal Mystery. That way, when the bells ring tonight at the first Easter mass of the year, we can truly experience the joy of the Risen Lord as Mary and the apostles do.

Mary, mother of the Church, pray for us
God, Father in Heaven, bless us

That Good Friday

The Passion of our Lord : Mt 27; Mk 15; Lk 23; Jn 19

After a night in jail, Jesus is bound and led to the palace of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the province. The Jews themselves have no power to execute criminals. That is a power held only by the Romans. So, they gather outside of Pilate residence and call for him to executeJesus on the charge of heresy.

Pilate is a man who is careful in his actions. He has political ambitions that go beyond the outpost in Jerusalem, and he doesn't want to do anything that might hinder his upward mobility. He is also a just man who doesn't want any unnecessary blood on his hands. So, when they bring this man, this Jesus, bound and beaten into his presence, he is curious. They say that he calls himself a king. They say that he has made himself the Son of God. Pilate takes Jesus into the praetorium to question him.

Pilate asks repeatedly whether or not Jesus is a king, and Jesus refuses to give him a straight answer. Finally, Jesus says, "my kingdom is not of this world." (Jn 18:36). Pilate walks out and addresses the crowd that welcomed Jesus as the Messiah a few short days ago. He does not find any guilt in Jesus. The crowds call loudly for his crucifixion. In order to placate them, and to possibly save this innocent man's life, Pilate offers to give the Jews a choice of which prisoner to release, and which to execute. He can either release Jesus, or he can release Barabbas, a revolutionary and a murderer. To Pilate surprise, they call for Barabbas. In Hebrew, Bar-abbas means "Son of the Father". In this way, the true Son is handed over to death while an impostor is released.

Pilate still refuses to execute Jesus. Instead he says that he will have him scourged and then release him. The whips used to scourge prisoners had nine straps, all attached to bones, glass, hooks, and metal pieces that were meant to tear the flesh from the bones. By the time Jesus is brought back, he would have been unrecognizable. He would have been a bloody mess. After he is scourged, the guards weave a crown out of thorns and place it on his head. They place a reed in his hand and a purple robe on his back. He is dressed as a makeshift king, and on his head are the same thorns that Adam was cursed to pull forth from the ground (Gen 3: 18). The new Adam is crowned with the fruit of Adams sin.

Jesus is brought back before the Jews, and they still call for his crucifixion. Pilate tries to intercede for him. He tries to release him, but the Jews call out, "If you release him, you are not a friend of Caesar." (Jn 19:12). So, under the weight of public pressure, Pilate allows them to take Jesus to crucify him.

The cross is laid on the back of Jesus. He is made to walk it along with two criminals. The walk itself is about a mile long, first through the hot, winding streets of Jerusalem, then out of the city to the place of the skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. Along the way, the same people who called him the Son of David now mock him and jeer at him. He is beaten and spit upon. People cry out to him and curse him. Jesus knows every single one of them. He knows their hearts. He knew them when they were conceived and he knows their every joy and hurt. He loves them. He weeps for them. These are the people who he is dying for. These are those for whom he has chosen to give everything.

He falls over and over. The weight of the cross is simply too much for his battered frame to handle. So, in order to keep him alive until they reach Golgotha, the guards pull Simon, a Cyrenian, of the crowd and press him into service. Simon puts his arm over the blood soaked cross. He likely doesn't realize that a single drop of that blood could save all of humanity. Jesus must have looked at him. What were those eyes like? The holiness and the love, still visible through the blood and tears, was enough to draw Simon in. It was enough to make him help this man he never knew.

Jesus is walked up to the hill, and there he is crucified. They lay him on the wood of the cross, and the drive nails through his wrists and through his ankles. The nails they used were comparable in size to railroad spikes, and the sound they made as they were pounded repeatedly through flesh and bone must have been nauseating. Jesus is crucified and the cross is placed in the ground. There he hung as people mocked him, spit upon him, and cursed his name. The tempted him to prove his power by coming down. Even one of the other men crucified called for him to step down from the cross. But he stays on the cross. He stays immersed in suffering because he knew that we would not have a choice to come down from our own crosses.

