REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 1:7-11 This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It happened in those days that Jesus came...
REFLECTIONS TODAY “Best man” translates the Greek ho philos tou nymphiou, literally “the friend of the bridegroom,” representing the shoshben of Jewish life. At a Jewish wedding, the groom is attended to by his relatives and friends, “the sons of the bride chamber” (Mk 2:19), and by one...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Luke’s language suggests a sort of habit on the part of Jesus to retire and pray after his missionary activities to unfortunate persons. His healing ministry—like his cleansing of a leper—attracts crowds and enhances his “honor.” For Jesus, however, fame is not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Unlike Mark and Matthew who situate Jesus’ homecoming in the latter part of his ministry (Mk 6:1-6; Mt 13:54-58), Luke transposes it to the beginning. Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue of Nazareth is programmatic of his entire ministry. Jesus’ teaching is the fulfllment not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY People generally believe in the existence of spirits, demonic or good spirits. Most often spirits are believed to bring disaster. On encountering Jesus walking on the water, the disciples think they are seeing a water spirit and, understandably, they are afraid. Jesus allays the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Sheep are totally dependent on shepherds for protection, grazing, watering, shelter, and tending to injuries. They are considered dumb, prone to wandering and unable to find their way back to a sheepfold even when it is within sight. The helplessness of the sheep requires a good...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Galilee, the region of northern Palestine, came under the Assyrians in 722 BC. Many of the inhabitants were exiled to Nineveh, and pagan foreigners were brought in to settle in the land. The region experienced more foreign influence than Judea, and its inhabitants intermarried...
MATTHEW 2:1-12 1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Prologue of John’s Gospel says, “A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light” (1:6-7). John, the son of Zechariah, is so associated with his baptizing ministry in the Jordan River that he is known as the Baptist. But in the Fourth...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In contrast to the other evangelists who situate the story of Jesus in history, John starts from “the beginning,” in the sphere of God, when only God was there. But the Word was with God in the beginning, and creation was done through the Word. The evangelist then leaves the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY I had the chance to meet my two grandmothers from my father’s side and my mother’s. While I did not live with them, I somehow came to know them during those special occasions of being with them. What struck me in both of them was their sense of wisdom, of having learned so...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The presentation of Jesus in the Temple shows the obedience and fidelity of his parents Joseph and Mary to the Torah that requires the purification of a mother within 40 days after childbirth and the presentation or redemption of the firstborn son. Their obedience to the Law...
