REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 4:1-13 Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The tax collector Levi is identified with, and often referred to, as Matthew, the name given in the Gospel of Matthew (9:9). At the time Jesus calls him, Levi is at the customs post, his place of work. As tax collector, he is regarded as a public sinner, despised among the Jews as...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Following the story of the rich man who refused Jesus’ invitation to sell what he has and then to follow Jesus, Peter, in the name of his fellow disciples, asks Jesus what is in store for them. In contrast to the man, they have left everything and unquestioningly followed Jesus....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Scriptures show an ambivalent attitude toward wealth. At times it was praised and admired—as the fruit of wisdom (Prv 10:4), or the reward of humility and fear of God (Prv 10:22). More frequently, however, wealth was viewed unfavorably. The man who trusts in his wealth rather...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 6:39-45 Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s...
REFLECTIONS TODAY From the question of divorce conceded because of Israel’s “hardness of heart,” attention is now focused on the children brought to Jesus. The children symbolize receptivity that marks those that enter the Kingdom of God. Still young to assume adult responsibility, they are...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Pharisees approach Jesus to ask if divorce should be allowed, but touching only on the rights of a man to divorce his wife. In a manner of rabbinic debate, Jesus asks them about the command of Moses (the Torah). They reply that according to Moses, it is lawful for a man to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus often uses the image of a child or “little one” for one who accepts the Kingdom of heaven. To welcome the “little ones” is to exercise service and receptivity to those who are close to Jesus. To “cause them to sin” (Greek skandalisē) is to commit a most grievous...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today In the Book of Numbers, Eldad and Medad are described as having prophesied among the Israelites despite the fact that they were not in the gathering of 70 elders when Moses bestowed the spirit on them. Joshua asked Moses to stop them, but Moses reminded his...
REFLECTIONS TODAY A man from the crowd brings to Jesus his son who is suffering from epilepsy, an illness attributed to the possession by a dumb spirit. His initial desire was to bring the sick boy to Jesus, but in Jesus’ absence he brought the boy to the disciples who were unable to heal him....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 6:27-38 Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Jesus rejects the messianic glory expected by the people of Israel and embraces the destiny of the suffering Son of Man. He invites his would-be follower to do the same — to renounce one’s self, take up one’s cross, and lose one’s life for Jesus and the...
