Book Four - An Invitation To Holy Communion

     The First Chapter / The Greatest Reverence With Which We Should Receive Christ

     COME to Me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. (Mt 11:28) The bread which I will give is My Flesh, for the life of the world. (Jn 6:52) Take you and eat: this is My Body, which shall be delivered for you. Do this for the commemoration of Me. (1 Co 11:24) He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. (Jn 6:57) The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (Jn 6:64)

     The Disciple

     THESE are all Your words, O Christ, eternal Truth, though they were not all spoken at one time nor written together in one place. And because they are Yours and true, I must accept them all with faith and gratitude. They are Yours and You have spoken them; they are mine also because You have spoken them for my salvation. Gladly I accept them from Your lips that they may be the more deeply impressed in my heart.

     Words of such tenderness, so full of sweetness and love, encourage me; but my sins frighten me and an unclean conscience thunders at me when approaching such great mysteries as these. The sweetness of Your words invites me, but the multitude of my vices oppresses me.

     You command me to approach You confidently if I wish to have part with You, and to receive the food of immortality if I desire to obtain life and glory everlasting.

     “Come to me,” You say, “all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (Mt 11:28)

     Oh, how sweet and kind to the ear of the sinner is the word by which You, my Lord God, invite the poor and needy to receive Your most holy Body! Who am I, Lord, that I should presume to approach You? Behold, the heaven of heavens cannot contain You, and yet You say: “Come, all of you, to Me.”

     What means this most gracious honor and this friendly invitation? How shall I dare to come, I who am conscious of no good on which to presume? How shall I lead You into my house, I who have so often offended in Your most kindly sight? Angels and archangels revere You, the holy and the just fear You, and You say: “Come to Me: all of you!” If You, Lord, had not said it, who would have believed it to be true? And if You had not commanded, who would dare approach?

     Behold, Noah, a just man, worked a hundred years building the ark that he and a few others might be saved; how, then, can I prepare myself in one hour to receive with reverence the Maker of the world?

     Moses, Your great servant and special friend, made an ark of incorruptible wood which he covered with purest gold wherein to place the tables of Your law; shall I, a creature of corruption, dare so easily to receive You, the Maker of law and the Giver of life?

     Solomon, the wisest of the kings of Israel, spent seven years building a magnificent temple in praise of Your name, and celebrated its dedication with a feast of eight days. He offered a thousand victims in Your honor and solemnly bore the Ark of the Covenant with trumpeting and jubilation to the place prepared for it; and I, unhappy and poorest of men, how shall I lead You into my house, I who scarcely can spend a half-hour devoutly—would that I could spend even that as I ought!

     O my God, how hard these men tried to please You! Alas, how little is all that I do! How short the time I spend in preparing for Communion! I am seldom wholly recollected, and very seldom, indeed, entirely free from distraction. Yet surely in the presence of Your life-giving Godhead no unbecoming thought should arise and no creature possess my heart, for I am about to receive as my guest, not an angel, but the very Lord of angels.

     Very great, too, is the difference between the Ark of the Covenant with its treasures and Your most pure Body with its ineffable virtues, between these sacrifices of the law which were but figures of things to come and the true offering of Your Body which was the fulfillment of all ancient sacrifices.

     Why, then, do I not long more ardently for Your adorable presence? Why do I not prepare myself with greater care to receive Your sacred gifts, since those holy patriarchs and prophets of old, as well as kings and princes with all their people, have shown such affectionate devotion for the worship of God?

     The most devout King David danced before the ark of God with all his strength as he recalled the benefits once bestowed upon his fathers. He made musical instruments of many kinds. He composed psalms and ordered them sung with joy. He himself often played upon the harp when moved by the grace of the Holy Ghost. He taught the people of Israel to praise God with all their hearts and to raise their voices every day to bless and glorify Him. If such great devotion flourished in those days and such ceremony in praise of God before the Ark of the Covenant, what great devotion ought not I and all Christian people now show in the presence of this Sacrament; what reverence in receiving the most excellent Body of Christ!

     Many people travel far to honor the relics of the saints, marveling at their wonderful deeds and at the building of magnificent shrines. They gaze upon and kiss the sacred relics encased in silk and gold; and behold, You are here present before me on the altar, my God, Saint of saints, Creator of men, and Lord of angels!

     Often in looking at such things, men are moved by curiosity, by the novelty of the unseen, and they bear away little fruit for the amendment of their lives, especially when they go from place to place lightly and without true contrition. But here in the Sacrament of the altar You are wholly present, my God, the man Christ Jesus, whence is obtained the full realization of eternal salvation, as often as You are worthily and devoutly received. To this, indeed, we are not drawn by levity, or curiosity, or sensuality, but by firm faith, devout hope, and sincere love.

