The Supreme Commandment of Love is Twofold as It is Fulfilled by Our Eternal High Priest - Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

John writes to us:

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another (1 John 4:7-11).

God loved us first, and out of His love, He sent the Son. So out response to His love is to love. And to love, in response to God’s love is only to love God but also those who are created in God’s triune image (Genesis 1:26-27), whom we consider as our neighbors. Without love, as John says above, we really do not know God. If we did not know God, then, how could we love Him right? 

God is love (1 John 4:8,16), indeed, and His love has been revealed to us through the Son (1 John 4:9) and poured into us through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). That is why we are God’s beloved, as John calls us so. 

Through the First Reading (Deuteronomy 6:2-6) and the Gospel Reading (12:28b-34) of the 31str Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, we are reminded our love, in response to God’s love for us, is two-fold: to love God and to love our neighbors. 

In the Gospel Reading (Mark 12:28b-34), a Scribe asks Jesus what the most important command in the law is. To this, Jesus answers:

The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).

In the first part: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’(vv. 29-30), Jesus quotes Moses’s shemah commandment to the Israelites:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). 

The most important commandment to love God with our all hearts, with our all souls, and with all our minds, and with all our strengths, because He alone is the Lord, is known as shema command, and it is of Jewish daily shema prayer. The Hebrew word, “shema”( שָׁמַע) means “to hear”.  

“The Lord is our God, the Lord alone”(Deuteronomy 6:4) reflects the first commandment of the Decalogue:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me (Exodus 20:2-3).

Moses specifically instructs the Israelites to attentively pray with this commandment multiple times everyday, and to teach their children, and to bind what is heard: the Lord alone is God and to love God with our total being on their arms, hang these on their foreheads, and write these words on their doorposts, as they take these to their hearts (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

Jesus teaches that the most important commandment (mitzvah) out of 613 commandments (mitzvot) in Torah is to love God with our total being (Deuteronomy 6:5), and the second important one is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). It means, if we truly love God with our whole hearts, and with our whole souls, and with our whole strengths, we also love our neighbors as ourselves. 

The one who teaches commandments of love this way is Jesus, who is the supreme and eternal high priest, unlike a Levite high priest, a descendant of Aaron, as described in the Second Reading (Hebrews 7:23-28). Because Jesus is the eternal high priest of the order of Melchizedek, as described in the Second Reading of the 30th Sunday (Hebrews 5:1-6), he does not need to offer Yom Kippur sacrifice year after year, because not only he is the eternal high priest but also he offered himself as the sacrifice for atonement once for all (Hebrew 7:27; cf. 9:25-26). 

It is important to note that Jesus’ eternal and supreme priesthood is beyond the law, because God appointed him to be the eternal priest of the Melchizedek’s order not under the law but by his direct oath (Hebrews 7:28). In fact, this eternal high priest, not under the law, Jesus the Christ, has come to fulfill both the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). And he has given us the new commandment, which is to love one another as he has loved us, for observing this commandment of love makes us his disciples (John 13:34-35). 

So it is Jesus’ way to fulfill the most important commandment to love God (Deuteronomy 6:5) with the second important commandment to love our neighbors (Leviticus 19:18). Observing this set of important commandments means that we truly love God in response to His love for us (1 John 4:7-19). And Paul reminds us that without love, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, our faith, and our work of it, would be in vein (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). And the supreme commandment to love is two-fold: to love God and to love our neighbors, as Jesus has fulfilled. 

The background of the Gospel Reading (Mark 12:28-34) is as below. 

After restoring sight of Bartimaeus as he was leaving Jericho, as described in the Gospel Reading of the 30th Sunday (Mark 10:46-52), Jesus and his disciples kept moving forward to Jerusalem, to suffer, die, and to be raised. 

Now Jesus is in Jerusalem (i.e. Mark 11:1-11). He foresees the destruction of this corrupted Temple, being reduced to a den of thieves (Mark 11:17). So he metaphorically puts it as a barren fig tree that he cursed (Mark 11:12-14). He cleanses the Temple (Mark 11:15-17). This has intensified religious leaders’ hostility toward Jesus (Mark 11:18) and prompted them to question his authority (Mark 11:27-33). Jesus is fully aware of their intention to kill him. So he spoke the parable of the wicked tenant vineyard worker to address these religious leaders iniquitous hearts (Mark 12:1-12). Then, some Pharisees and Herodians tried to trap Jesus in his own words by asking him a question of paying tax but they failed (Mark 12:13-17). After this, some Sadducees, who did not believe resurrection, tried to make Jesus contradict his teaching of resurrection but failed (Mark 12:18-27). Then, a Scribe asked Jesus his view on the most important commandment, as described in the  Gospel Reading of the 31st Sunday (Mark 12:28-34). 

After this, nobody dared to challenge Jesus (Mark 12:34).

Juxtaposition between Jesus’ Deliverance of Bartimaeus from Blindness and Jeremiah’s Prophecy of God’s Deliverance of the Israelites from Babylon -Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

 As the end of liturgical year draws nearer, Jesus is also coming closer to Jerusalem in Sunday Gospel readings toward the 34th Sunday, which is the last Sunday of liturgical year, also known as “Christ the King Sunday”. Now we are on the 30th Sunday on Cycle B of the Liturgical Calendar. 

