Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matt 14:13-21)

Once He received the loaves and fish, the Lord looked up to heaven, blessed and broke them, giving thanks to the Father that He was changed into the food of the Gospel following the era of the Law and the prophets. Then He told the people to sit down on the grass. These people are supported not only by lying on the ground but by the Law; each one is borne up by the fruit of his works no less than by the grass of the ground. Bread is also given to the apostles because through them the gifts of divine grace were to be offered.

After the people were fed and filled by the five loaves and the two fish, and were satisfied, there was so much bread and fish left over that it filled twelve baskets. So the multitude was satisfied by the Word of God coming from the teaching of the Law and the prophets, while an overabundance of divine power through the serving of eternal food (which abounded in the twelve apostles) was preserved for the Gentiles. The same number of those who ate is found among those who would be future believers. It is contained in the book of Acts how out of the countless number of people in Israel, five thousand men believed.

The wonder produced at these miraculous events stands in relation to the proportion of its underlying purpose. From the broken bread and fish gathered after the people were satisfied, the amount collected corresponds to the destined number of the people who believe, those who would be filled by the heavenly grace of the apostles. The measures taken comply with the number, and the number complies with the measures taken. An underlying principle closely adheres to and continues within the means of divine power for the fulfillment of what follows.

Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew 14.11

Blood and Body, Sprinkling and Washing

I recently heard a good message on Hebrews 10:19–25, and it spurred thoughts on blood, body, and water as they apply to the Christian life.

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God,… (Heb 10:19–21)

Notice that Jesus provided two things that give access. The first was His precious blood as of a lamb without blemish and without spot by which we were redeemed (see 1 Pet 1:19). He completed the sin offering necessary on the Day of Atonement wherein the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the Holy Place (Lev 16:16) and to carry away the transgressions and sins of His chosen people (Lev 16:21). Second, instead of a heavy veil or curtain preventing us from God’s very presence, we have a new and living way in Jesus’ flesh that parallels entrance by His blood, so that what had been accomplished some 2000 years ago continues unabated, allowing us priestly access as we take the Lord’s Supper “which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote to prevent us from dying, but that we should live forever in Jesus Christ” (Ignatius of Antioch, To the Ephesians 20).

… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb 10:22)

Because of what our Lord Jesus accomplished, the writer encouraged his audience to draw near, to complete the full function of their priesthood. Notice the application of sprinkling and washing. These are taken from the consecration ritual for the priests, further connecting us to our new office and duty. Before the priest could properly enter into his role, he needed to be prepared by the Lord. This included washing with water (Lev 8:6) and the sprinkling of blood mixed with anointing oil (Lev 8:30). These both point to the work of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, we receive “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5), thus fulfilling what God had promised:

I shall sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your uncleanness, and I will also cleanse you from all your idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I shall take the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I shall put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My requirements, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (Ezek 36:25–27)

By virtue of God’s consecrating and purifying work, we have both a right and duty to continually come before Him and live out our priesthood. How?

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works (Heb 10:23–24)

We have been qualified as a royal and holy priesthood (1 Pet 2:5, 9). Let us go on as those who serve in the face of the living God.

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matt 13:44–52)

Now, these things being said, we must hold that “the kingdom of heaven is likened to a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind,” in order to set forth the varied character of the principles of action among men, which are as different as possible from each other, so that the expression “gathered from every kind” embraces both those worthy of praise and those worthy of blame in respect of their proclivities towards the forms of virtues or of vices. And the kingdom of heaven is likened unto the variegated texture of a net, with reference to the Old and the New Scripture which is woven of thoughts of all kinds and greatly varied.… And this net has been cast into the sea—the wave—tossed life of men in every part of the world, and which swims in the bitter affairs of life. And before our Savior Jesus Christ this net was not wholly filled; for the net of the law and the prophets had to be completed by Him who says, “Think not that I came to destroy the law and the prophets, I came not to destroy but to fulfill.” And the texture of the net has been completed in the Gospels, and in the words of Christ through the Apostles. On this account, therefore, “the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind.” And, apart from what has been said, the expression, “gathered from every kind,” may show forth the calling of the Gentiles from every race. And those who attended to the net which was cast into the sea are Jesus Christ, the master of the net, and “the angels who came and ministered unto Him,” who do not draw up the net from the sea, nor carry it to the shore beyond the sea,—namely, to things beyond this life, unless the net be filled full, that is, unless the “fulness of the Gentiles” has come into it. But when it has come, then they draw it up from things here below, and carry it to what is figuratively called the shore, where it will be the work of those who have drawn it up, both to sit by the shore, and there to settle themselves, in order that they may place each of the good in the net into its own order, according to what are here called “vessels,” but cast without and away those that are of an opposite character and are called bad. By “without” is meant the furnace of fire as the Saviour interpreted, saying, “So shall it be at the consummation of the age. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the righteous and shall cast them into the furnace of fire.” Only it must be observed, that we are already taught by the parable of the tares and the similitude set forth, that the angels are to be entrusted with the power to distinguish and separate the evil from the righteous; for it is said above, “The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth.” But here it is said, “The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the righteous and shall cast them into the furnace of fire.”

