REFLECTIONS TODAY The Pharisees and the scribes from Jerusalem speak of the “tradition of the elders” which, for them, is being neglected by the disciples. Indirectly, Jesus is being seen as party to this negligence. What they refer to is a set of practice defined, maintained, and practiced by...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus is not a presence to be ignored. The very minute people come to know that he is in the vicinity, a crowd naturally gathers. These people are not curious onlookers; they actually seek Jesus, bringing their sick, because they have heard that Jesus has the power to heal....
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 1:29-39 On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told Him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The apostles have just come back from mission. They need to take stock of what they have done, to give a report to Jesus. More importantly, they need to recover their physical and spiritual energies so that they may be ready for future initiatives. In fact, they soon find out that...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Herodias is the daughter of Aristobulus, one of the sons of Herod the Great. Herod Antipas is also the son of Herod the Great and is a half-brother of the first husband of Herodias, Philip. Antipas had divorced his first wife, a Nabatean princess, to make room for Herodias. John...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus has in mind the benefit to his apostles when they travel by pairs. Aside from the practical help from a companion, such arrangement has a deep significance. Traveling alone could give a wrong notion to the apostle that the mission he is pursuing is a personal project. He...
REFLECTIONS TODAY His townsmen in Nazareth are astounded by the wisdom of Jesus when he teaches in their synagogue. They have also previously heard stories about Jesus’ miraculous deeds. And so they wonder, “Where did this man get all this?” There was no rabbinical school in Nazareth. Any...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Israelites believe that their first-born sons belong to the Lord who spared their lives even as he slew the first-born of the Egyptians (Ex 13:15). God instructed Moses: “Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites” (Ex 13:2). The Jews carry...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The unclean spirit that infests the man admits to Jesus that they are many and so are called Legion. Their intention is to wreak havoc in the man. The man is being drowned in a cacophony of voices and doldrums of pain, and seemingly his only respite comes in hurting himself. When...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Then they came to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the muzzling of the storm, comparison to the God of Israel who is the Lord of history and nature cannot be avoided. There are cosmic overtones in the account. Jesus “rebukes” the wind as he would the demons; the wind and sea are “living forces” that are subdued by Jesus...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The two parables—the Seed that grows by itself and the Mustard Seed—show the innate power of the Word that Jesus sows in the hearts of people. The seed of the Word will grow and produce fruits independent of the efforts of human beings because it has an inner power, being the...