After Jesus encountered a rich man who wanted to inherit eternal life through him and teaching his disciples not to let earthly wealth become an obstacle to enter the Kingdom (Mark 10:17-31), reflected in the Gospel Reading of the 28th Sunday (Mark 10:17-30), Jesus began his journey to Jerusalem and foretold of his suffering, death, and resurrection there (Mark 10:32-34). Then, as reflected in the Gospel Reading of the 29th Sunday (Mark 10:35-45), James and John sought Jesus a favor to put them to his right and to his left in glory (vv.35-37). Jesus challenged them if they would drink the cup of suffering and be baptized the baptism of death that Jesus would take (v. 38). He indicated to them that going through suffering and death as he would go through would be necessary to be in his glory but it is not him to decide who would be at his right and who to be at his left, as it is for the Father to decide (vv.39-40). Because the rest of the disciples reacted indignantly to James and John for asking a special treatment on them, Jesus reiterated the necessity of humble servantship for the entry into the Kingdom (vv. 41-44), as he had already taught the importance of servantship when he predicted his passion, death, and resurrection for the second time (Mark 9:35). In his emphasis on the servantship to the disciples, Jesus reminded that he himself is the servant, saying:

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

This means that Jesus is going to Jerusalem to offer his life as a ransom for the humans to be delivered from bonds of sin, as our mediator with God (1 Timothy 2:5-6; cf. Hebrews 7:27). In other words, Jesus is heading toward Jerusalem to deliver us from evil (i.e. Matthew 6:13), which keeps us to sin. And it means that he is to suffer, die, but raised to be vindicated, as Isaiah prophesized in his third and fourth servant songs (Isaiah 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12).

While Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem, he performs a miracle sign of deliverance on a blind man, Bartimaeus, freeing him from the darkness of blindness, as reflected in the Gospel Reading of the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B (Mark 10:46-52). Bartimaeus’ blindness metaphorically implies to our spiritual blindness, which is associated with our sinfulness, obscuring our view to see the truth. Therefore, Jesus delivering Bartimaeus from the blindness symbolically speaks to our liberation from spiritual darkness in order for us to see the wisdom. 

The First Reading that corresponds to this Gospel Reading is about Jeremiah prophesizing God’s deliverance of the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity, their return to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 31:7-9). This passage is drawn from Jeremiah 31:1-40, in which God promises the Israelites His deliverance of them from the 70 years of Babylonian exile back to Jerusalem to rebuild this holy city and to establish the new covenant. The implication of the new covenant (vv.31-34) suggests the coming of Christ to Jerusalem as mediator of it through his blood (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15).

In juxtaposing the Gospel Reading (Mark 10:46-52) and the First Reading (Jeremiah 31:7-9), we see a theme of deliverance in common: deliverance from blindness and deliverance from the captivity. And both readings are pointing Jerusalem as the destiny. Jesus is heading to Jerusalem to give his life as a ransom to deliver God’s people from evil’s bonds of sin (Mark 10:45). Through Jeremiah’s prophecy, God promised the Israelites in the Babylonian exile for delivering them from the captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild and to establish the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:1-40).

The setting of the Gospel Reading (Mark 10:46-52) is that a sizable crowd is formed to see Jesus in Jericho as Jesus passes through this town, which was the last fortified city to be conquered by Joshua for the Israelites to enter the promised land (Joshua 5:13-6:23). In the crowd, there was a blind man, Bartimaeus, fervently seeking Jesus’ attention, shouting, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!”(Mark 10:47). The crowd tried to shut him up but Bartimaeus kept calling, “Son of David, have pity on me!”(Mark 10:48).

There is something about this blind man, Bartimaeus. 

Though he is blind, he knows who Jesus is as he calls him, “Son of David”. 

At that time, nobody called him rightfully so. People thought him as John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets (i.e. Mark 8:27-28). Those who were in Jesus’ hometown, Nazareth, only saw him as the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon (Mark 6:3). So far, only Peter recognized him as the Messiah (Christ)(Mark 8:29) and a demonically possessed man in Gerasenes saw him as the Son of the Most High God (Mark 5:7). 

This suggests that Bartimaes was not an ordinary blind man. In fact, his name,  Bartimaeus (Βαρτίμαιος) is a Hellenized Aramaic name, which means a son “בר/bar” of honor “τιμη/time”. This indicates a possibility of his noble origin. But, he is only seen as a blind beggar in Jericho. However, a Hebrew word with a similar sound, טמא (tame), means “to become unclean”.  Does it mean that Bartimaeus was reduced to be blind beggar because he was tainted with sin, though he was to be a man of honor? Nobody knows, as nothing is written about his background. But what matters here is that this blind beggar recognizes Jesus as the prophesized Messiah by calling him the Son of David (Mark 10:47,48) , reflecting Nathan’s words on the Messiah to be from the Davidic lineage (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Otherwise, he would not be so persistent and vehement about seeking Jesus’ attention for his pity (mercy - ἐλέησόν/eleson) on him (Mark 10:47,48).