His last action is to call forth John, and disciple that he loved, and his mother, Mary. To John he says,"Behold, your mother", and to Mary, "Behold, your son." (Jn 19:26-27). The last thing he has on earth, his relationship with his mother, he relinquishes for our good. He makes sure that there is no relationship and no thing that he still possesses at the end. He gives everything there is to give, and after three hours of torture, he gives up his spirit.

What relief to be finished. To be taken off the cross and to be laid in a tomb. What sorrow and abandonment must the disciples have felt. Did we run like they did? Did we follow behind and curse him or deny that we knew him? Did we try to help like Simon? Today, we enter into the tomb with our Lord. We feel his absence. We know the reality of his death. Today, mourn the loss of our God, but remain hopeful. We will see that we cannot have a cross without a resurrection. We cannot have a Good Friday without an Easter Sunday.

Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us
God, Father in heaven, bless us

In the Garden

Today is Holy Thursday, the day that Lent comes to a close and the Easter Triduum begins. All of our prayer, fasting, and alms giving has led to this moment. In the fullness of time, our Lord came down to earth to do battle with evil; a battle that begins today. We enter into the Paschal Mystery by celebrating the longest and holiest mass of the year, beginning with the opening hymns of the Holy Thursday mass and culminating in the Resurrection of our Lord a the Easter Vigil.

Jesus and his disciples have just come from the Last Supper,  and are walking through the night to the Mount of Olives. They are on edge, and for good reason. Everything about this night has been a little off. Jesus has acted as a slave, bowing down to wash their feet (Jn 13:1-20). He has prayed aloud for the church (Jn 17). He has foretold his own betrayal by Judas, and told Peter that, before cock crows  he will have denied knowing Jesus three times. Most importantly, they have celebrated the Passover meal, but in a new way. Jesus gave them the bread said, but he said that it was his body, and he called the chalice his blood, the blood of the new covenant. Then, before the Passover meal was over, they leave the house. Nobody ever left the house during Passover.

Jesus leads them down through the Kidron Valley, calling to mind the words of Psalm 23:4, “Though I walk through the dark valley I shall fear no evil”. Jesus is going out to do battle. Exodus 12:22 says that that nobody should leave the house during Passover, lest they fall victim to the angel of death. Jesus is leaving on purpose to meet the ancient serpent, the angel of death, to win back our freedom. And, in an act of total defiance, he sings. We know from scripture that only the victorious sing. Only those who have one the great battle...

Jesus leads them into the Garden of Gethsemane, as was his custom. He tells them to sit and pray, while he takes Peter, James, and John a short distance away to pray and keep watch. He then falls prostrate on the ground and begins to pray fervently. The prayer is so intense that the blood vessels in his forehead burst, and his sweat becomes like drops of blood. This condition is called hematidrosis, and is only experienced by a person in times of extreme stress. Jesus then utters his most famous prayer, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will”.  He urges his apostles to stay awake so that they do not undergo the the test, but he gives them their rest anyway. In this way he cares for the Church, his future bride, as he fights for her heart. (Matt 26:36-46; Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:39-46)

Jesus is fully God and fully man, and as such, he can fully understand what is happening to him this moment. He is taking on the full reality of sin. Every sin that has ever been committed or is going to be committed is being laid on Jesus in that instant. As God, he can see, feel, and know the weight and suffering of every single one of those innumerable sins. Imagine the guilt that you have felt after any one sin that you commit. Now, imagine if you can what it must be like to take on every single sin of ever single person throughout human history. Is it any wonder that Jesus, in his humanity, cries out to his Father in heaven to take the suffering away? Would we not beg and plead to make the suffering stop? But, unlike us, Jesus is also fully God. In that moment he is able to die to himself fully and completely, and say to God “not my will, but yours be done”(Lk 22:42). In this moment, the battle for mankind, Jesus’ Passion, has begun.

