REFLECTIONS TODAY The last of Jesus’ “five great discourses” in the Gospel of Matthew (24:36—25:46) has to do with the “end-time.” After finishing his work of salvation on earth, Jesus has returned to the Father, but he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. This...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Law of Moses declares that everyone who in the open country touches a dead person, or who touches a human bone or grave, is rendered unclean, and needs to be ritually purified (Nm 19:16). It was then Jewish practice to whitewash tombs so that pilgrims to the Jerusalem Temple...
REFLECTIONS TODAY A harmonized reading of the Gospels tends to identify Nathanael in John with Bartholomew of the Synoptics. This is because in the Synoptic listings of the Twelve, the name Bartholomew comes after that of Philip. And Philip is precisely the one who brings Nathanael to Jesus. Jesus...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The temple in Jesus’ time is the Second Temple, built by the returnees from the Babylonian exile under the governor Zerubbabel and the priest Jeshua. Compared with the Temple of Solomon which was destroyed by the Babylonians, it was much inferior in the richness of its...
REFLECTIONS TODAY JOHN 6:60-69 Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus does not question the authority of the scribes and the Pharisees to teach, to sit on the “chair of Moses.” In the Jewish community, they teach the people the Law, speak in the synagogues, settle cases in the community, copy Scriptures texts, and act as guardians of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The “wedding garment” signifies metanoia, the change of heart and mind that is the condition for entering the Kingdom of heaven (Mt 3:2). It also signifies the garment of good deeds. Accepting God’s offer of salvation in Christ opens to us the honorable life that gives glory...
In the parable, the workers who are hired first are hurt: they are not only paid last, but are treated the same way as the latecomers. Obviously, Jesus uses exaggerations in this parable. Therefore, it is not to be taken literally, much less to draw an image of God from the landowner. The heart of...
Jesus’ invitation for the rich man to sell what he has goes beyond letting go of his possessions in terms of money and “bank accounts.” The man is invited to give up his family. In the ancient Mediterranean world, the person’s greatest possessions were his family, home, and land. Jesus is...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In truth, Jesus does not require all his disciples to sell their property or leave home to follow him as an itinerant preacher. The sisters Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus, stay home where they offer Jesus hospitality whenever he is around. Zacchaeus, the tax collector,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY LUKE 1:39-56 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In response to Jesus’ prohibition of divorce, his disciples remark, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” Instead of discussing further the pros and cons of marriage, Jesus directs their attention to another level: to renounce marriage for...
