DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
St. Mark 13:31-14:2 (2/21) The Gospel for Thursday of the Week of the Prodigal Son
Watch: St. Mark 13:31-14:2, especially vs. 33: “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when
the time is.” Over and over in this Gospel, the Lord
Jesus commands us to watch, returning again and again to the requirement - five
times He speaks of watching in the five middle verses (33-37). But note: His injunction to watch is set
in a pair of urgent contexts. The
greater, ultimate one the Lord provides when He declares that His
“...words will by no means pass away” (vs. 31), an assurance He
connects with a warning of the end of the age - that “heaven and earth
will pass away” (vs. 31).
Thereby He reminds us to watch, given the “ending to our
life” and “the fearful judgment seat of Christ.” The lesser context - the immediate
circumstances within which the Lord’s order to watch was given - is
recorded by the Evangelist: “...the chief priests and the scribes sought
how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death” (vs.
14:1). The sin, evil, and death
aimed at our Lord, which His Passion defeated, are very present.
A look at the original text of this Gospel
reveals that the Lord Jesus used three different words for watching in the five
verses: blepo, translated, take heed
(vs. 33); agrypneo, translated, watch
(vs. 33), and grigoreo, translated, watch. The meaning of these verbs ranges from see,
to look, to watch, to take heed, to be awake. In terms of our Lord’s cautions
and commands, watch fits the set of them best. The traditional English take heed
has deep Anglo-Saxon roots related to the word head, containing a
caution to guard your head.
Given the two contexts in which the Lord drove home His command and
warnings, the contemporary advice to keep your head together fits
precisely. A guard in a front line
fox hole appreciates the value of watching.
There is an inward and outward aspect to
watching. The image of a guard
posted on his company’s perimeter vividly speaks to each disciple of
Christ about outward attentiveness.
Each of us is posted at a different point on the Church’s
perimeter. In the darkness beyond
lies the enemy who is constantly probing you and your wakefulness. Opportunities to sin, to commit evil, or
to disregard the Lord Jesus’ commandments abound. Modern culture, seen through the media,
experienced at work, or thrown open to us socially, certainly offers many
opportunities to indulge in pride,
greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth - all of which are contrary to the
gift of Baptism and discovered the moment you painstakingly seek to live the
life in Christ.
Christian Orthodoxy urges us to see that the
Lord’s admonition foremost is a command to watch inwardly, even when He
speaks of it in images of the outward world. As Archimandrite Ioannikios
says, “The essence of the Christian life has more to do with the inner
life of the soul than with external conduct.” External conduct is the mere leading
edge of watching. The tough and
real work of being attentive lies within.
Here the Holy Fathers of Orthodox shine for us.
Hence, we must call attention to the other
word that Christ our God includes in His instructions to watch - pray
(vs. 33). Speaking from the context
of the Lord’s betrayal, arrest, trial, and execution, which are
foreshadowed in this passage, we must remember what He Himself did in the
Garden while waiting for what was coming (Mk. 14:32-42). He prayed, and, even though warned, the
Disciples did not keep awake and pray as ordered. Listen to Archimandrite Ioannikios on this point: “In order for watchfulness
to bear fruit, it must be coupled with prayer, particularly with the mental,
unceasing prayer of the heart.”
Prayer comes by struggle and not from a little
meditation. For now, listen to St.
Mark the Ascetic: “question other servants of God who are...engaged in
the same ascetic struggle, so that [you] do not travel in the dark without a
light, not knowing how or where to walk.”
Lord Jesus, I love Thee. Grant me the grace of true prayer
offered in simplicity and peace, ever contrite before Thy Cross for my
sinfulness and watchful for the sure stalking of evil.
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