Perhaps, Bartimaeus’ persistence, which let nothing stop, (Mark 10:48) is comparable to the faith of Syrophoenician woman’s (Mark 7:24-29). It reflects Jesus’ parable of the persistent friend (Luke 11:5-13), as well as, his parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8), and these words of Jesus from his Sermon on the Mount:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8). 

Jesus sure notices Bartimaeus and asks the crowd to call him  (Mark 10:49a). So they said to Bartimaeus, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you”(Mark 10:49b).

So he wasted no time, as he threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus (Mark 10:50). And this certainly shows Bartimaeus’ faith in Jesus, whom he sees as the Davidic Messiah for Israel. The fact that he threw his cloak suggests that he left behind what is associated with his past, his blindness, in order to receive something new from Jesus, as God makes something new in His act of restoration (i.e. Isaiah 43:19).

As Bartimaes comes, Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”, and he replied, “Master, I want to see” (Mark 10:51).

Actually, in the original Greek text, Bartimaeus calls Jesus, “Ραββουνι”( Rabbouni). This is a title of respect, meaning “teacher”, as well as, “master”. So, it is more like “maestro”, who leads and guides. Mary Magdalene also called Jesus with this word as she recognized him in the morning of his resurrection (John 20:16). This indicates that Bartimaeus foresaw Jesus as a leader who came to deliver him from the bonds of blindness, which symbolically means ignorance, to the light of his soteriological wisdom. In this sense, this is not just about healing his physical blindness. 

To Bariemaeus’ request, Jesus commanded him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you”, and he immediately received his sight and began to follow Jesus toward Jerusalem (Mark 10:52). 

Bartimaeus interpreted Jesus’ command to go his way as to follow him. And this is because he saw Jesus as his teacher, by calling him “Ραββουνι”( Rabbouni)(Mark 10:51). This implies Bartimaeus’ foresight in Jesus: seeing him not only as the Davidic Messiah (Mark 10:47, 48) but also as the master “Ραββουνι”( Rabbouni) to follow him (Mark 10:51-52). And this was made possible because of his faith of persistency that let nothing become an obstacle. Thus, Jesus delivered Bartimaeus from being a son made unclean to a son of honor, as God delivered the Israelites from the Babylonian exile to rebuild Jerusalem. 

Jesus is heading to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and be raised from the dead, as a ransom to deliver us from evil bonds of sins. And Bartimaeus, though he was blind, has a foresight to see him as the Davidic Messiah and as his master to follow. So he began to follow him as Jesus made him see. 

In addition, the Second Reading (Hebrews 5:1-6) describes Jesus as the eternal High Priest of the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:17), glorified by the Father, who offers himself for our atonement with God. And this makes Jesus’ Messianic work in Jerusalem special as a ransom to pay our debt of sins to God and free us from the evil bonds of sin. 

The blindness of Bartimaeus symbolizes our blindness due to sins, which can put us in exile away from where God is. As a lesson from this blind beggar, we shall seek Jesus with uncompromised persistence. 

Neither to Curry Favor nor to Lord Over but to Serve Like Jesus out of Our Gratefulness for His Sacrifice on the Cross -Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

After dealing with a rich man, who asked him what to do to inherit eternal life, and teaching the disciples about how earthly wealth may become an obstacle to enter the Kingdom of God, as described in the Gospel Reading of the Twenty-Eighth Sunday (Mark 10:17-30), Jesus began on his journey to Jerusalem.

Now that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem with his disciples (Mark 10:32) to go through passion, death, and resurrection, as he has foretold to them twice before (Mark 8:31; 9:31). This is to fulfill the third and the fourth servant songs in the Book of Isaiah (50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). It is for Jesus to offer himself as the necessary sacrifice to atone us with God the Father so that we may be forgiven for our sins without offering sacrifices, which the Law under the old covenant required (Hebrews 10:1-18; cf. Leviticus 4:1-5:13; 16:1-34). It is also to let us deliver us from sin into the freedom from it as the ultimate korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice lamb)(i.e. John 1:29; 19:31; 1 Corinthians 5:7; cf. Exodus 12:2-15).

On the way, Jesus spoke again of his passion, death, and resurrection:

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise (Mark 10:33-34).

This is the third prediction that Jesus spoke of his suffering, death, and resurrection.

To this, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, reacted with their ambition, asking Jesus to grant them to place one at his right and the other at his left in his glory (Mark 10:35-37).

To their request, Jesus said:

You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? (Mark 10:38).

James and John thought that they could drink the cup and be baptized, as Jesus would (Mark 10:39a). So Jesus said to these brothers:

The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared (Mark 10:39b-40).

What is the cup that Jesus was speaking about, the cup that he would drink? And what kind of baptism that Jesus was speaking about, the baptism that he would be baptized into?