     O God, hidden Creator of the world, how wonderfully You deal with us! How sweetly and graciously You dispose of things with Your elect to whom You offer Yourself to be received in this Sacrament! This, indeed, surpasses all understanding. This in a special manner attracts the hearts of the devout and inflames their love. Your truly faithful servants, who give their whole life to amendment, often receive in Holy Communion the great grace of devotion and love of virtue.

     Oh, the wonderful and hidden grace of this Sacrament which only the faithful of Christ understand, which unbelievers and slaves of sin cannot experience! In it spiritual grace is conferred, lost virtue restored, and the beauty, marred by sin, repaired. At times, indeed, its grace is so great that, from the fullness of the devotion, not only the mind but also the frail body feels filled with greater strength.

     Nevertheless, our neglect and coldness is much to be deplored and pitied, when we are not moved to receive with greater fervor Christ in Whom is the hope and merit of all who will be saved. He is our sanctification and redemption. He is our consolation in this life and the eternal joy of the blessed in heaven. This being true, it is lamentable that many pay so little heed to the salutary Mystery which fills the heavens with joy and maintains the whole universe in being.

     Oh, the blindness and the hardness of the heart of man that does not show more regard for so wonderful a gift, but rather falls into carelessness from its daily use! If this most holy Sacrament were celebrated in only one place and consecrated by only one priest in the whole world, with what great desire, do you think, would men be attracted to that place, to that priest of God, in order to witness the celebration of the divine Mysteries! But now there are many priests and Mass is offered in many places, that God’s grace and love for men may appear the more clearly as the Sacred Communion is spread more widely through the world.

     Thanks be to You, Jesus, everlasting Good Shepherd, Who have seen fit to feed us poor exiled people with Your precious Body and Blood, and to invite us with words from Your own lips to partake of these sacred Mysteries: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.”

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

     Mothers were officially honored this day, May 9, 1914, with the first National Mother's Day Proclamation, signed by President Woodrow Wilson. It designated the second Sunday in May as a "public expression of… love and reverence for the mothers of our country." This was due to the life-long efforts of Anna Jarvis, the daughter of a Methodist minister in West Virginia. She organized Mothers' Day Work Clubs to care for wounded Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate, raised money for medicine, inspected bottled milk, improved sanitation and hired women to care for families where mothers suffered from tuberculosis.

William J. Federer. American Minute

When I saw others straining toward God,
I did not understand it,
for though I may have had him less than they did,
there was no one blocking the way
between him and me,
and I could reach his heart easily.
It is up to him,
after all,
to have us,
our part consists of almost solely
in letting him grasp us.
--- Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke and Benvenuta: An Intimate Correspondence


God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame.
--- Elizabeth Barrett Browning


The less we read the Word of God,
the less we desire to read it,
and the less we pray,
the less we desire to pray.
--- George Mueller

... from here, there and everywhere

20     He who has skill in a matter will succeed;
he who trusts in ADONAI will be happy.

21     A wise-hearted person is said to have discernment,
and sweetness of speech adds to learning.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE : An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

                Grasp without reach

     Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. --- Proverbs 29:18 (R.V.).

     There is a difference between an ideal and a vision. An ideal has no moral inspiration; a vision has. The people who give themselves over to ideals rarely do anything. A man’s conception of Deity may be used to justify his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah argued that because God was a God of justice and of mercy, therefore everything would be all right. I may have a right conception of God, and that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of rectitude because the vision imparts moral incentive.

     Ideals may lull to ruin. Take stock of yourself spiritually and see whether you have ideals only or if you have vision.

   ‘Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
   Or what’s a heaven for?’

     “Where there is no vision …” When once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless, we cast off certain restraints, we cast off praying, we cast off the vision of God in little things, and begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating what we have out of our own hand, doing things on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on the downward path, we have lost the vision. Is our attitude to-day an attitude that springs from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done? Is there a freshness and vigour in our spiritual outlook?

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

          Peasant Greeting

No speech; the raised hand affirms
All that is left unsaid,
By the mute tongue and the unmoistened lips:
The land's patience and a tree's
Knotted endurance and
The heart's doubt whether to curse or bless,
All packed into a single gesture.
The knees crumble to the downward pull
Of the harsh earth, the eyes,
Fuddled with coldness, have no skill to smile.
Life's bitter jest is hollow, mirthless he slips
To his long grave under the wave of the wind,
That breaks continually on the brittle ear.

