I Am Not Worthy That You Should Enter Under My Roof: St. Luke 7:1-10

St. Luke 7:1-10: "1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 'for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.' 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, 'Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.' 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!' 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick."

The season of Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday, with the account of the centurion, whose servant is sick, and desires that our Lord Jesus would come and heal him. The theme to this whole text is humility, and that after all is a part of what Lent is about, humbling ourselves before God on account of our sin.

What is truly amazing about this centurion, however, is that he is a man of great authority, as he relates to our Lord Jesus, through his servants, that he is a man who says to his soldiers, "Go," and they go, and "Come," and they come, and he says to his servant, "Do this," and he does it. Now, at first glance this doesn't really seem like humility, it seems like the centurion is bragging about how much power and authority he has. But that is precisely the point, for even though the centurion has all this power and authority over people, he realizes that he is not worthy to have our Lord Jesus come under his roof.

Furthermore, the centurion believes that the Lord does not even have to show up for the servant to be healed; That our Lord Jesus could heal him just by speaking the word. This centurion was not a Jew, he was a Roman soldier, but he had already demonstrated his love for the people of Israel, by building them a synagogue. This centurion also reveals he understands who has the true authority and power, for he understands that the power and authority of our Lord, Who is the Creator and Preserver of all things, is far more greater than any power that he holds. In this we are shown the centurion's humility, and that he is placing himself under our Lord Jesus' authority.

For this faith, our Lord Jesus turns to the entire crowd, and proclaims to them that no faith like this has he seen in the people of God. This is truly a remarkable statement for He is basically saying that the people of God, who have His Word and teachings, lack the faith of someone, who doesn't have these things. One wonders what produced the faith in this centurion. We can tell, since he built a synagogue, the place where God's Word was preached and taught among the Jews, that somewhere along the line, he must have heard the Old Testament of the Jews. And it was a love for this Word that he had heard, that prompted him to build a synagogue for them. And we can further surmise that since our Lord Jesus was preaching and teaching, and healing the sick, and casting out demons in the region, that the centurion would have heard the reports about Him. Therefore, the centurion has placed his faith, not in healing powers, but in the Lord Jesus Himself. And this centurion willingly places aside his own authority, to be under our Lord's authority.

One final note about his pericope. The words that the centurion states, that proclaim his humility, are part of the prayers that ministers have been praying for centuries, as part of their prayers before receiving communion. The phrase used is, "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my soul shall be healed." The priest would repeat this phrase three times, beating his chest with lower three fingers of his right hand when he said the words "not worthy." This signified that the Celebrant, although handing the people of God our Lord's Body and Blood, the true Authority and Minister was our Lord. He is just acting on our Lord's behalf. Therefore, he speaks of his unworthiness to hold this honor, and to receive the Lord's Body and Blood, for his forgiveness.

This too, should be our attitude when we receive the Lord's Supper. We should express our unworthiness to receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation that are given to us in the Holy Eucharist. For, on account of our sinfulness, we do not deserve to receive this gift. But on account of our Lord's Word, that is, the Words of Institution, which proclaim that the Body and Blood, given in bread and wine, are for the remission of our sins. He gives this to us freely, without any merit or worthiness on our part.

Therefore, as we enter into the season of Lent this day, let us humble ourselves before our Almighty Lord, and with ashes upon our heads, receive the Lord's Body and Blood given in bread and wine.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Love Your Enemies, Do Good, and Lend, Hoping For Nothing in Return: St. Luke 6:1-35

St. Luke 6:1-35: "1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, 'Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?' 3 But Jesus answering them said, 'Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?' 5 And He said to them, 'The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.' 6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Arise and stand here.' And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, 'I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?' 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. 12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. 17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. 20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. 24 " But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 27 But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.'"

As we draw closer to Lent, we hear the Words of our Lord from the Sermon on the Mount once again, telling us how we are to behave towards our neighbor. The summary is to love without expecting to be loved back. To do good things, without expecting a reward, or receiving gratitude or thanks for having done it. We are to lend, whether that be money, or food, or clothes, not expecting it to be given back. In other words, we are to do these things freely. This is what Christians are supposed to do. However, we know all too well, that we fail miserably at this.

For we are always expecting some return for our good works. For example when it comes to love, even among the people we love the most, we expect that they tell us that they love us back, and if they don't then we assume that they are mad at us, or we did something we ought not to have done. We all like to have a pat on the back sometimes, and be told that we are doing things the right way, and that our efforts are being noticed.

Our Lord, though requires us to do these things without expecting anything in return, that is, to do these things that our Lord lists, unconditionally.

