REFLECTIONS TODAY Following the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees, it is now the turn of a scribe (Greek grammateus) to ask Jesus which is the first (greatest) of all the commandments. Jesus quotes the Shema Israel (“Hear, O Israel!”) from Deuteronomy 6:4 and joins to it the command...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Mark 12:18-27 After the Pharisees and Herodians failed to ensnare Jesus with their question on paying taxes to Caesar, it is now the turn of the Sadducees to test him. The Sadducees—the priestly aristocracy during Jesus’ time—were, ironically, skeptics in...
REFLECTIONS TODAY While recognizing the legitimacy of civil authority, Jesus sets it in its proper place, that is, covering only a part of life, and insists on the basic and ultimate supremacy of God who governs the whole life. One’s duties toward God and civil authority, although distinct, are...
REFLECTIONS TODAY GOSPEL • Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He sent two of his disciples and said to them,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The religious authorities in Jerusalem—the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders— would claim their authority to serve and to teach in the Temple from Moses, and through him, from God. They are incensed that Jesus cleansed the Temple by driving out those selling and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The cure of the blind Bartimaeus happens when Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem. They pass by Jericho, an oasis town, where pilgrims take a pause before the ascent to the Holy City. Here, Jesus cures a blind man who cries out to him using a messianic title,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY For the third time Jesus has intimated to his disciples that he would be rejected and condemned to death in Jerusalem, but the message has not registered in the mind of the Twelve. They are on their way to Jerusalem and the disciples probably think that Jesus will declare himself...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The sad story of the man who went away sad because he could not let go of his many possessions is immediately followed by Jesus’ promise of reward for those who give up their possessions to follow him. Peter speaks of “everything” (v 28) which, given their financial and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY To Jesus’ reference to the commandments in the Decalogue, the rich man responds, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth” (v 20). Does the man feel that he still has to do more to inherit “eternal life” (v 17)—a life pleasing to God and that lasts beyond...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Dt 4:32-34, 39-40 Moses said to the people: “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY By way of contrast, Mark puts the incident of Jesus blessing the children after Jesus pointed out the people’s “hardness of heart” as the reason for Moses to permit divorce. The Greek paidia (children, minors) refers not only to those young in age; they also represent mature...
REFLECTIONS TODAY On the question whether Jesus would allow divorce — Moses permitted the man to dismiss his wife—Jesus proclaims permanence of marriage to be God’s intent from the beginning. Moses’ concession, Jesus says, is given only “because of the hardness of your hearts” (v 5)....