R.S. Thomas Selected poems, 1946-1968

     D’RASH

     A woman, walking down the street, trips and falls on a crack in the sidewalk and breaks her leg. Who is the responsible party? Should her insurance company, which has charged her hefty premiums for its coverage, pay for her medical care? Or should the owner of the house and his insurance company be assessed damages, since it was on his sidewalk that this woman fell?

     In contemporary America, such a case might end up in court, where the arguments will likely focus on who was wrong, not on obligation but on fault: Was the crack in the concrete new, or had the town issued a citation for a broken sidewalk in the past? Was the house owner aware of the problem with his sidewalk? Could the woman just as easily have walked around the crack? Was the woman wearing her glasses when she fell? Had she drunk any alcoholic beverages before her walk? It is conceivable that this case will fill the court docket for weeks or months, as the sides attempt to assign blame for the accident and, in turn, responsibility for the medical bills.

     The Rabbis of the Mishnah would likely be able to determine responsibility and fault in such a case. Yet, their entire approach to damages is quite different from that of our society. The Mishnah speaks about the social contract with society and the implicit responsibility each of us has to those around us. By telling us that "a man is always forewarned," the Mishnah reminds us of this obligation. We do not need specific and advanced notice not to harm another.

     In our day and age, this social contract is often obscured, and we may take this communal responsibility less than seriously. The Rabbis would likely say that if our sidewalk is cracked, it is our obligation to fix it, even if no one ever trips on it, regardless of citations, lawsuits, and petitions.

     This is a Jewish response to the "Ignorance is bliss" theory that many people work under. People claim "I didn't know" as the excuse for a host of faults and transgressions.

     "Young man, you have to pay for the candy. You just can't stick your hand in and grab it!" "There was no sign that I couldn't!"

     "What were you thinking when you didn't pay your income taxes for twelve years?" "Your honor, I didn't know I had to pay taxes."

     "Why were you riding your bicycle on the crowded sidewalk? Didn't you realize that you could hurt someone?" "No one said I couldn't."

     It is unsettling when people act irresponsibly, causing injury or damage. Thus, we have the right to demand and expect responsible behavior from others, to assume that those around us do their utmost to protect our safety. Most important, though, that burden falls on our shoulders. We are the ones who must ultimately assure the welfare of society. It is our actions, within the implicit responsibility of one member of society to the others, that assures the well-being of those around us.

     Once permission has been given to the Destroyer, it does not differentiate between righteous and wicked.

     Text / Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: "Punishment comes upon the world only when there are wicked people in the world, but it begins with the righteous, as it says: 'When a fire is started and spreads to thorns' [Exodus 22:5]. When does a fire start? When there are thorns around. It only begins with the righteous, as it says: 'so that stacked … grain is consumed' [ibid]. It does not say: 'so that stacked grain will be consumed' but rather 'is consumed'—meaning that it already had been consumed."

     Rav Yosef taught: "What is the meaning of the verse: 'None of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning' [Exodus 12:22]? Once permission has been given to the Destroyer, it does not differentiate between righteous and wicked. Moreover, it begins with the righteous, as it says: 'I will wipe out from you both the righteous and the wicked' [Ezekiel 21:8]."

     Context / Moses then summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go pick out the lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover offering. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts. None of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. For when the Lord goes through to smite the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, and the Lord will pass over the door and not let the Destroyer enter and smite your home." (Exodus 12:21–23)

     Just prior to our section, the Mishnah and the Gemara discuss the legal issue of who is responsible for damage caused by a fire set by an individual. The basis of the law is the verse from Exodus 22 about a fire that spreads to thorns. The Rabbis then interpret that verse homiletically: The thorns represent the wicked, and the stacks of grain are the righteous people. The good are the first victims of the fire, which the Rabbis view as the Destroyer, the destructive angel or force sent by God to exact punishment on the world.

     Rav Yosef brings the story of Pesaḥ to support the assertion that the righteous are usually the first to suffer when destruction is unleashed; an innocent Israelite who left home the night of the tenth plague in Egypt would have fallen victim to the Destroyer, even though it was only the Egyptians who were guilty. The Rabbis quote the verse in Ezekiel as a further proof, noting that it mentions the righteous before the wicked in a context of destruction; consequently, the innocent suffer before the guilty.

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving . Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     Mark had established in his first two stories about Jesus' acts in Judea a theme he then developed. How can it be that Israel's faith, rooted in God's Old Testament revelation, had become futile and empty? What was it that had distorted in practice the beauty of the faith God Himself revealed?