This prepares us for Lent. For during Lent we will hear instruction in the Ten Commandments. In the Second Table of the Law, we learn about what responsibilities we have toward our neighbor, and when we hear them, we will realize how far off we have missed the mark. This will produce in us one of two reactions. One, we will ignore the warning signs, and think about all the good things we have done, and we will tell ourselves, quite mistakenly, that we are not that bad of people, for there are numerous examples of more corrupt and incorrigible individuals. And we will go on with our lives as if we had never heard the Law and the preaching on the Commandments.

The second reaction that instruction in the Ten Commandments will produce in us is despair. We will realize how much we have failed, and how often we continue to fail to do what our Lord desires us to do. And we will sorrow over our sins, and desire to do better, but every time we hear the Commandments again, we will once again be reminded of our failure. For those of us in this category, we are ripe to hear the Gospel, and we are ready for the teachings of Passiontide, where we will hear over and over again, that our punishment, and our constant breaking of the Law, has been paid for, and the penalty is removed from us, and placed upon our Lord Jesus Christ, who placed all of our sin and guilt on the altar of the cross, and sacrificed it once and for all to our Heavenly Father.

And our Lord Jesus, Who stands has both High Priest, offering atonement on our behalf, and as the sacrificial Lamb, will have His sacrifice accepted by His Heavenly Father, and upon His intercession on our behalf to the Father, our sins will be forgiven. And upon hearing this, we have extreme joy.

This is something those who try to good work their way into Heaven, will never experience. Those who do not see the depravity of their souls, will never see the great sacrifice that our Lord and Savior offered for us. Therefore, count yourself blessed, when your sins are pointed out to you, for it is one more chance to hear of the cross. And when we have heard about the cross, and the unconditional love that our Lord shows us in it, we learn to show this same love towards our fellowman, the Holy Ghost working through us. More importantly, when we do fail, and don't do as the Law commands, we learn to place those sins into the ears of our Minister, who, standing in the place of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgives those sins, putting in front of our eyes, once again the cross, pulling us out of despair and sorrow over our sins, and giving us joy at God's great love for us.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Today This Scripture Is Fulfilled in Your Hearing: St. Luke 4:14-44

St. Luke 4:14-44: "4 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 'The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.' 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' 22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?' 23 He said to them, 'You will surely say this proverb to Me, "Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country."' 24 Then He said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.' 28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. 31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. 33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, 'Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!' 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet, and come out of him!' And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. 36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, 'What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.' 37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 38 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. 39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. 40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, 'You are the Christ, the Son of God!' And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. 42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; 43 but He said to them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.' 44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee."

One of the good things about this Lectionary is that we get to go back and hear the narratives that we heard in St. Mark, told from a different perspective from St. Luke. As a matter of fact, if the Epiphany season was longer this year, we would have also heard these same narratives from St. Matthew's point of view. So that, the three synoptic Gospel writers each have a voice in training us about our Lord Jesus' life and mininstry leading up to His crucifixion. And during Lent we will get to hear from all four Gospel writers their perspective of the Passion of our Lord. If you are wondering when we will get to hear St. John's perspective on the life and ministry of our Lord, that will come during the Easter season, from Easter to Whitsunday. St. John giving us our Lord's life and ministry from a theological standpoint comes after Easter. For the three synoptic Gospel writers present the material in a catechetical manner. And since Epiphany was historically the preparation for catechesis into the Church, and during Lent the catechesis actually took place, these narratives serve as a teaching tool for to learn what our Lord did while He was alive on Earth, and it teaches us what things He endured for our salvation.

Therefore, today, we get to see from St. Luke the narrative of our Lord teaching in the synagogue of His home town, Nazareth. From St. Luke we learn that the people of Nazareth did want our Lord Jesus to perform the works that He did in Capernaum, but our Lord says no. We also learn that this upset the people of Nazareth so much that it led them to so much wrath that they desired to throw our Lord off of the mountain upon which the town was situated. Now, something should first be said about differences between the Gospel writers. St. Luke and St. Mark to not differ in substance, they only differ in the details. That is, what one writer leaves out, the other writer supplies. This is for our benefit, for we get to see this narrative on our Lord's return to His home town, from different perspectives to get the full story.

The key to understanding this pericope is that the people of Nazareth had a stumbling block which got in the way of our Lord performing any miracles there, and that stumbling block was who is family was. He was born to lowly parents, a handmaid and a carpenter. They knew His family, and they weren't kings, or leaders, and of course, this is from whom the Jews thought the true Messiah would be, from a family of substantial standing. Therefore, we first see our Lord being despised by men, for whom He is not; for His humble existence.