Origen, Commentary on Matthew 10.12

Worship as Education

St. Paul's Lutheran, Hamel, IL

Pastor Larry Peters has posted on the benefits of worship for our theological education. Here is a choice nugget:

It is a profound truth that we discover who we are and whose we are primarily through worship. It is our encounter with the living God. It is where we tread lightly upon the holy ground of His real presence. It is the place where we surrender preference to truth and where we learn to love that living truth instead of turning that truth into something we can love. I wonder if this was not at the root of Luther's bold phrase that he was captive to the Word of God. I hope that we are all captive to the Word in that way. Oh, that is not to say that Luther is the end all but if submitting reason and experience to the living Word is what he meant, then he got that right.

I recommend giving the entire post a read.

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”… Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43)

And consider now, if in addition to what we have already recounted, you can otherwise take the good seed to be the children of the kingdom, because whatsoever good things are sown in the human soul, these are the offspring of the kingdom of God and have been sown by God the Word who was in the beginning with God, so that wholesome words about anything are children of the kingdom. But while men are asleep who do not act according to the command of Jesus, “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation,” the devil on the watch sows what are called tares—that is, evil opinions—over and among what are called by some natural conceptions, even the good seeds which are from the Word. And according to this, the whole world might be called a field, and not the Church of God only, for in the whole world the Son of Man sowed the good seed, but the wicked one tares,—that is, evil words,—which, springing from wickedness, are children of the evil one. And at the end of things, which is called “the consummation of the age,” there will of necessity be a harvest, in order that the angels of God who have been appointed for this work may gather up the bad opinions that have grown upon the soul, and overturning them may give them over to fire which is said to burn, that they may be consumed. And so the angels and servants of the Word will gather from all the kingdom of Christ all things that cause a stumbling-block to souls and reasonings that create iniquity, which they will scatter and cast into the burning furnace of fire. Then those who become conscious that they have received the seeds of the evil one in themselves, because of their having been asleep, shall wail and, as it were, be angry against themselves; for this is the “gnashing of teeth.” Wherefore, also, in the Psalms, it is said, “They gnashed upon me with their teeth.” Then above all “shall the righteous shine,” no longer differently as at the first, but all “as one sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Then, as if to indicate that there was indeed a hidden meaning, perhaps, in all that is concerned with the explanation of the parable, perhaps most of all in the saying, “Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” the Savior adds, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” thereby teaching those who think that in the exposition, the parable has been set forth with such perfect clearness that it can be understood by the vulgar, that even the things connected with the interpretation of the parable stand in need of explanation.

Origen, Commentary on Matthew 10.2

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt 13:3–9)

“The sower went forth to sow,” not simply going from place to place but with deliberate design. He did not go where He had not been before, nor did He abandon the place he had left, because God is everywhere. He did not go beyond His presence because God is everywhere. Rather, He went out because God is present where His righteousness is honored. Where His righteousness is not present, neither is God fully received. Those who are within His righteousness are found inside, and those who are not within His righteousness are found outside. Therefore, as long as God was in heaven where all are righteous, He was inside. Coming forth into the fallen world, however, which was completely outside God's righteousness, He went outside in order to bring it inside. Therefore, since all nations, disdaining God's righteousness, were living under the power of the devil, He went forth outside in order to sow righteousness in the world, where it had been absent before on account of their sins. “The sower went out to sow.” It was not sufficient for Him to say, “He went out to sow,” but He added, “The sower went out to sow” to point out that He was not a new sower and was not doing this work for the first time. It was just like God to do this. He has always been sowing. Indeed, from the beginning of the human race, it was natural for God to sow the seeds of knowledge. He is the One who, through Moses, sowed among the people the seeds of the commandments of the law. He is the One who, speaking through the prophets, sowed not only the remedies of things present but also the knowledge of things future. He went out so that in a human body and through Himself, He might sow His divine commandments.

Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 31

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt 11:25–30)

Jesus praises and glorifies the Father, who had foreseen the entire trajectory of the Word first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. Our Lord here gives thanks to his Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, for his mission in becoming incarnate in the form of a servant. He speaks about the Father's good pleasure now to hide this mystery about Himself from Israel, which might be expected to be wise, and to reveal it to the Gentiles, who were until now without understanding. It is thereby demonstrated that God did not forget to fulfill His purpose, nor did Christ’s coming fail in its appointed end. These things indeed have happened, God knowing them beforehand and having commanded beforehand the repentance of grace.

Origen, Commentary on Matthew Fragment 239

Finally, He calls to Himself those who labor under the difficulties of the Law and those burdened with worldly sins. He promises to relieve their labor and their burden if only they take up His yoke. In other words, they ought to accept the teaching of His commandments and come to Him through the mystery of His cross, because He is humble and meek in heart and they will find rest in their souls. By establishing the appeal of his pleasant yoke and the attractions of a light burden, He grants to believers knowledge of His goodness that He alone knows in the Father. And what is more pleasant than His yoke? What is lighter than His burden? By these we become worthy of approval, we abstain from wickedness, we desire to do good, we refuse to do evil, we love all people, we hate no one, we attain eternity. We are not infatuated with the present times; we are unwilling to bring upon another the trouble which we ourselves would not wish to endure.

Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew 11.13