     Empty of authority (Mark 11:27–33). The "chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders" composed the ruling council of Israel. This group had the power to judge both religious and civil matters in the Jewish community. They even claimed, and exercised, the right to expel people from the synagogue (cf. John 9:22; 12:42).

     Since these leaders of the community had never commissioned or recognized Jesus, they liked to think that He spoke without any real religious authority. This, despite the fact that the people were amazed just because Jesus did speak as a Man with authority, unlike their official leaders (cf. Mark 1:22).

     Now, after Jesus had driven the money changers from the temple, a delegation of leaders challenged Jesus. By what authority was He acting? And who gave Him authority to do what He did?

     Jesus asked them one question that exposed how empty of "authority" these so-called spiritual leaders really were. Jesus asked them whether John's baptism was from heaven or from men.

     Now, a person who has spiritual authority must derive it ultimately from God. So one who exercises authority must refer to God and God's will in making his decisions. But when these religious leaders discussed Jesus' question, they immediately referred not to God but to the people. "If we say, 'From men.…' " The text notes, "They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet."

     Ultimately, they who claimed to be the final court of spiritual appeal, answered Jesus, "We don't know."

     No religion which appeals to mere human opinion in making its determinations can have real authority or power. The faith of Israel in Jesus' day was futile because it had exchanged the authority of God and His Word for mere human opinion!

     No religion which looks to public opinion to determine its stand can ever be vital and real.

     Misuse of authority (Mark 12:1–12). Jesus then told a parable about a person who prepared the land and planted a vineyard. He rented it out to some tenant farmers, and left on a trip. But when he sent servants to collect his share, the servants were beaten and some were even killed. Finally the man sent his only son, saying, "They will respect my son."

     Instead the tenants chose to kill the heir, so "the inheritance will be ours."

     The leaders realized that Jesus had spoken the parable against them, and were even more determined to arrest Him. They had not used their authority as God's agents to serve Him at all! They had misused their authority, seeking only their own benefit. Their fathers had been willing to kill God's servants, the prophets, and now this generation was eager to kill His only Son!

     Hypocrisy (Mark 12:13–17). The fact that the religion of Israel was now marked by hypocrisy is demonstrated in the next incident.

     The Pharisees and Herodians came to try to trap Jesus. The Herodians were a political party that believed in accommodation with the Romans. To them Jesus seemed a dangerous revolutionary. Both these groups, usually opposed to each other, feared Jesus and hated Him passionately.

     When they came to Jesus their hypocrisy was made plain in multiple ways. They addressed Jesus as a "man of integrity" who teaches "the way of God in accordance with the truth." They did not believe what they were saying; they said it only to "set Jesus up" for their trap.

     They asked Jesus whether or not the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar. The trap was simple. If Jesus told them to pay taxes, He would lose favor with the people who hated Rome. If Jesus told them not to pay taxes, He could be accused to the Romans, and would be executed!

     Yet this trap was itself a hypocritical one. It was shown to be even more hypocritical when Jesus had to ask them for a coin! Here these men were trying to trap Jesus and accuse Him of collaboration with the enemy, and they were the ones who were profiting financially from the Roman occupation, for they were the ones who possessed Roman money!

     Jesus avoided their trap by pointing to the portrait and inscription on the coin. These were Caesar's? Then let Caesar have what belonged to him, and give God what belongs to God.

     What is it that belongs to the Caesars of this world? Only material things: things that have no lasting value and cannot really reflect the issues of life. And what belongs to God? Our heart, our soul, our love, our obedience, our whole being.

     Let Caesar have his things, but give God your heart.

     The religion of Jesus' day was empty and meaningless because it was all hypocrisy and show. The men who led His people were not moved by a passion for God.

     Without understanding of Scripture (Mark 12:18–27). Now the Sadducees—the "liberals" of Jesus' day, who denied the resurrection and life after death, along with angels and miracles—tried to trap Jesus. They raised a hypothetical case. Here's a widow who has been married, in turn, to each of seven brothers. "At the resurrection," they asked (subtly ridiculing this doctrine in which they did not believe), "whose wife will she be?"

     Jesus' answer affirmed the authority of Scripture. Their error arose from the fact that "you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God." Jesus explained that there is no marriage in heaven: the saints there, like the angels, will not wed. But as for resurrection, Jesus pinned His teaching on the tense of a verb. God said to Moses, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God did not say, "I was" their God! Obviously then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be living when God spoke those words, even though they had died physically centuries before.

     What a tremendous confidence we can have in Scripture! Even the tenses of words are rooted in reality, and one can trust each phrase to express divine truth.

