REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Jesus groups together the people in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot as example of those who are debased and corrupted, enjoying what life has to offer, unmindful of the Creator and the righteousness he expects of them. They were eating and drinking,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The Hebrew Bible speaks of malkut ha-samayim (Kingdom of heaven) where “heaven” is used in place of “God” out of reverence for his name. The primary sense of the Hebrew malkut is dynamic—that is, “sovereignty” or “royal rule.” Therefore, “the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The purity laws of Leviticus 11-15 deal with boundaries. Anything that crosses the “body boundary” or opening renders a person unclean—like scaly, eruptive condition of the skin commonly referred to as “leprosy.” The Law excluded lepers from the community; they were to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospel has similarities with Matthew’s collection of Jesus’ teachings often referred to as Community Discourse (Mt 18). Scholars trace the similarity to a source common to Luke and Matthew, often called Quelle (Source). The first teaching has to do with the “child” as...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 12:38-44 In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today “Mammon” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word for money in which one trusts. Jesus calls it “dishonest wealth” (v. 9) because the tendency to accumulate wealth often leads to dishonesty. Mammon is used here as if it were itself a god, a rival...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The deeds of the steward in the parable are rather commonplace; what is surprising and disturbing is the commendation that he receives. We expect to hear Jesus vigorously denounce the swindling, but he gives none. He purposely sets the scene to draw from the story an important but...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The care of the sheep is a rich source of theological imagery. The sheep must be protected from wild beasts, thieves, dangers, and inclement weather (Gn 31:39-40). The shepherd leads the sheep to green pasture and water, and protects them. This is precisely what...
REFLECTIONS TODAY “Hate” in the biblical sense often means preference. Thus, “I loved Jacob but hated Esau” (Rom 9:13) means that the Lord, in his sovereign prerogative, chooses the younger Jacob over Esau. So, in the Gospel, Jesus is telling the crowd to prefer another person or group to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY St. John of the Cross says that in the evening of our life we will be judged on love. And love is expressed in the service we do to our brothers and sisters—the least, the last, and the lost; in other words, the needy. Why this particular group? This is because Jesus has taken...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The paradoxical power of the Beatitudes comes from Jesus who suffered and died but has been exalted in glory. The satisfaction or happiness coming from the conventional standards of the world are “paltry” compared to the boundless joy that God prepares for those who live the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the cultural world of Jesus, it was customary that invitation to feasts should be reciprocated: “I give you, you give me back.” God does not expect the same kind of attitude. God is the superabundant, generous being who is compassionate to all. Besides, how can human...
