REFLECTIONS TODAY Mk 5:21-43 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospels present us stories when Jesus cannot perform signs even among his own people because they refuse to accept him, as in the episode of the rejection in his own hometown of Nazareth (Lk 4:14-30). On the other hand, cures are experienced by foreigners because of their...
REFLECTIONS TODAY At times in the Bible, different types of skin problem—not necessarily Hansen’s disease—fall into the category of leprosy. Lepers lived solitary lives and, therefore, in loneliness. People avoided them because Jewish law forbade touching lepers (Lv 5:3). They were...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The greatness of John is seen in the great emphasis Luke gives to the announcement of his birth. Except for Mary and John, nobody else had a crucial place in the history of salvation. Jesus calls John the greatest of all those who had preceded him. Yet the least in the Kingdom,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus uses the images of a bad tree and wolves to warn his hearers of false prophets. Discernment is needed because false prophets may not be easily detected. A tree is judged by its fruit. The credibility of any teacher or preacher is tested through the quality and the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Considering that this passage comes immediately after the discourse on judging and correcting others (yesterday’s Gospel), Jesus offers caution about the futility of correcting those who are unwilling to be corrected. These are done with discernment. It reminds us of a similar...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The “splinter” denotes any small fault in others while the beam denotes the much greater fault which one overlooks in herself/himself. Jesus uses a graphic hyperbole to express the big inconsistency in correcting others while not seeing one’s own fault. He does not oppose...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 4:35-41 On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Our God is the God of providence. His generosity is never outdone. To point this out, Jesus uses the example of the birds in the sky and the wild flowers. God gave us life. If he gave us life, surely, we can trust him for the lesser things—like food and clothing. To worry about...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Greek word brosis (read here as “decay”) literally means “eating away.” In Jesus’ time, corn and grain may consist somebody’s wealth. Worms, rats, and mice could get into a granary and eat away the grain. The word for “break in” is diorussein. In ancient...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In Matthew, the Our Father is part of the Sermon of the Mount, the opening verse of which states that the main listeners of Jesus are the disciples. In Luke, the Our Father is Jesus’ response to the disciples’ request that he teach them how to pray; it is the prayer of the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY We call the teachings of Jesus that are found in chapters 5-7 of Matthew, Sermon on the Mount. It expresses the essence of Christianity. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us about purity of intention. Our religious practices like almsgiving, prayer, and fasting must be done...