The cup that Jesus were to drink is the cup of suffering to bear God’s wrath at our sins against Him. This is the cup that we would have to drink as we were children of wrath due to our sins against God (i.e. Ephesians 2:1-3; cf. Romans 2:5). Instead of us, Jesus would drink it so that we would not have to. And he has done so on Good Friday (i.e. John 18:1-19:42). This is why Paul writes:

For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:6-11).

On the night before death, Jesus spoke, again, of the cup that he drinks:

Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will (Mark 14:36).

Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me? (John 18:11).

The cup of suffering due to God’s wrath is the cup that symbolizes God’s judgement against those who offend Him. But God rather prefers His people not to be subject to the cup.

Wake up, wake up! Arise, Jerusalem, You who drank at the Lord’s hand the cup of his wrath; Who drained to the dregs the bowl of staggering! (Isaiah 51:17).

Your children lie helpless at every street corner like antelopes in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, the rebuke of your God. But now, hear this, afflicted one, drunk, but not with wine. Thus says the Lord, your Master, your God, who defends his people: See, I am taking from your hand the cup of staggering; The bowl of my wrath you shall no longer drink (Isaiah 51:20-22).

So, He sent His only begotten Son to take the cup for us.

In addition to the cup, the baptism that Jesus would be baptized is the baptism on the Cross, on which he shed his blood along with water (John 19:33-35). But, because of this, we have the hope to be cleansed and sanctified by God’s grace, through our martyrdom (i.e. Revelation 7:13-14; cf. Matthew 24:21). Otherwise, the baptism of Jesus on the Cross means the Divine Mercy to us, as Jesus revealed this truth to St. Maria Faustina Kwalska. So she recorded words of Jesus as he revealed in her diary:

The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy (Diary 298-299).

Indeed, the cup of suffering into death and God’s wrath that Jesus drinks for us brings the cup of salvation that we can drink, as reflected in these words:

How can I repay the Lord for all the great good done for me? I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people (Psalm 116:12-14).

The cup of salvation that we can raise and drink from is the cup of the blood of Christ, the new covenant (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25).

In essence, when Jesus asked James and John if they could drink the cup that he drinks and be baptized the baptism that he is baptized as he goes through his suffering and death, he was asking if they would be capable to being martyred as Jesus suffers and dies. They thought they could.

Jesus knew that they were not ready to taste martyr’s death yet. But he knew that they would eventually (Mark 10:39b). Though John did not shed his blood as Jesus kept him alive to let him witness his eschatological revelation (i.e. John 21:20-22), his elder brother, James, became the first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12:1-2).

As for who are to sit at the sides of Jesus in his glory, it is not him to decide but the Father (Mark 10:40). This is because what Jesus does is the will of the Father (John 5:19; John 5:30; John 6:38; John 8:26).

The bold expression of the ambition of James and John triggered anger of the rest of the disciples (Mark 10:41), because they tried to seek a special treatment from Jesus over them.

When Jesus foretold his suffering, death, and resurrection for the second time (Mark 9:31), they did not understand what Jesus was speaking about (Mark 9:32). So they began to argue among themselves who would be the greatest (Mark 9:33-34), reacting to the prospect of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection with their own narcissistic interest.

In response to Jesus’ third prediction of his passion, death, and suffering (Mark 10:33-34), James and John reacted with their narcissistic interest by asking him to put one at his right and the other at his left in his glory (Mark 10:37). Then, the rest of the disciples grew indignant at these brothers for asking Jesus a special favor (Mark 10:41), revealing their own narcissism.

So, Jesus brought the disciples together, as the way the rest of the disciples reacted James and John’s selfish ambition was making a division (Mark 10:42a) and said:

You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:42b-45).

Again, Jesus admonished the disciples for their narcissistic reaction to the third foretelling of his passion, death, and resurrection. The last time, they reacted to his foretelling with narcissism by arguing who among them would be the greatest (Mark 9:33-34) and reproved them with these words:

If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all (Mark 10:35).

Then, placing a child among them (Mark 9:36) and said:

Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me (Mark 9:37).

What is the running theme across these Jesus’ responses to the disciples’ self-interest was to remind them that the essence of the discipleship is a service to one another and others with humility and great care, especially for those who are devalued, marginalized, ignored, and vulnerable. Being Jesus’ disciples are not like competing for a higher position. It is not about lording over. These are what worldly ambitious people do. So they curry favor to those who are more powerful than them with ambition to gain a better position than others. But Jesus made it clear that such a worldly competition has no place in the discipleship. Otherwise, the Church he vowed to build would collapse due to divisions. Rather, Jesus directed the disciples to be humble servers to their Lord, who is Jesus Christ, as he himself is a humble server. This teaching was reiterated through his act of washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper (John 13:1-20). And he said that the service is an act of fraternal love (John 13:34-35).

But the way Jesus serves is at much higher level, because as these words, “For the Son of Man did not come to  be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many “ (Mark 10:45), indicate, his service is to drink the cup of suffering and to be baptized into death on the Cross, in order to redeem us from the bonds of sin, so that we will not have to drink the cup of God’s wrath but we can drink the cup of blessings and the cup of his blood as the new covenant.