     The Sadducees, like the liberals of every age, were quick to discount the authority of the Word of God. And just because of this fault, they and their religion were "badly mistaken."

     Without focus (Mark 12:28–37). There was another fault in the ritual religion practiced by the Jews in Jesus' day. They cluttered up their faith with hundreds of rules derived from traditional interpretations of biblical Laws. But somehow all these laws seemed just as important as all the others. Don't spit on sand on the Sabbath (because you might inadvertently "plow a furrow") was treated with the same importance as "love your neighbor."

     When one of the teachers of the Law saw that Jesus was answering well, he raised what to Him was an honest question. "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

     Jesus answered, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

     With this answer Jesus provided the focus for faith which Israel had lost. All of the laws which were so important to the Jews, all the ceremonies and rituals, must be placed in perspective by the realization that man's central duty is to love God and to love neighbors.

     The man affirmed what Jesus had said. "To love [God] with all your heart … and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Mark 12:33).

     Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

     Only when the focus of our faith is squarely on loving God and our neighbor do we even approach the kingdom of our God. Israel's faith was futile because in the preoccupation of the religious with ritual and ceremony and tradition, the true heart of God's revelation of Himself in Law had been totally missed.

     The total inability of the religious leaders to understand the Scriptures or its focus is now illustrated by Jesus. The teachers of the Law say that Christ is the Son (descendant) of David. This is clearly true. But how do they explain David speaking of his descendant as "my Lord?"

     The crowd was delighted, not because they knew the answer, but because Jesus had shown up the hypocrisy and spiritual fraud of those proud men who claimed to be so much better than common men.

     Greed (Mark 10:38–44). The final condemnation drew attention to the true motives of the religious leaders of Israel. These men who loved to be treated with respect because of their superior piety actually "devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers." They were outwardly religious, but within were moved only by greed.

     Jesus and His disciples sat down to watch worshipers contribute money to the temple treasury. Some who were wealthy "threw in" large amounts. The sound of the heavy coins told everyone how much they were giving, and they threw in their offerings with force to make sure all could hear. They were outwardly religious.

     But then a widow timidly "put in" two tiny coins, almost worthless. Jesus pointed her out, and said, "This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

     What a difference. The size of the gift the rich could give might impress men. But what they gave was really nothing to them: it cost them not one moment of discomfort. It was no sacrifice at all. But the gift of the widow impressed God. She gave all.

     A religion practiced by greedy men who get their wealth by oppressing the poor is a meaningless faith, no matter how much they may "give" to God. What God wants is our love, for out of love we will be willing to give Him not a "tip," but our all.

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. The Teacher's Commentary

     As in any society, there were various groups among the Jewish people in the land of Israel. The sources for the earlier centuries of the period are sparse, but they indicate differing perspectives on some issues. So, for example, Ezra stands as a representative of a separatist point of view, one absolutely opposed to intermarriage with people of other races and nationalities; the book that bears his name includes information about many who had felt free to engage in exogamy and who were forced to dismiss their families. A number of scholars have argued that a fundamental tension in Judean society in the early Second Temple period was between those who found fulfillment of promises in the restored community and Temple and those of a more visionary bent who looked for more spectacular realizations of God’s plans for his people. Those expectations found expression in some late prophetic literature and perhaps in some texts with traits that would later characterize the apocalypses.

     During the early Hellenistic period there is evidence for some Jewish people who had greater ties with the Ptolemaic government (the Tobiad family, for one), while others seem to have favored the Seleucid administration (note the friendly reception of Antiochus III at Jerusalem). But the most famous division in Jewish society, one that became unmistakable in the early second century B.C.E., is the one between those Jews who were more open to aspects of Greek culture and those who opposed the adoption of Greek ways. The contrast should not be pictured as absolute, since Hellenistic influence, such as the spread of the Greek language, was multifaceted and in part religiously neutral. But 2 Maccabees describes a situation in which a group of Jews, led by the usurping high priest Jason and with the approval of the Seleucid monarch Antiochus IV (175–164 B.C.E.), introduced into Jerusalem the central institutions of Greek education and citizenship—a gymnasium and an ephebate. 1 Maccabees 1:11 presents the perspective embraced by such people in these words: “In those days certain renegades (paranomoi) came out from Israel and misled many, saying, ‘Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.” The author adds that not only was the gymnasium built in Jerusalem but these people “removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil” (v. 15). Later, when the worship of a different god was set up in the Jerusalem Temple, not all Jews were opposed to the innovation although some, under Hasmonean leadership, violently fought it.