In other words, they had heard of the miracles performed in Capernaum, but because of their reproach of Who He was, and on account of their envy of the works performed by Him in a Gentile region, they did not receive His works. Mystically speaking we see here the unbelief of the Jews, portrayed by the people of Nazareth, and the willing reception of the Gentiles, represented by Capernaum, which was in the land of the Gentiles. This is in a sense a foreshadowing of what would eventually take place, the Jews would reject our Lord Jesus, to the point of crucifying Him, but the Gentiles would gladly hear about the Messiah from the Apostles after His Resurrection and Ascension.

This is shown further by our Lord's exegesis of the Old Testament. For in both Elijah's day, and Elisha's day, the unbelief of the Jews towards the prophets prevented them from healing the Jews. Only the widow of Zarephath would receive the benefits of Elijah's preaching, on account of her belief. And only Naaman, the Syrian, would receive the benefit of Elisha's preaching, for only he was willing to do what the prophet asked. Therefore, we see from these examples from the Prophets, the unwillingness of the Jewish people to listen to and hear the Word of God. It is on account of their unbelief that many more wonders were not performed in their territory. As it was for the prophets Elijah and Elisha, so it is for our Lord Jesus in His own country. For our Lord was not the type of Lord they expected, nor wanted.

The same is true today, for many want our Lord to work many wonders and miracles, to show Himself in grand ways. They prefer rock bands, and laser light shows with fog machines blowing, and loud amplification systems blaring over all, for in their mind, they think this is the only way that people will listen. First of all, it is not the only way that people will listen, but secondly, and more important, it is not the way that our Lord portrayed Himself, nor came to His people. But He came to us in simple and humble means. He does this today as well. For He comes to us in the simple and humble forms of water, word, bread and wine. In these simple means He, through the working of the Holy Ghost, performs the miracle of forgiveness of sin. There are many today who despise and distain such simple means, after all they aren't as flashy as a big screen with words and pictures on it, and loud music.

But this is how our Lord has chosen to impart His miracles of forgiveness, life and salvation. All those who receive them in faith, trusting that our Lord does impart His gifts through them, gladly receive them, and they are strengthened through them. Those who reproach them, receive no benefit, and search after other false means, which lead them away from God, and into a theology of themself. And there is no salvation in one's self.

May God Almighty lead you to the One True Faith, and guard and keep you in that faith, unto life everlasting, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

They Went Out and Preached That People Should Repent: St. Mark 6:1-29

St. Mark 6:1-29: "1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, 'Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?' And they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.' 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. 7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts--9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. 10 Also He said to them, 'In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!' 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. 14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, 'John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.' 15 Others said, 'It is Elijah.' And others said, 'It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.' 16 But when Herod heard, he said, 'This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!' 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her. 18 For John had said to Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.' 19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, 'Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.' 23 He also swore to her, 'Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.' 24 So she went out and said to her mother, 'What shall I ask?' And she said, 'The head of John the Baptist!' 25 Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, 'I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.' 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb."

Our Lord Jesus is not without honor except in His own country, among His own relatives, and in His own house. Therefore, He sends out His disciples to preach in His own country, and among His relatives, and in His own house, that is, the house of Israel. There are three things to point out about this sending. First, that our Lord Jesus gives them authority to cast out demons. They will do this through preaching His Word. Second, they are to take nothing with them, except a staff. They are to rid themselves of the trappings of this world. And they are to carry only a staff, the symbol of a prophet, as we see from Moses the first prophet, who carried the "rod of God." This staff is also a symbol of their role as shepherd to the lost sheep of Israel, just like the staff of Moses, was his rod that he used in his vocation of shepherd. Third, the preaching of the disciples is the same as the preaching of Jesus. We can see this from St. Mark 1:15, where our Lord starts His preaching by saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." This is in fact that same preaching of St. John the Baptist, who is beheaded by Herod in this pericope, or as the ancient Church referred to it, the decollation of St. John the Baptist.

This preaching of the Jesus and the disciples, going out into the entire territory of Herod, causes him to think that St. John the Baptist is not dead. This causes the Evangelist St. Mark to relate to us the events leading up to the decollation of St. John the Baptist. Herodias is none to please with the preaching of St. John the Baptist, she doesn't like having her sin pointed out to her, she refuses to listen to the preaching of the Law. The same can be said about Herod, for he is after all the one who puts St. John the Baptist in prison. However, it is different with Herod, for we are told that he enjoys listening to the preaching of St. John the Baptist, and "heard him gladly." Herodias on the other hand shows no sign of the fear of God, instead we see from her the control and manipulation which she has over Herod, or as we say in the vernacular, "She wears the pants." Herodias plays the role of the devil, who stomps out every seed planted by the preaching of our Lord Jesus, so that it can never grow.