In regard to the servantship of Jesus, Paul calls us to imitate him. So he wrote:

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

Jesus the servant to pay ransom to free us from sin, by drinking the cup of suffering and by being baptized into death on the Cross, serves the Father, as it is His will to do so. For this, the Father is pleased, as reflected in the First Reading (Isaiah 53:10-11), which is drawn from the fourth servant song (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). And this is why, as Paul puts it, the Father exalts Jesus the Son (Philippians 2:9-11).

The fact that Jesus has drunk the cup of suffering into death and been baptized into death on the Cross was an act of the high priest from heaven, who sympathizes with our weakness to sin, allowing us to confidently approach his throne of grace for taking away our sins through his sacrifice, as reflected in the Second Reading (Hebrews 4:14-16).  It is, indeed, out of mercy of God that Jesus has drunk the cup and been baptized into death on the Cross, shedding his blood for the cup of our blessings and the new covenant. And its essence is the Divine Mercy. So we sing in the refrain of the responsorial Psalm:

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you (Psalm 33:22).

St. Luke the Evangelist - Loyal Companion of St. Paul and Beloved Hipocratic Physician

October 18 is the memorial feast of St. Luke the Evangelist in the Roman Catholic Church. Besides the fact that he penned down both the third Gospel, the Gospel of Luke, and its sequence (i.e. Acts 1:1-2), the Acts of the Apostles, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, Luke is a loyal companion of St. Paul, as described in the First Reading of his feast day (2 Timothy 4:10-17b), joining him from his second mission trip (Acts 15:36-18:22) in Troas in Asia Minor.

Luke is believed to be Greek, born in Antioch, and to have practiced medicine according to Hippocrates ‘ teaching in Troas. It was where Paul met him and converted him to Christianity during his second mission journey.

First, how do we know that Luke met Paul in Troas and began to follow him from there on to Rome, basically, the rest of his second mission journey (Acts 16:10-18:22), third mission journey (Acts 18:23-21:14) and final journey to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:31) ?

Luke himself gives a hint in this text.

They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them, so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, we sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them (Acts 16:6-10).

Luke begins this passage with “They” (Acts 16:6), referring to Paul and his companions, Silas and Timothy. It was shortly after Timothy joined Paul’s mission in Lystra (Acts 16:1-3).  Then, in Acts 16:10, Luke begins to use we–statement, indicating that he began to accompany Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Therefore, from this point on, the Acts of the Apostles was written as Luke’s first-hand witness mainly of Paul’s apostolic mission. However, about things prior to this, namely about the birth of John the Baptist, the incarnation of Christ and birth of Jesus, Jesus’ childhood, Jesus’ baptism and ministries from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus’ post-resurrection encounters with his disciples, Jesus’ ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church on Pentecost, and the growth of the nascent Church, including conversion of Paul and his mission journey (Luke 1:1-24:53 and Acts 1:1-16:9),  Luke wrote based what had been written, including Mark’s Gospel (based on the two-source hypothesis), and personal testimonies of the Apostle, whom he met when Paul returned to Jerusalem (Acts 21:17-36).

In regard to his Gospel, because he was not a disciple of Jesus and had never met him in person, Luke wrote it through his careful investigative study of available documents on Jesus and his ministries. The sources of his Gospel include Mark’s Gospel, which is the first-written Gospel, and his interviews of those who had witnessed and encountered Jesus, including the Apostles. Because his Gospel gives detailed accounts of Mary, it is likely that Luke personally met her, perhaps in Jerusalem, and had the privilege to interview her, in writing about Birth of John the Baptist, Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity of the Lord, Presentation of the Lord, and Finding the Lord in the Temple (Luke 1:5-2:52), covering the all five Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

In fact, Luke explains how he composed his Gospel in its introduction.

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received (Luke 1:1-4).

Now how do we know who Luke is, since he neither wrote about himself in his Gospel nor in the Acts of the Apostles?

The only scriptural source to know Luke is Paul’s epistles since Luke was his companion from his second mission journey on.

First we learn from Paul that Luke is not only his co-worker on his mission but also a beloved physician, in his introduction of his co-workers to Colossians.

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas concerning whom you have received instructions; if he comes to you, receive him), and Jesus, who is called Justus, who are of the circumcision; these alone are my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras sends you greetings; he is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, always striving for you in his prayers so that you may be perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I can testify that he works very hard for you and for those in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. Luke the beloved physician sends greetings, as does Demas (Colossians 4:10-14).

Then, to Philemon, whom he met in Colossae, Paul introduces Luke, together with Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, and Demas, as his co-workers on mission.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as well as Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit (Philemon 23-25).

Later, in Rome, having lost some co-workers, such as Demas, Paul described Luke as his loyal companion in his emotional message to Timothy to install him as bishop of Ephesus:

Try to join me soon, for Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Luke is the only one with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in the ministry. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, the papyrus rolls, and especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. You too be on guard against him, for he has strongly resisted our preaching. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen (2 Timothy 4:9-18).

Paul reminded Timothy that Luke was the only co-worker of his to be with him in Rome, as other co-workers deserted him for their own worldly interests, if not being sent to other places to minister. He really counted on Timothy to join him and Luke in Rome, bringing Mark with him. Sensing his martyr’s death in Rome, Paul wanted his trustworthy co-workers, such as Luke, Timothy, and Mark, to be with him.

Reading through Luke’s writing of the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s epistles, we  see Paul’s missions were blessed with many co-workers, including Luke, Mark, Timothy, and more. This reflect the fact that Paul’s multiple mission journeys were to meet increasing pastoral needs through the Greco-Roman world. For this, in the Gospel Reading of the fest of Luke (Luke 10:1-9), Luke and other co-workers of Paul are in juxtaposition to the 72 disciples whom Jesus sent to address greater needs of ministry in Galilee. And these words of Jesus on his 72 disciples sent on mission also reflect Luke and other co-workers of Paul, whose mission took place on a much greater scale:

The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest (Luke 10:2).

In this sense, as a loyal co-worker of St. Paul, St. Luke was an excellent labor of the harvest for the master of the harvest, namely, Christ. Not only he was a companion of Paul’s journey from Troas on the second mission journey on but also as the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, to chronicle the life and ministry of Jesus,  and the birth and growth of the one holy catholic apostolic Church. 

 

St. Ignatius of Antioch: Citizenship of Heaven Confirmed by Christ for Being the Wheat of God

During the Apostolic era, John the Apostle and Evangelist had a group of students, forming the Johannine community in the growing nascent Church. Two outstanding ones are St. Polycarp and St. Ignatius of Antioch. This means that these students of John became excellent apologists of the authentic Christianity, defending the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which they directly learned from John, who were with him as his disciple. As John passionately fought against rising heresies, so did Polycarp and Ignatius.

Polycarp became bishop of Smyrna and Ignatius became bishop of Antioch, keeping the faith of early Christians burning under severe persecution. It also meant to risk their lives. In fact, both Polycarp and Ignatius were martyred. And they are venerated Saints of the Church. The feast of St. Polycarp of Smyrna is February 23 and the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch is October 17.

A legend says that Ignatius was one of the children blessed by Jesus with these words:

Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it (Mark 10:14-15).

The credibility of this legend aside, Ignatius entered the Kingdom. However, the way he earned the citizenship of the Kingdom was his martyrdom, being eaten by lions in the Roman Colosseum, after intensifying suffering due to persecution for not only keeping the faith but being promotor and defender of it.

Ignatius was arrested in Antioch and brought to Rome in chain. On the way to Rome to die, he had to endure series of tortures. But he continued to teach and invigorated the faith of Christians along the way. This is similar to how the 26 martyred Saints in Nagasaki strengthened the faith of Christians who witnessed them marching in peace and joyfully singing “Te Deus” on their journey of more than 500 miles from Kyoto, where their ears were cut off, to Nagasaki, where they were crucified to death. St. Paul Miki, who was about to be ordained as the first Japanese Jesuit priest, kept preaching to those who watched them march. For Ignatius, his teaching while being sent to Rome was to write his epistles. Knowing that his time was strictly limited, he poured all his heart, soul, and strength in writing, in terms of unity in the Church, obedience to the teaching of Christ, passed by the Apostles, pastoral roles of bishops, defending the teaching against heresies, and significance of martyrdom. While he was held in Smyrna, he wrote the Epistle to the Ephesians, the Epistle to the Magnesians, and the Epistles to the Trailians. Then met his friend, with whom he studied under John, Polycarp, who served as bishop there, and handed these epistles to him. Then he wrote the Epistles to the Philadelphians, the Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, and the Epistle to Polycarp when he was held in Traos. While there, Ignatius learned that Christians in Rome were trying to intervene the Roman authorities to avert his execution. To this, Ignatius strongly opposed, as he believed that martyrdom was his way to secure the heavenly citizenship. So, he wrote the Epistle to the Romans.

This makes Ignatius comparable to Paul of Tarsus, who also vigorously wrote his epistles to various Churches, mainly while being imprisoned.

Perhaps, Ignatius’ thoughts in anticipating his martyrdom was similar to that of Paul, expressed in these words:

For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

In writing to Christians in Rome, contemplating his martyrdom in anticipation, Ignatius wrote:

I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, he that I shall willingly die for God, unless you hinder me. I beseech of you not to show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Allow me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep in death, I may be no trouble to any one. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; I am but a condemned man: they were free, while I am, even until now, a servant. But when I suffer, I shall be the freed-man of Jesus, and shall rise again emancipated in Him. And now, being a prisoner, I learn not to desire anything worldly or vain (St. Ignatius of Antioch, the Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 4).