     In the context of the early Hasmonean period, specifically in his account of the reign of Jonathan as high priest and leader, Josephus (Ant. 13.171–73) reports that there were three sects or schools of thought (haireseis) among the Jews and lists them as the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. Josephus mentions members of these groups in various places in his narratives and devotes a couple of sections to describing them, especially in J.W. 2.119–66 (see also Ant. 18.11–22). The information from Josephus regarding these groups can be supplemented from the Dead Sea Scrolls and from the New Testament. Rabbinic literature, too, refers to Pharisees and Sadducees.

     About the Pharisees Josephus reports that they were known for their skill and accuracy in interpreting the Law of Moses (J.W. 2.162), and to this he adds that “the Pharisees had passed on to the people certain regulations handed down by former generations and not recorded in the Laws of Moses” (Ant. 13.297 [trans. R. Marcus]). This appears to be the oral Torah known from other sources, a tradition of commentary and interpretation that allowed the Pharisees to apply the ancient law to changed circumstances. Josephus, who mentions this Pharisaic trait while describing disagreements between Pharisees and Sadducees at the time of John Hyrcanus (134–104 B.C.E.), says that these regulations of the Pharisees were not accepted by the Sadducees, who insisted “that only those regulations should be considered valid which were written down (in Scripture), and that those which had been handed down by former generations need not be observed” (13.297). The meaning of this distinction in views between the two groups has received much scholarly discussion, but it is clear enough that at issue between the two was the proper way for interpreting and applying the Mosaic Law, which both of course accepted as authoritative for practice. A number of the controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees reported in the Gospels present a similar picture of the Pharisees. When the “Pharisees and scribes” asked Jesus why his disciples “break the tradition of the elders” since they did not follow the practice of washing their hands before they ate, he answered: “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matt. 15:3; see also v. 6; he cites their view about identifying goods as an offering and thus not using them to support parents as a violation of the fourth commandment).

     Josephus identifies the Pharisees as an influential group within Jewish society. He claims that there were some 6,000 of them (Ant. 17.42) but says they were able to bring the masses to their side and even compel rulers to act in accord with their teachings (Ant. 13.288, 298; 18.15). Whether that was always true may be debated, but Josephus does tell about two periods when the Pharisees were especially influential with Hasmonean rulers and thus in the state. The background to his story about John Hyrcanus’ break with the Pharisaic party is that they were in his favor before this. In fact, Josephus calls John Hyrcanus a disciple of theirs; how long this relationship had existed and whether it obtained in the time of his predecessors is not said. When Hyrcanus, convinced they had maligned him by telling him he should give up the high priesthood, changed to the side of the Sadducees, the Pharisees lost power and Jews were forbidden to practice their regulations. The dominance of the Sadducees with the Hasmonean rulers continued through the violent reign of Alexander Jannaeus, who apparently killed many Pharisees, but with his successor, his wife Salome Alexandra (76–67 B.C.E.), the situation was reversed and the Pharisees regained a position of dominance. After this time the evidence becomes sketchy, and it is not apparent whether Pharisees continued to enjoy political as well as religious prominence.

     Regarding their beliefs, Josephus mentions their moderate position on the issue of what he calls fate: they believed that both divine and individual human aspects were involved in human actions so that people had a measure of responsibility for what they did. According to him, they also anticipated a resurrection for the righteous and eternal punishment for the wicked. There is support for some of this description in Acts 23, where the Pharisees are identified as the members of the Sanhedrin who accept the belief that a resurrection would occur. It adds that they also believed there were angels and spirits.

     The next group in Josephus’ list, the Sadducees, he describes generally in contrast to the Pharisees. Their view of fate, for example, was not the moderate or balanced approach of the Pharisees: the Sadducees are supposed to have denied there was any thing such as fate that influenced human behavior, explaining rather that people are responsible for what they do. As noted above, the Sadducees rejected the validity of the tradition adopted by the Pharisees and insisted that the scriptural law alone was valid. It is difficult to imagine that the Sadducees had no tradition of how to interpret or apply scriptural law; whatever their way of interpreting may have been, it must have been different from the Pharisaic one. Acts 23:8 summarizes some of their theological disagreements with Pharisees in this way: “The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.” In his appearance before the Sanhedrin, Paul, who identifies himself as a Pharisee, exploits the difference by appealing to the resurrection.