And so they come, Judas and the temple guards, to arrest Jesus. He knows that they are coming. From where he was on the Mount of Olives, it is possible to see a lit match from two mile away. Knowing what he does, he does not hide. Nor does he wait for them to find him. He goes out to meet them (Jn 18:4). When he sees them he asks them who they are looking for. This isn't out of curiosity. Jesus is challenging them to name the one they came for. Instead of simply saying, “You”, they say “Jesus of Nazareth” (Jn 18:5). Their hearts, darkened by sin cannot perceive Jesus. So Judas, the betrayer, kisses Jesus to signify who they should arrest. The Lover of All is betrayed by an intimate sign of affection.

Jesus, tells them, “I AM.”, and the guards fall to ground. This is the seventh and final I AM statement in the gospels. They move to arrest Jesus and he tells the guards to let his disciples go (Jn 18:8). As a result, his apostles flee. This is to fulfill what is said in Leviticus 16:17, that the one who is making atonement must be alone. He is also fulfilling what he said earlier, that none of those given to him would be lost (Jn 6:39, 10:28, 17:12).

Jesus demonstrates that he is in control of everything. He may be taken prisoner, he may be beaten, he may be insulted, spit upon, and led to his death, but he is pulling the strings the whole time. Indeed, he says 'Do you not think I can call upon my Father, and he will not provide me at this moment with six legions of angels? But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say it must come to pass in this way" (Mt 26:53-54; Mk 14:53-65; ).

Jesus is taken to before a hastily assembled council. Here, in the middle of the night, dozens of false witnesses present themselves to testify against him. Their testimonies fall short and contradict each other. Through all of this, Jesus sits quietly. He is in control. It is not until he is ordered under oath to reveal himself that he chooses to speak up. He reveals that he is the Son of man who will be seated at the right hand of Power in Heaven. Jesus, in his true testimony, reveals himself and seals his own fate. He is taken away to a cell overnight. in the morning, he is to face Pilate, the one who has the power to condemn him to death.

Over the next few days, Jesus will walk the lonely road to Calvary to prove his love. He will contend with death and come out victorious.  Every step of the way looks like a defeat, but he is moving closer and closer to his victory.

Do we stay awake with Jesus? Do we do what we can to help him carry his burden, or do we run? Worse yet, are we the ones who betray him with a kiss? Over the next few days, pray for the strength that we do not fall in face of the test. Let us look upon the Paschal Mystery of Jesus with love and adoration, knowing that it is through his stripes we are healed.

Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us
God, Father in heaven, bless us

A Spy Among Us

Holy Wednesday, or Spy Wednesday, is the day that Judas Iscariot went to the Pharisees and made the deal with them to hand Jesus over.

It says in scripture, that Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to chief priests and offered to turn Jesus in to them. In Matthew’s account, Judas asks them “what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” (Matt 26:15). They agree to give him 30 pieces of silver, and from that moment on it says that Judas was looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them. (Matt 26: 14-16; Mk 14: 10-11; Lk 22: 1-6)

Even though this is short passage, there is a lot to be gleaned. You will remember that it has been made clear on many different occasions that the chief priests and scribes were looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus and put him to death. In many cases, the only thing that stopped them was their fear of the crowds for they regarded Jesus "as a prophet" (Mt 21:46). The disciples, including Judas, must have been aware of their schemes. Judas, however, did not hate Jesus. He had followed him for three years and became one of Jesus' closest friends.On the contrary, it goes on to say in Matthew’s gospel that Judas asks the Pharisees, “what are you willing to give me if I hand him [Jesus] over to you?”. Judas is not motivated by hatred, but rather by greed.

The elders agree to give Judas 30 pieces of silver. It is often overlooked that this is not an expensive price at all. 30 pieces of silver was the same price noted in Zechariah 11:12 as being the price paid to the rejected shepherd. In the next verse, 30 pieces of silver is referred to as “a cheap price”. It is also the same amount paid to one who’s slave has been gored by an ox (Ex 21:32). Jesus was being sold for the price of a slave. He, the true rejected shepherd, was being sold for the same amount paid to a shepherd with no flock.

