People in Jesus’ time used the oil lamp to keep and control fire as a source of light. Olives provided the main source of oil. In telling the parable of the lamp, Jesus refers to the oil lamp in everyday use. Excavations in Palestine reveal an abundance of such lamps. The oil lamp is an easily...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The “parable” is rooted in the Hebrew mashal which encompasses a variety of meaning. Mashal can mean a saying, a proverb, a riddle, or a story like what we find in most of Jesus’ parables. The riddle of Samson—“Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The number “seventy ” is to be understood symbolically, just like the number twelve. The Twelve represents the reconstitution of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Seventy may allude to the “seventy elders” who accompany Moses up to the holy mountain of God (Ex 24:1). They...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Paul would see the appearance of Jesus to him as a call or commissioning. His description of it evokes God’s call of Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (1:5). Paul uses the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the synagogue in Nazareth where Jesus grew up, Jesus declares, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house” (Mk 6:4). Jesus’ kin would be his blood relatives or cousins. Seeing Jesus growing as an ordinary boy and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Different kinds of people followed Jesus. The most numerous but least organized were the crowds who thronged around Jesus to listen to him and to benefit from his powerful deeds. There was also a group more attached to Jesus, followed him for a period of time, and even supported...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The mention of these areas shows the reach of the Gospel, either by Jesus’ own mouth, or through stories about Jesus shared by people. Or Mark may write of his own time, when through the ministry of the apostles and other preachers of the Word, the Gospel has began to spread out...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Sabbath (from Hebrew shabbath, “to rest, desist”) is the day of rest and abstention from work enjoined upon the Israelites. A gift from God like the Torah, it was a cornerstone of Israelite religious practice. Two major rationales are presented: (1) as a memorial of God...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Fasting, along with prayer and almsgiving, are the three pillars of Jewish piety. The fasts are always accompanied by prayer and supplication and frequently by wearing sackcloth as a sign of penance and mourning. A public fasting is required on the Day of Atonement. It can also be...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 10:13-16 People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Levi (“Matthew” in the Gospel of Matthew) is next to be called after the four fishermen: Simon and Andrew, James and John. He seems no better a prospect to be Jesus’ companion than the fishermen because he is a tax collector, sitting at the customs post. Levi must have...
