The Medicine of Immortality

Dining and death are closely connected in today’s Gospel reading. Death pervades the passage. We hear that Lazarus was raised from the dead. We then hear that Jesus is anointed for death. We hear, finally, that Lazarus is marked for murder, because the opponents of Jesus are jealous of his renown. And a meal in the house of Lazarus provides the background for this pervasive focus on death.

The ancients often joined dining and death because these things represent two poles of the human experience. To eat is to live. To eat is to push death back for one more day. Although it may sound macabre to us, ancient Roman dining rooms were often decorated with mosaics of skeletons, and the ancient Egyptians are said... show moreThe Medicine of Immortality

Dining and death are closely connected in today’s Gospel reading. Death pervades the passage. We hear that Lazarus was raised from the dead. We then hear that Jesus is anointed for death. We hear, finally, that Lazarus is marked for murder, because the opponents of Jesus are jealous of his renown. And a meal in the house of Lazarus provides the background for this pervasive focus on death.

The ancients often joined dining and death because these things represent two poles of the human experience. To eat is to live. To eat is to push death back for one more day. Although it may sound macabre to us, ancient Roman dining rooms were often decorated with mosaics of skeletons, and the ancient Egyptians are said to have propped a skeleton in a chair as though he were a guest at the meal. These unusual behaviors were meant as reminders to the diners that life is short, and that we should “eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32). People were trained to enjoy earthly pleasures as long as they could, and the dining table reminded them that life ends only in the grave.

Dining is different for Christians. When Christians share the sacred meal of Holy Communion, we are not reminded that our lives are limited by the grave, but that our lives are unlimited in the Resurrection of Christ. St. Ignatios of Antioch called Holy Communion the “medicine of immortality.”

To receive Holy Communion is to participate in the Resurrection of our Lord, and to announce his message of new life. Let us prepare for Holy Communion by living lives worthy of what we have received, and let us leave Church each week empowered with the new life we have been given.

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A King Enthroned on the Cross

The disciples are confused in today’s Gospel reading about the purpose of Jesus’ ministry. They believe that he has come to establish an earthly kingdom, by driving the Romans from Jerusalem. Even after he is risen from the dead, they still think he has come to establish an earthly kingdom (Acts 1:6).

This explains the odd question from James and John, who ask Jesus to grant them seats at his left and right hand when he rules. But Jesus did not go to Jerusalem to be enthroned in a luxurious palace as an earthly king, nor did he come to defeat a mere earthly enemy like the Romans. His throne is the cross, and his enemies are our spiritual adversaries, sin and death. Therefore, whoever sits at his left... show moreA King Enthroned on the Cross

The disciples are confused in today’s Gospel reading about the purpose of Jesus’ ministry. They believe that he has come to establish an earthly kingdom, by driving the Romans from Jerusalem. Even after he is risen from the dead, they still think he has come to establish an earthly kingdom (Acts 1:6).

This explains the odd question from James and John, who ask Jesus to grant them seats at his left and right hand when he rules. But Jesus did not go to Jerusalem to be enthroned in a luxurious palace as an earthly king, nor did he come to defeat a mere earthly enemy like the Romans. His throne is the cross, and his enemies are our spiritual adversaries, sin and death. Therefore, whoever sits at his left and right will not be crowned with gold and arrayed with soft robes.

James and John are correct to imagine that their fate is tied to the fate of Jesus, but they misunderstand what this means. They will not rule with him. They will be crucified with him. In today’s Gospel reading we are told that we, too, must pick up our cross and follow Christ. Focusing on the cross reminds us that our faith requires us to look beyond earthly wealth and comfort.

We pray for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and we pray for peace on earth. But the purpose of our faith is not to establish for ourselves worldly riches or power or glory or fulfillment. The purpose of our faith is to lead us beyond the things of this earth to the things of heaven. The season of Great Lent reminds us that the Kingdom of God is not of this world, and that we must look beyond earthly comforts to find it.

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How long has he had this?

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus asks the father of a sick child, “How long has he had this?” The father explains that the boy has been sick from his youth, indicating that illness is a chronic condition of the boy’s being. Several people healed by Jesus endured illness for just as many years or longer. The blind man in John 9 was blind from birth, while the man healed at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5 carried his pain for 38 years. No human help could make these people whole. God alone could bring them new life. Their extreme states of physical affliction illustrate the spiritual sicknesses that characterize all of humanity.

The season of Great Lent is a hospital for diseases of body and soul. Everyone... show moreHow long has he had this?

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus asks the father of a sick child, “How long has he had this?” The father explains that the boy has been sick from his youth, indicating that illness is a chronic condition of the boy’s being. Several people healed by Jesus endured illness for just as many years or longer. The blind man in John 9 was blind from birth, while the man healed at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5 carried his pain for 38 years. No human help could make these people whole. God alone could bring them new life. Their extreme states of physical affliction illustrate the spiritual sicknesses that characterize all of humanity.

The season of Great Lent is a hospital for diseases of body and soul. Everyone recognizes that following certain diets and engaging in various exercises will make our bodies stronger. In the same way, Great Lent offers us a special diet and a catalog of spiritual exercises to make us spiritually stronger. We struggle to embrace these disciplines, though. The problem lies in our will to be healed. Effort is needed, and we are often slow to seek spiritual healing. Let us, then, interrogate ourselves like Jesus did the father in today’s Gospel reading. Let us ask ourselves regarding the troubles we have in our relationships, “How long have I had this?” Then let us to turn to God and seek change. Let us also interrogate ourselves about the bad habits that cling so closely to us and ask, “How long have I had this?” Then let us turn to God and seek change in our lives, so that we are defined not by our weakness or our errors but by the new life that Christ has come to give us.

Fr. George Parsenios is Professor of New Testament at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. www.hchc.edu

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