This says a lot about Judas. He was motivated by avarice and insatiable greed, and not by any hatred for Jesus or his teaching. This was not something new. In John’s account of the anointing at Bethany, we hear that he used to steal from the money bag, and now we see that his sin of greed has completely overcome him. It brings him to the point where any amount of money is worth handing over his master. In Matt 6:24, Jesus says that a man cannot serve God and money. Judas illustrates this point painfully well.

Our Lord is not ignorant of any of this. In all four gospels, Jesus announces during the Passover meal that one seated among them is to betray him. He also lays out a warning, saying woe to that man, and it would better had he never been born. The apostles are shocked, and begin to ask Jesus one by one if they are the one that is going to do it. Judas is the last to ask, and Jesus tells him "You have said so" (Mt 26:25). Our Lord then chooses to reveal prophetically the identity of the betrayer. In Luke, Jesus says that the one whose hand is with his on the table is the betrayer. Matthew and Mark both say that it is the one who dipped his hand into the dish with Jesus. John says that it is the one to whom Jesus hands the morsel after he has dipped it (Jn 13:26). Regardless, Jesus emphasizes the idea that the betrayer is someone who he shares table fellowship with. The betrayer is someone who is close to him; a person who is like family to him.  He then looks Judas in the eye and tells him "what you are going to do, do quickly" (Jn 13:27). (Mt 26:20-25; Mk 14:17-21; Lk 22:21-23; Jn 13:21-30)

So, Judas leaves, into the night, to alert the temple guards of their opportunity to arrest Jesus. He leads them to the Mount of Olives, a place Jesus has often gone to pray. He meets Jesus and greets him with a kiss, a sign of love and affection that has now become a sign of betrayal. The Passion of our Lord begins through a disordered and dishonest expression of love. Only at this point does Judas realize what he has done. he tries to return the money to the Pharisees in an attempt to but Jesus back. They reject his offer, and taking a rope, Judas hangs himself in his despair (Mt 27:3-10)

What masters do we serve instead of our Lord? Do we put money on too high of a pedestal? What does it take for us to sell out Jesus in our jokes and conversations? Do we despair in our sins and reject the forgiveness of Jesus. Let us pray for the true devotion to give Jesus our best instead of selling him short in our daily lives. Let us pray to put him first and refuse to let other things get in the way.

Joseph, model of manhood, Pray for us
God, Father in heaven, Bless us

One Step Closer...

All throughout this week, Jesus is in the Temple teaching the assembled crowds and healing their sick and disabled. He is challenged and questioned on many things by the scribes and Pharisees, but is found without fault in all that he says. This is an ongoing theme throughout the week as the lambs are being examined and scrutinized for the Passover. Just as it was demanded in Exodus that the lambs for the sacrifice be spotless (Exodus 12:5), so too does Jesus, the true and lasting sacrifice, show himself to be spotless and without fault before the scrutiny of the Jewish leadership.

On the Tuesday of Holy Week, however, two major things happen that are worth mentioning.

First, as Jesus and his disciples are coming back from staying the night in Bethany, Jesus passes by a fig tree. When he reaches in to grab some fruit, he finds that, while the tree is green and full of leaves, there is not a single fig to be found. In reaction, Jesus curses the tree loudly so that his disciples can hear. In Matthew, the tree withers immediately down to it’s roots, and in Mark, the tree is withered when they pass it a second time. Jesus then preaches on the power of faith, telling his disciples that if they have faith, they could command the mountain to cast itself into the sea and it would obey. (Matt 21:18-22; Mk 11: 12-14, 20-25)

This seems like an arbitrary and oddly aggressive expression of power by our Lord. It seems at first glance that Jesus kills this poor tree simply because he cannot find breakfast. But, as in all things that he does during this week, there is a deeper meaning to be found in his words and actions.

