REFLECTIONS TODAY The Synoptic Gospels tell of Jesus preaching in the synagogue of his native Nazareth where people first speak highly of him but later reject him for hurting their pride as God’s chosen by mentioning that the prophets ministered to the pagans ahead of Israel. John, in turn,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Sheep are totally dependent on shepherds for protection, grazing, watering, shelter, and tending to injuries. They are 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 shepherd who...
The voice of John the Baptist resounding in the desert and by the River Jordan during the Advent season returns on the days following the octave of Christmas. This time, the voice serves as introduction to the entry of Jesus as he reveals himself to Israel. The baptizer now becomes a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Words do not come in abundance from Mary. Yes, she gave her Fiat to the angel Gabriel, agreeing to bear the Son of the Most High; she sang her Magnificat to the Lord for looking down at her lowliness; she voiced out her gentle “complaint” to the boy Jesus when he was “lost...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In Dalmanutha, the Pharisees argue with Jesus. They might have heard of his miracles as well as his teachings and lately his feeding of the 4,000 men, and yet they still demand another miracle which must be more spectacular. Jesus refuses to give in to their demand. They are not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Mark 2:1-12 In truth, God alone can forgive sins. A human being may forgive or excuse the sin of another, but something remains of that sin; the guilt still remains before God, it is not erased. Only God’s forgiveness removes the guilt. But Jesus, as the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus finds welcome and success in Capernaum. He cures the mother-in-law of Simon Peter and stays in Simon’s house where he ministers to the sick and those possessed by demons. Simon and Andrew and the other disciples certainly enjoy the “honor” of being close associates of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Matthew 2:1-12 The Gospel contrasts the attitudes of the Magi and King Herod. The Magi, wise men from the East, are led by their desire to find meaning behind the bright star they have seen from afar. They start their “journey of faith” with a mind seeking...
REFLECTIONS TODAY From John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus in John’s Gospel, we are now presented with his testimony in Mark’s Gospel. The events surrounding Jesus’ birth reveal his divine origin. Mark does not have the infancy stories as prelude to Jesus’ public ministry. ...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • John 1:43-51 John’s Gospel is a series of marturía or “witnessing” to Jesus. When John the Baptist witnesses to Jesus as the “Lamb of God,” his two disciples leave him to follow Jesus. After Jesus finds Philip and calls him to follow him, Philip...
REFLECTIONS TODAY As Jesus comes to John the Baptist, John points him out as “the Lamb of God,” thereby setting the tone of Jesus’ mission to be like the lamb of the Passover (Ex 12:3), or the sacrificial lamb offered for the expiation of the sins of the people on the Day of Atonement or Yom...
REFLECTIONS TODAY When religious leaders send priests and Levites to ask John the Baptist who he really is, he clearly admits that he is not the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One of God. Neither is he the personification of Elijah who would someday return to prepare the way of the Lord (Mal...