     Josephus adds that, while the Pharisees were influential among the masses of the people, the Sadducees, whose number he does not estimate (although says there were few of them), appealed to the wealthy. In the episode in which John Hyrcanus broke with the Pharisees, he is said to have gone over to the Sadducean side. As a result, the Sadducees were not dominant in the period before this time in his reign, but they retained their position of influence throughout the rest of Hyrcanus’ reign and apparently through that of Aristobulus I (104–103 B.C.E.) and of Alexander Jannaeus (103–76), before the Pharisees returned to their previous status. Josephus presents, for later times, a strange situation: the few Sadducees were people of the highest rank, but when they assumed an office, they were compelled to follow the dictates of the Pharisees because the people otherwise would refuse to tolerate them (Ant. 18.17). The point is related to the question whether the high priests—people who enjoyed the very highest rank—were Sadducees. The name Sadducee many be related to the Zadok, the leading priest in the time of David and Solomon, and an ancestor of the Second Temple high priests. John Hyrcanus, a high priest, became a devotee of the Sadducees, and his sons Aristobulus I and John Hyrcanus may have been as well. But here the evidence grows very thin. In fact, the only other high priest who is identified as a Sadducee is Ananus ben Ananus who briefly held the office in 62 C.E. Josephus says that Ananus, followed the Sadducean school and that Sadducees were noted for being harsher than others in judgment (Ant. 20.199). A high priest is mentioned in connection with Sadducees in Acts 5:17, but he is not identified as a Sadducee.

     The Essenes, Josephus’ third group, are the one he describes at the greatest length (J.W. 2.119–61), perhaps because his source material was more complete or because their unusual character made them more interesting. He estimated there were some 4,000 of them throughout the land (Ant. 18.21) and describes them as living a very disciplined form of life and gathered into communities of self-help and support. In their communities the members gave up their private property to the group so that the needs of all could be met. They avoided marriage, although there was a type of Essenes who did take wives and have children. They worked hard and were frugal in their ways; they were also known as the strictest in their keeping of the Sabbath. One of the topics regarding the Essenes that Josephus describes at some length is the process, several years in length, of admission into the group. He also notes their meetings and the rules that prevailed at them. Their view of fate, he reports, was that it determined everything—exactly the opposite of the view he attributes to the Sadducees; they also studied the writings of the ancients and were accurate predictors of events.

     Scholarly interest in the Essenes increased with the discovery and study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Most experts have identified the group responsible for the scrolls at Qumran as a small band of Essenes, so the scrolls can now fill in the information from Josephus and elsewhere regarding the Essenes. It may be that Josephus’ comment about the Essenes’ view regarding fate is exemplified in 1QS 3:13–4:26, where the divine governance of the universe and human actions through two opposing spirits is the subject. The scrolls community also practiced a community of goods, and their entry procedures very much resemble the ones noted by Josephus.

     The scrolls probably allow us to see some of the controversies that separated the Essenes and the Pharisees. Several writers refer to their opponents as “the ones who look for smooth things,” probably a punning allusion to the Pharisees. These writers accuse them of taking a more relaxed approach to the Law of Moses and thus of violating the covenant. Some scrolls, especially the copies of 4QMMT, express some legal positions that are attributed to the Sadducees in rabbinic sources. This does not mean that the authors of the Scrolls were Sadducees, since they disagree with the Sadducees on basic theological points (e.g., fate); it probably means that both the Essenes and the Sadducees adopted conservative, stricter understandings of the Law.

     The community of the Dead Sea Scrolls illustrates the fact that the social makeup of early Judaism was more complex than our other sources suggested. Before they were discovered between 1947 and 1956, there was only a hint or two in the literature that such a group existed; there was no indication that it had a large library indicative of extensive study and much more. The scrolls reveal a community that had in protest separated itself physically from other Jews and that apparently did not participate in worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. In the wilderness of Judea they pursued the way of life they thought was revealed in the Scriptures and looked to the day when, in a final war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness, the former would win a great victory and a new age would dawn.

     These were not the only groups in the land of Israel in the later Second Temple period. Josephus also speaks of the Zealots as people who refused to accept human rule, although in other respects they agreed with the Pharisees (Ant. 18.23). Josephus considered them and their violent ways instrumental in causing the revolt against Rome in 66 C.E. (Ant. 18.6–10).

J. C. VanderKam. Judaism in the Land of Israel.The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism

     Let him who walks in the dark,… trust in the name of the LORD. --- Isaiah 50:10.

     Some who are in my judgment among the very choicest of God’s people nevertheless travel most of the way to heaven by night. (Twelve sermons for the troubled and tried (Charles H. Spurgeon Library) ) They do not rejoice in the light of God’s countenance, though they trust in the shadow of his wings.

     Darkness is an evil that the soul does not love, and by it all our faculties are tried. It is possible at times to even question the existence of God, though we still cling to him with desperate resolve.

