REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Luke 17:7-10 To emphasize the disparity between master and slave, the parable begins with the question, “Who among you would say to your servant...?” This makes the reader identify with the master. In the Greco-Roman world at the time of Jesus, slaves...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus instructs his disciples to be extra careful not to “scandalize” the little ones. These “little ones” may refer to those members of the young Christian community whose faith is still not solid, such as the catechumens, the young converts, and the faltering believers....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Using the parable of the Dishonest Steward, Jesus asks his disciples to use wealth wisely. It is often said, “Money is a great servant but a bad master” (Francis Bacon). When a person puts his energies in making money and acquiring more wealth, this occupies most of his time...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The parable of the Dishonest Steward is a parody on how material wealth should be used. In the ancient world, many slave managers handle the accounts of their masters. Such stewardship is delicate because they have to balance the interest of the master and the concerns of their...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In driving the sellers of sacrificial animals and the moneychangers away from the Temple area, Jesus does not simply “clean” the Temple of those who make the area a “marketplace” during the Passover festival. If so, this will not displease the Temple authorities at all!...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus demands from his disciple total commitment. The priority of acting out God’s plan—the proclamation of the Kingdom of God — takes precedence over “father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life” (v 26). Discipleship means...
REFLECTIONS TODAY By way of metaphor, Jesus gives the reason for his mission: to bring everyone to the divine banquet. The “servant”—Jesus—is tasked to send out the invitation of a super generous host, God. He starts inviting those within the Israelite “neighborhood”—relatives,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Using the parable of the Dishonest Steward, Jesus asks his disciples to use wealth wisely. It is often said, “Money is a great servant but a bad master” (Francis Bacon). When a person puts his energies in making money and acquiring more wealth, this occupies most of his time...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Mt 23:1-12 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Jews regard the seventh day or Sabbath as a day set aside for rest and worship. God commanded it to be kept holy, a day of rest as God rested from his work of creation (Gn 2:3). The Sabbath has been instituted as a perpetual covenant for the Israelites (Ex 31:13-17). Other...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The resurrection of Jesus is central to our Christian belief. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after his death on the cross, so also all believers will rise with him on the last day in the new and glorified body. The risen Christ is the guarantor of our own...
