REFLECTIONS TODAY Mark’s account of the healing of a paralytic shows elements of a firsthand testimony, and he must have derived it from the remembrance of Simon Peter. Peter would remember clearly that day when so many people gathered together at the house, probably his, where Jesus was teaching...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Leprosy in ancient times contains the idea of being struck or afflicted with an eruptive skin disease. It was an ailment characterized by the appearance of rough, scaly patches of the skin. The concern of the ancient peoples was not so much the contagion of the “biblical”...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospel of Mark is often described as fastpaced, almost breathless in its narrative. At the start of his public ministry, Jesus is presented as always on the move. He teaches and drives out a demon in the synagogue, heals Peter’s mother-inlaw in Peter’s house, and attends...
REFLECTIONS TODAY One day, in the synagogue in Capernaum, the people are surprised by something new: a new teaching with authority, with the unclean spirits subject to the command of Jesus. Here is the rabbi who does not depend on the famous teachers of Israel in his interpretation of the Mosaic...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 1:7-11 This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It happened in those days that Jesus came...
REFLECTIONS TODAY “Best man” translates the Greek ho philos tou nymphiou, literally “the friend of the bridegroom,” representing the shoshben of Jewish life. At a Jewish wedding, the groom is attended to by his relatives and friends, “the sons of the bride chamber” (Mk 2:19), and by one...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Luke’s language suggests a sort of habit on the part of Jesus to retire and pray after his missionary activities to unfortunate persons. His healing ministry—like his cleansing of a leper—attracts crowds and enhances his “honor.” For Jesus, however, fame is not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Unlike Mark and Matthew who situate Jesus’ homecoming in the latter part of his ministry (Mk 6:1-6; Mt 13:54-58), Luke transposes it to the beginning. Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue of Nazareth is programmatic of his entire ministry. Jesus’ teaching is the fulfllment not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY People generally believe in the existence of spirits, demonic or good spirits. Most often spirits are believed to bring disaster. On encountering Jesus walking on the water, the disciples think they are seeing a water spirit and, understandably, they are afraid. Jesus allays the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Sheep are totally dependent on shepherds for protection, grazing, watering, shelter, and tending to injuries. They are considered dumb, prone to wandering and unable to find their way back to a sheepfold even when it is within sight. The helplessness of the sheep requires a good...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Galilee, the region of northern Palestine, came under the Assyrians in 722 BC. Many of the inhabitants were exiled to Nineveh, and pagan foreigners were brought in to settle in the land. The region experienced more foreign influence than Judea, and its inhabitants intermarried...
MATTHEW 2:1-12 1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly...