     At such times the Holy Spirit seems to suspend his comforting operations, and we read the Bible, and we are not cheered by the promises; we attend public services, and the bells of the sanctuary seem to have lost their music. The Holy Spirit is leaving us for awhile that we may know what poor things we are apart from him, and how useless are ordinances without his divine presence in them. Satan makes earnest use of his hour, and it is no fault of his that we do not die in the dark and utterly perish from the way.

     Perhaps the worst feature of this darkness is that it is so bewildering. You have to walk, and yet your way is hidden. What simpletons we are to fancy that if we do not see a way of deliverance God does not see one either! If you have ever steamed up the Rhine, you have looked before you, and it has looked as if you could go no further; the river seemed to be a lake; great mountains and vast rocks blocked up all further advance. Suddenly there has been a turn in the stream, and at once a broad highway has been before you, inviting you to enter the heart of the country. Perhaps you are in one of those parts of the river of life where no progress appears possible.

     What is there to trust to when you are in such a condition as that? Well, says the text, “Trust in the name of the LORD.”

     What is there to trust in the name of Jehovah? It is “I Am,” and signifies his self-existence. This is a fine foundation for trust. Your friend is dead, but Jehovah is still living. Those who could have succored you have forsaken you, but he says, “I am with you.”

     The name of the Lord contains within it immutability. Here is a rock under your feet. If you trust in an unchanging God whose love and faithfulness and power cannot be diminished, then you have a glorious object for your faith to rest on!
--- C. H. Spurgeon

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

     Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf has been called the “rich young ruler who said YES.” Born into one of Europe’s leading families, he gave his life to Christ, established a Christian community at his Herrnhut estate, and oversaw the sending of the first missionaries in Protestant history. Then late in life, Zinzendorf married his beloved Anna.

     Three years later his strength ebbed. He pushed himself to finish some writing projects, but he noticed that Anna, too, was growing weaker. On Sunday, May 4, 1760 they attended church together, but with difficulty. Anna returned to her bed. The next day Nikolaus was unable to eat much lunch, and he complained of thirst. He visited Anna’s sickbed, then fell into bed himself. Speech became difficult, and it grew apparent he and Anna were both dying in rooms next to each other.

     On May 8 David Nitshmann visited them. Nikolaus roused himself, reminisced, and said, “Did you suppose in the beginning, that the Savior would do as much as we now really see in the various Moravian settlements, amongst other denominations, and amongst the heathen? I only entreated of him a few firstfruits, but there are now thousands. Nitshmann, what a formidable caravan from our church already stands around the Lamb.”

     At midnight he was seized by a coughing spasm, and at 9 o’clock the next morning, May 9, 1760, he told his son-in-law, John Watteville: “My dear John, I am about to go to the Savior. I am ready. I am resigned to his will, and he is satisfied with me. … I am ready to go to him. Nothing more stands in my way.” His eyes lingered another hour, then they closed. Watteville began praying, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. … The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.” At the word “peace” Zinzendorf stopped breathing.

     When Anna was told, she said, “I have the happiest prospect of you all. I will soon be going to him.” She watched his burial from her window, then thirteen days later joined him.

     Now the time has come for me to die. My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar. I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful. So a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord.
--- 2 Timothy 4:6-8a.

     Morgan, R. J. On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes

WEDNESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER
YEAR 2

Psalms (Morning) Psalm 72
Psalms (Evening) Psalm 119:73–96
Old Testament Leviticus 19:1–18
New Testament 1 Thessalonians 5:12–28
Gospel Matthew 6:19–24

Index of Readings

PSALMS (MORNING)
Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.

5 May he live while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 May his foes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
render him tribute,
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts.
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.

12 For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.

15 Long may he live!
May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.

18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.

20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.

PSALMS (EVENING)
Psalm 119:73–96

73 Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right,
and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
76 Let your steadfast love become my comfort
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
so that they may know your decrees.
80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.

81 My soul languishes for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they flout your law.
86 All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth;
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love spare my life,
so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

89 The LORD exists forever;
your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand today,
for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my misery.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

OLD TESTAMENT
Leviticus 19:1–18

19 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 3 You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the LORD your God.

5 When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable in your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, or on the next day; and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. 8 All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the LORD; and any such person shall be cut off from the people.

9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

11 You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.

13 You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. 14 You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

NEW TESTAMENT
1 Thessalonians 5:12–28

12 But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; 13 esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. 15 See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

25 Beloved, pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. 27 I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

GOSPEL
Matthew 6:19–24

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary