"What Do I Have to Do With You, Jesus?"

 

The Multitudes Become Prophets

 The Gospel for today picks up where we left off last week—Jesus is back in the boat crossing the Sea of Galilee, returning to His home.

As has become the case with our Lord, people have come to seek Him out, for they’ve learned that benefits follow Him everywhere.  And so now they bring to Jesus a paralytic lying on a bed.  St. Mark details this event as the one in which these friends of the paralyzed man open the roof of the house where our Lord is preaching because they can’t get near enough because of the crowds.

And we know the story.  Jesus heals again with His word.  “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

And just as the sheep have gathered in their faith, the wolves are also gathered.  “This man blasphemes,” say those of the scribes who are present.

What is it that brings this miraculous healing?  Is it the faith of the one who is paralyzed?  We can’t say that this is not PART of the story.  But St. Matthew records, “When He saw THEIR faith…”  Who is it that is described by the word THEIR?  Since we’ve become focused on pronouns, let us be attentive.  THEIR is plural!  What is being referred to here is the faith of those friends who carried this poor unfortunate to come before Jesus.  It is THEY who have believed sufficiently to have THEIR faith rewarded.

The Study Bible reveals that three components of our Lord’s divinity are on display in this account. 

First, He knows the hearts of men (2Chron 6:30—Then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men)).

Second, He grants forgiveness of sins (Ps 103:12—As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us).

Third, He heals simply by the power of His word (Ps 107:20—He sent His Word and healed them).

St. Matthew ends today’s lesson by describing the crowds assembled.  Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, Who had given such power to men.

And herein lies the mentioned “prophecy”!

The crowds see Jesus as a “man”.  And they see in part rightly, for we Orthodox know Him simultaneously as both God AND Man!

But their vision is imperfect.  In this case it is not a “man” who has this power to heal by His word alone.  It is THE “Man”, the God-Man Who does this.

So why are the crowds words prophetic instead of just being “wrong”?

It is because our Lord promises His Apostles, Verily, verily I say to you, he that believes in Me, the works that I do shall he also do; and greater works than these shall He do; because I go to my Father.” (John 14:12)

And so from the very lips of our Lord we find the crowds words, although not by their choice intended to say so, but saying nonetheless that God gives such authority, such power, to men.  It has been proven through all generations of the Church!

Saints Peter and Paul

 Being exposed to both the Gospels and the Epistles throughout the Worship Calendar for each year, we are certainly not unfamiliar with Saints Peter and Paul.  But as to knowledge of what happened to them as missionaries, we begin to lose sight of who they are to the Church.

We speak often of how the Church’s teachings about any particular Feast come from Her hymnology.  And so let us give consideration on this day to some of the hymns that come from Matins for this Feast Day.  The following are three Kathisma from the service.  The first sings the praises of St. Peter.

Having abandoned the fishing grounds, you received from the Father Himself the revelation of the Word’s Incarnation, and as one who is privileged you cried to all, saying to your Creator, ‘I have known You as Son of God, consubstantial with Him.  Therefore you were truly revealed as the rock of faith, as is proper, and a trustee of the keys of grace.  Intercede, therefore, O Apostle Peter, with Christ our God to grant forgiveness of sins to those who eagerly celebrate your memory.

The second sings the praises of St. Paul

From heaven, from Christ our God, you received the call, and you appeared as the preacher of Light, illuminating all with the teachings of grace; for having challenged the worship of the written Law, you caused the knowledge of the Spirit to rise for believers.  Therefore you worthily ascended to the third heaven and attained Paradise.  Therefore, O Holy Apostle Paul, intercede with Christ our God to grant forgiveness of sins to those who eagerly celebrate your holy memory.

And a third that praises both.

Let us extol those two great luminaries of exceeding radiance, the all-wise Peter and Paul, who have been manifested as heads of the Disciples, radiating with the fire of the Divine Spirit, and burning up the darkness of error, thus attaining worthily their abode in the kingdom on high, being equal in grace and rank.  Therefore we cry out to them saying, ‘O Apostles of Christ our God, seek forgiveness of sins for those who eagerly celebrate your holy memory.

In the services for this day the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul are glorified, as friends of Christ,  of the heavenly recesses, rivers of knowledge, feeders of the entire inhabited world, preachers of true piety, intercessors for the whole world, disciples of Christ and founders of the Church, true pillars and walls, and trumpets of the doctrine and suffering of the divine Christ, fishers of the world, possessors of the keys of the Kingdom, prototypes of the preachers of God, chiefs of the Apostles.

The Prologue records these words:

Unlearned and learned but equal in spirit and in the love of God, as strong as angels, Peter a simple man, Paul educated, both illumined, by the grace of the Spirit, two flaming candles, unquenchable, towering and beautiful, two brilliant stars, traversed the earth and spread the light. Nothing did they take, to men they gave all, completely poor, the world they enriched, prisoners and servants, conquered the entire world with the teaching of Christ, enriched the world, with a new weapon conquered the entire world: by humility and peace and meekness blessed, Prayer and fasting and mercy powerful. When to them, that stormy day, arrived the stormy night, bloodthirsty Nero, their life cut short.  But when the ruler of the world, a command issued and to suffering, gave over Peter and Paul the world was theirs and not his [Nero's] anymore, by death, the apostles gained the Kingdom.