Ignatius sees himself as a libation (2 Timothy 4:6) to wild beasts, the persecutors, associating this with the pure bread of Christ, which the Living Bread of Life (John 6:51), namely the Eucharistic Bread. So, he considered himself as the wheat of God to be crushed to the ground by way of being eaten by the beasts of the world, the persecutors. As the wheat of God, Ignatius hopes that his martyrdom leads to greater faith of Christians, as a grain of wheat that falls to the ground will yield abundant harvest, as reflected in the Gospel Reading of his memorial feast (John 12:24-26).  Indeed, Ignatius’ life continues to feed and fuel our faith and the life of the Church, in light of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

The above words of Ignatius also show his anticipation for heavenly citizenship (Philippians 3:20), as Paul was looking forward to receiving the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8a) for keeping his faith and offering himself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Through these words, Ignatius sees himself to be truly free person as the citizen of heaven, as being emancipated in Christ through his suffering into martyrdom and being raised. This soteriological vision in anticipating his martyrdom is reflected in the First Reading of his feast (Philippians 3:17-4:1).

A child blessed by Jesus for his Kingdom, Ignatius of Antioch, has been beatified and sanctified there as Saint. And the way he entered the Kingdom and had his citizenship of the Kingdom confirmed by Jesus was to be the wheat of God, devoured by the wild beasts in the Roman Colosseum, for being a staunch apologist and propagator of the faith and the teaching.

Now, how does the life of St. Ignatius of Antioch nourish and invigorate your faith in your hope to be a citizen of heaven?

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - Fervent Promoter of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be Filled with the Fullness of God

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque began to develop her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament when she was very young. She must have recognized something gravitating in the Living Body of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. She grew closer to Christ as she grew up. However, her path to intimacy with Christ was not straightforward.

Margaret lost his father at age 8. This resulted in her family’s hardship. At age 9, she began to suffer from a debilitating illness. Amidst of her suffering, Margaret sustained herself by frequenting to the Blessed Sacrament for consolation. And she promised the Blessed Virgin to consecrate herself to a religious life. Then, immediately, she was healed. Because of this, she added the Blessed Virgin’s name, Mary, to her name, Margaret. Later, her family was able to recover assets that her father left.

As her health was restored and family’s economic situation became better, Margaret Mary’s life was more drawn to secular pleasures. Forgetting her vow made to the Blessed Virgin. Then, she saw a vision of Jesus being scourged. In this personal apparition to Margaret Mary, Jesus admonished her for letting herself drifted from him upon as her life became free from struggles and suffering. But he also assured of his Sacred Heart burning with love. This turned a dwindling fire of her heart for Jesus into a flame. And she entered a convent. Ever since then, the flame of her heart for Jesus has never diminish, because she found her heart in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and recognized him living in her heart.

Thus began the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And not only being so devoted to the Sacred Heart, but she also enthusiastically served to be a passionate promoter of the Sacred Heart devotion, as Jesus wanted her to be.

In order to propagate the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Margaret Mary wrote Mother Louise-Henriette de Soudeilles on June 25, 1687.

I beg the loving Heart of Jesus to consume our hearts in the pure flames of His holy love, so that they may live and breathe only to love, honor and glorify Him. I assure you, dear Mother, that I have nothing but pleasure in thinking of the ardent zeal this Sacred Heart give you to make Him known and loved. I see in that a great sign of His love for your Charity . You must never let up in this holy work which will, I think, bring you a rich reward from God. In His presence I do not forget you in my unworthy prayers and beg you not to refuse the help of your prayers to one who is wholly yours in the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the First Reading (Ephesians 3:14-19) reflects, the devotion to the Sacred Heart, which goes with the devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, let the love of God through the Holy Spirit (i.e. Romans 5:5) be poured into us, efficaciously affecting our inner-selves, being filled with the fullness of God and receiving what God reveals.

As in the case with St. Margaret Mary, we must devote ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus with humility and hope. Because of our humility, we know that we need God’s providential grace, especially during a time of challenges to endure to grow in character (i.e. Romans 5:4-6). So, Jesus is calling us to come to him to yoke with him through his Sacred Heart. And this is reflected in the Gospel Reading (Matthew 11:25-30).

St. Teresa of Avila 's Insight for Our Growth and Transformation for Nuptial Union with Christ in "The Interior Castle"

The purpose of Christian life is to be in compete union with Christ. To live as a Christian, upon receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, is to grow in faith, to be one with Christ, who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in Trinity. Based on her own conversion, she described transformative growth of Christian life in “The Interior Castle”(El Castillo Interior).

“Interior” means inner being (טֻחָה/tochah), where the truth is found and wisdom is concealed for those who are in contrition (i.e. Psalm 51:58). For Teresa of Avile, however, “The Interior Castile” is a metaphor of the soul (נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh). The seven mansions in the “Interior Castle” symbolically refer to seven developmental phases the soul grows closer to and to be in union with Christ.

Teresa wrote:

I thought of the soul as resembling a castle, formed of a single diamond or a very transparent crystal, and containing many rooms, just as in heaven there are many mansions. If we reflect, sisters, we shall see that the soul of the just man is but a paradise, in which, God tells us, He takes His delight. What, do you imagine, must that dwelling be in which a King so mighty, so wise, and so pure, containing in Himself all good, can delight to rest? Nothing can be compared to the great beauty and capabilities of a soul; however keen our intellects may be, they are as unable to comprehend them as to comprehend God, for, as He has told us, He created us in His own image and likeness (The Interior Castle, The First Mansions, Chapter I, 2).