In this passage, Jesus acts to illustrate his teaching by using vivid and striking miracles. We see this same type of prophetic behavior used in the Old Testament by Ezekiel. He digs a hole in the city wall and leaves as an exile in order to illustrate his prophesy that the rest of the citizens of the city would be exiled in the same way to Babylon (Ez 12:1-20). So, the question remains, what is Jesus trying by his actions?

Jesus is using his power to illustrate the fate of Israel. The fig tree, while having the appearance of fruitfulness and health, does not bear any fruit and is therefore useless. Israel in the same way, that lacks the fruit of faith and good works despite all of its apparent piety. So Jesus curses the tree to wither as a physical representation of the judgment that will come upon all peoples who do not bear fruit despite their apparent adherence to religious doctrine and to the law. We can also see this action as a development on the parable of the fruitless tree found in Luke 13:6-9

Jesus further connects his actions to faith, saying that “if you have faith and do not waiver, not only will you do what has been done to this fig tree, but even if you say to the mountain , ‘be lifted up and thrown into the sea‘, it will be done". Jesus uses the miracle of the withered tree as an illustration of what can be done when a prayer is made in faith. He shows us that nothing is impossible to those who have faith in God. One will be only be able to bear fruit through good deeds, and one will only be able to achieve great things through unwavering faith in God. Faith makes good works possible, and the fruit of those good works helps to bolster our faith. This cyclical motion is how we live out our faith and truly do the Lord's will.

Do you feel as if you have unwavering faith? What can you do to support that faith and do Gods work?

After this dramatic episode, Jesus enters back into the temple from which he drove the money changers the day before. He is approached by the chief priests and elders and asked by what authority he is doing "these things", and who gave him authority. Jesus responds by asking them a question, a common tool of rabbinical debate. "Was John’s baptism of heavenly or human origin?", he asks. Jesus says that he will answer their question if they answer his. The elders and priests do not want to call it a heavenly origin, or else Jesus would ask why they killed him, and they dare not say human origin, because the crowds revere John as a prophet. They claim ignorance, and Jesus refuses to answer their question. Jesus then launches into the parable of the tenants, illustrating the lack of authentic authority held by the chief priests and scribes. (Mt 21: 23-27, 33-46; Mk 11:27- 12:12; Lk 20: 1-26)

We assume that the chief priests and elders, when asking about “these things” they are referring to Jesus’ entry into the city on Palm Sunday, his driving out of the moneychangers, and his healings. These were all extravagant displays of power that drew attention to Jesus and what he had to say. So Jesus is asked for the source of his authority. This is meant to be a trap. If Jesus is doing these things on someone else’s authority, it means that that person is claiming religious authority over Israel, a position reserved only for God and the priests. If Jesus is saying that he does not claim the authority from anyone, or that he claims it from God, he will be considered a heretic and executed.

So Jesus flips the script. “ I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or human origin?” (Matt 21: 24-25). They are shocked, and as it says in the following verses, they do not want to say either one due to the consequences of each response. So they claim ignorance, and show themselves incapable of speaking with authority. Their own pride gets in the way, and Jesus refuses to answer their question.

Jesus then addresses to them the Parable of the Tenants. The story speaks of brutal tenant farmers who beat and kill the messengers of their master when they come to collect at vintage time. The master, distraught over the way his servants were treated, sends his son, thinking that they will respect him. The tenants then kill the son and throw his body out of the vineyard. Jesus then asks, "what will the owner of the vineyard do when he comes?", to which the Pharisees answer, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death. Through their own words, they have condemned themselves. Jesus says "the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Mt 21:43). The Pharisees come to the realization that Jesus is speaking about them, and try to arrest him. However, because of the crowds, they cannot get an opportunity.

So, for us, the question becomes the same that Jesus asks Peter on the way to Jerusalem. Who do we say that Jesus is? Where do we say he recieves his power from? Do we simply act like we believe in him, or does our faith bear fruit? Today let us meditate on the events of Jesus' last Tuesday, and truly seek to find the answers to our questions, prepared to have them answered in ways we do not expect.

Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us
God, Father in heaven, bless us