For this reason Herod is a poor character, for we get the sense from the Evangelist St. Mark that Herod if he was allowed to continue to listen to the Word of God would repent. However, Herodias will have none of that, and in the end, through her daughter, she brings St. John the Baptist's earthly life to a close.

One may wonder why the sending of the disciples, and the decollation of St. John the Baptist appear in the same pericope, or for that matter why in the Gospel of St. Mark, they are lumped next to each other? The answer is an easy one, when one remembers the Words of our Lord Jesus at the beginning of this pericope, "'A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." The reality of this revealed to us when we consider that our Lord Jesus was crucified for His preaching, and that all but one of the disciples who were sent out as His apostles were killed for their preaching about our Lord Jesus. St. John the Baptist, we are shown, is killed for his preaching of our Lord Jesus, and even the some of the prophets of the Old Testament were killed for their preaching of the Messiah, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. We are shown here by the Evangelist St. Mark, what happens to the preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The devil, through various means and people, tries to silence their voice. Herod perhaps thought that he would never hear the preaching of St. John the Baptist ever again, but our Lord shows His grace and mercy, by sending replacements for St. John the Baptist, His disciples. They go into the entire territory of Herod, and proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. This Word reaches back to Herod so that he thinks that St. John the Baptist is raised from the dead, and in a sense, that is, according to his preaching, he has been raised from the dead. New preachers of the Gospel have replaced him. Our Lord continues to send us preachers of the Gospel, so that we might hear what He has done for us. And there are still people who play the part of Herodias, who try to silence these preachers, who are offended at the preaching of repentance, who refuse to repent of their sin. Some of these are even within the Church, which we see when ministers of the Gospel are unjustly removed from their calls.

However, our Lord is abundant in His mercy for He keeps on sending ministers of the Gospel to these hard-hearted people with stopped up ears, so that they might repent. And even if they do to these preachers of the Gospel, what they did to the last one, our Lord Jesus will still send them more. There may be one or two preachers in the mix who will tickle their itching ears, and preach the ways of the world, and not the Word of God, but our Lord will continue to be gracious, and find a way for these individuals to hear the Gospel.

This is why this pericope is such good news for us, for we see the work of our Lord in providing ministers of the Gospel. We even have an example in Herod who even after he is forced to kill the one preacher he was willing to listen to, is given the opportunity to hear the Gospel preached again, through the disciples. We do not know from holy Scriptures, nor from history if Herod ever did repent, and from what we do know it doesn't look promising. But if Herod did continue to refuse to repent, it serves for us as a warning to heed the Words of the ministers of the Gospel who have been sent to preach to us, for they have been sent by our Lord Jesus Himself, to preach to us about Him. And if Herod did repent, then we have a shining example of how efficacious our Lord's Word is, for it has the power to convert even someone as hard-hearted as Herod. May the Lord God continue to send you preachers of the Gospel who will preach the Word of God in its truth and purity and administer the Sacraments of God according to Christ's institution.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

He Who Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit Never Has Forgiveness: St. Mark 3:1-35

St. Mark 3:1-35: "1 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Step forward.' 4 Then He said to them, 'Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?' But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. 7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, 'You are the Son of God.' 12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. 13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, 'Sons of Thunder'; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house. 20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, 'He is out of His mind.' 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebub,' and, 'By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.' 23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: 'How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation'--30 because they said, 'He has an unclean spirit.' 31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, 'Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.' 33 But He answered them, saying, 'Who is My mother, or My brothers?' 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, 'Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.'"

This pericope spans several topics, however, we will concentrate on just one. The teaching that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is the unforgivable sin. Our Lord likens this sin to a battle; a house divided against itself. This can be pictured by reflecting upon a civil war. When a nation wars against itself the nation is torn apart, and is left desolate, on both sides of the war. We can see this from our own nation's past, where differing states from the North and South battled for political reasons. In this war more American soldiers were killed than in any other war in its history. The South was left demolished, and it took many years to rebuild it. In fact, after the war, it took many years for the nation to recover as a whole.

The point is that when a house is divided, nobody wins. It is impossible for good to triumph. The same is true about our Lord Jesus, if He is casting out demons by Beelzebub, as He is accused of, how can Satan stand. For Satan desires the destruction of the human race. He loves when the human race is divided against itself. Therefore, Satan, being evil, will not allow his demons to be cast out of people, for in so doing he is doing damage to himself. Therefore, he cannot win, if he is warring against himself.

Our Lord, however, shows how the devil is defeated, and in so doing, reveals that He is not in league with Satan, but is in fact His enemy. For He is the One Who binds the strong man, which is the devil, and plunders his house, that is, this world. Therefore our Lord destroys the devils abode, cleansing it and making it ready for His Word to be preached and taught to the whole world through His Apostles, who are named in this reading. Our Lord then goes on to say that the one who accuses Him of being in league with the devil, knowing that the things He does are from God, is committing an unforgiveable sin; Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

This teaching of the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, has led to many misunderstandings about its meaning, and intention. With the assistance of the Early Fathers, we will attempt to clean up some of the mess of teachings.* 

Blasphemy against our Lord, although a very great sin, can be forgiven after repentance, for our Lord was born of a lowly birth, and lived as a man. However, blasphemy against God will not be forgiven. And since the work of the Holy Spirit is to increase the kingdom of God, which shows that He is God, blasphemy against Him will not be tolerated, in this world or the next. What that means is committing this sin warrants eternal damnation. This is a very grave sentence, and causes stern consternation among those of us who desire not to be guilty of such a sin.

But we can take comfort in the fact that this sin is tied to the parable of the strong man, and the division of a house, for only those who try to prevent or limit the work of the Holy Spirit, or make His work out to be something it is not, which in reality is just preventing and limiting His work, are guilty of this sin. Part of this preventing the work of the Holy Spirit, is impenitence. For the Holy Spirit's task is to forgive sins, which He does through the means of grace that our Lord Jesus instituted for our use, but those who refuse forgiveness, or those who do not believe that their actions, thoughts, and words are sinful, remain in impenitence, and therefore cannot be forgiven. This means they have blasphemed the Holy Ghost, and have condemned themselves to eternal damnation.

To carry this thought further, those who live in impenitence, have divided themselves against the Church, and by virtue of the unity of the Church with our Lord, that is, they are Bride and Bridegroom, or Husband and Wife, if they are not in unity with the Church, they are not in unity with our Lord. Again, a house divided against itself, cannot stand. Nor can the impenitent stand in the day of judgment, for they have divided themselves from our Lord. St. Ambrose** carries this idea further by stating that the heretics, like Arius, who divided the Holy Trinity, commit the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, for they divide the Church. Therefore, all those who cause divisions in the Church, by teaching false doctrine, (we are not talking about the divisions that are naturally caused because some hold to the Truth) are blaspheming against the Holy Ghost, for they are dividing the house against itself, and sadly they are leading men into their false teachings and ultimately to their eternal damnation.

This is why it is important to remain faithful to our Lord's teachings, using as our source and norm, holy Scripture, and checking our teachings and what our church body teaches against what holy Scripture teaches. We must also examine and know our enemy the devil, which includes knowing the false teachings that have popped up from generation to generation, to see that we do not make the same mistake those who followed those false teachers have done. We must also recognize, and act upon that recognition when our church body no longer follows the teachings of the historic, apostolic, and catholic (that is, universal) Church. We cannot remain in a church body that teaches falsely, and still expect to be in unity with our Lord. For a house divided against itself cannot stand.

It is especially sad when a church body is content to go with the status quo, and through inaction, refuses to check and re-check her doctrine, so that after many errors have crept in through apathy, people blindly follow these errors, neither knowing, nor caring about the truth. This why a church body must always be concerned about the doctrine that she upholds, and hold the ministers under her care accountable for the doctrines and practice. The same thing is true of ministers and their parishes, they have a duty and obligation to make sure that what their parishes preach and practice are in line with what our Lord taught, and what He instituted to be done in His Church. All this is done to promote true unity and fellowship. And where true unity and fellowship exist, there also exists love and trust among those who are united in doctrine and practice.

Our Lord is indeed abundant in His grace. And even in this pericope He does not accuse the scribes from Jerusalem of blasphemy, but rather warns them of the danger of this sin. This warning serves for us as well. It is an admonition to strive after truth and purity in preaching. It is an admonition to repentance, confessing our sins to our Heavenly Father. It is an admonition to beware of false teachers, who desire, as agents of the devil, to divide and spoil the Church of God on earth. And it is an admonition to unity and fellowship, boldly holding firm to the teachings of our Lord Jesus, which He passed down to us, through His holy Apostles. May our Lord Jesus ever keep you in the One True Faith.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

* What follows is a combination of the writings of St. Chrysostom and St. Augustine from the Catena Aurea of St. Thomas Aquinas.

** de Fide, i.1