Teresa sees the soul as the Interior Castle with seven mansions in juxtaposition to the Father’s house in heaven with many rooms (John 14:2). Therefore, making an inner journey into and through the seven mansions in one’s soul also reflects our exile from this world to heaven.

Then, what is the purpose of this inner journey into the “Interior Castle”, the soul?

Teresa explains:

Let us imagine, as I said, that there are many rooms in this castle, of which some are above, some below, others at the side; in the centre, in the very midst of them all, is the principal chamber in which God and the soul hold their most secret intercourse.  Think over this comparison very carefully; God grant it may enlighten you about the different kinds of graces He is pleased to bestow upon the soul. No one can know all about them, much less a person so ignorant as I am. The knowledge that such things are possible will console you greatly should our Lord ever grant you any of these favours; people themselves deprived of them can then at least praise Him for His great goodness in bestowing them on others. The thought of heaven and the happiness of the saints does us no harm, but cheers and urges us to win this joy for ourselves, nor will it injure us to know that during this exile God can communicate Himself to us loathsome worms; it will rather make us love Him for such immense goodness and infinite mercy (The Interior Castle, The First Mansions, Chapter I, 4).

Namely, we enter the “Interior Castle” – explore the soul – to be in complete union with Christ is the principal chamber in which God and the soul hold their most secret intercourse. And this most secret intercourse for the soul to be in union with God is the Seventh Mansion.

Though we are not worthy to be in such a perfect union with God, as we are loathsome worms (cf. Psalm 22:7; Isaiah 41:14; cf. Job 25:6), the love of God for us makes us bestowed with grace of His immense goodness and infinite mercy, for we are, in fact, created in His triune image (Genesis 1:26-27).

Moving from the first mansions to the seventh mansions, we go through series of challenges. But these are, as Teresa indicates, to fully restore our true being, the image of God in Trinity, by “pruning” (i.e. John 15:1-2). It is a necessary process to remove what may keep us from Christ, mainly worldly matters and carnal desires which can lead to sins.

To be in complete union with God the Christ, we must be as pure as a virgin. For Teresa, this is what we are to be transformed as we grow closer to Christ, who is in the Seventh Mansions, innermost part of the Inner Castle, the soul.

Thus, Teresa writes:

We now come to speak of divine and spiritual nuptials, although this sublime favour cannot be received in all its perfection during our present life, for by forsaking God this great good would be lost. The first time God bestows this grace, He, by an imaginary vision of His most sacred Humanity, reveals Himself to the soul so that it may understand and realize the sovereign gift it is receiving. He may manifest Himself in a different way to other people; the person I mentioned, after having received Holy Communion beheld our Lord, full of splendour, beauty, and majesty, as He was after His resurrection. He told her that henceforth she was to care for His affairs as though they were her own and He would care for hers: He spoke other words which she understood better than she can repeat them. This may seem nothing new, for our Lord had thus revealed Himself to her at other times; yet this was so different that it left her bewildered and amazed, both on account of the vividness of what she saw and of the words heard at the time, also because it took place in the interior of the soul where, with the exception of the one last mentioned, no other vision had been seen (The Inner Castle, The Seventh Mansions, Chapter II, 4).

Though the divine and spiritual nuptials with God in Christ cannot not take place during our life time on earth, this splendor union with Him is where our exile from this world, from our life of sin, will end, through series of cleansings, pruning, and refinements, as we move through these mansions to the seventh ones.

Teresa recognizes that there are many souls, laying in the courtyard of the castle, rather than entering the interior castle and meet Christ in the most intimate union in the seventh mansions. These displaced souls are of those whose faith is lukewarm. Or of those who are lured by worldly and carnal pleasures.

As she explains, the only way to enter the interior castle and go through the journey of growth and transformation with spiritual pruning is prayer and meditation in sincere humility. In other words, being in prayer and meditation as anawim is how we enter and commence this pilgrim journey to be in nuptial union with God in Christ, experience his full revelation.

The First Reading (Romans 8:22-27) of the memorial feast of St. Teresa of Avila reflects the fact that it is the Holy Spirit to empower and guide our entry into the interior castle with the hope for redemption and adoption by God’s love to be worthy of the nuptial union with Christ though we are as worthless as worms because of our sins.  The journey through the mansions in the interior castle can be painful in our stuggle with the forces that keep us from Christ. But this pain is from pruning (John 15:2) and like a labor pain (Romans 8:22) to be born as the new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Gospel Reading (John 15:1-8) shows that our journey through the mansions in the interior castle to be in union with Christ is to become fruitful pruned branches securely attached Christ the true vine.

Let us enter the interior castle through our prayer and meditation, with humility of anawim, leaving worldly and carnal attachments behind. Let us continue to be pruned and cleansed as we move through mansions to mansions in the castile, keeping hope for redemption and adoption to be worthy to be in complete union with Christ in Trinity. Then, we will find ourselves securely attached to Christ, being abundantly fruitful in his glory.