Shocking in its day and still now is Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man. The man keeps the commandments but, because he is rich, is said to lack godliness, “Go and sell what you have to the poor.” Not only is the rich young man stunned by this news the disciples are too.…
Pharisees are concerned about their man-made laws being obeyed. They seek to press Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel about their law on divorce. “‘Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him.” The test was to whether Jesus adhered to a harsh or more lenient view of men putting…
One of Jesus followers, John, is upset that a person not of their company is calling on Jesus’ name to drive out demons. A demon is a spirit of negativity, an adversary that harms and even destroys. At issue in the Gospel is a person who cannot live a fully human life because they…
All people who challenge the status quo are made to suffer by those who uphold it. Jesus challenged it and was persecuted and killed by the rulers of his day. When Jesus shares with disciples his consciousness of this timeless truth, they are confounded. However, they ask no further questions to raise their own…
In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus asks a question: “Who do people say that I am?” He is directing listeners outward toward other’s opinions. Those opinions reflect external social and religious norms. Then Jesus rephrases the question for Peter: “Who do you say that I am?’ Jesus is directing his friend inward toward conscience which…
There is an analogy between Jesus’ Gospel witness this Sunday and Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the earth, Laudato Si. The particular ingredient of the analogy is the transformation of a system that marginalizes people. Both Jesus and Pope Francis give care to people who are made poor, sick, and forgotten by directing healing…
Jesus is accosted in Sunday’s Gospel by the ruling class. They are upset with his and disciples’ lack of appreciation for law and order. Law and order is frequently extolled, even made godly – by the ruler class. But it is not as beneficial as supposed. Law and order is another name for military…
This Sunday’s Gospel identifies Jesus as promoting women’s liberation. He does so by promoting communion. Communion is a life-giving power. It the relationship model Mary witnesses for Jesus and Jesus passes on. The life-giving power of communion is a relationship model some misunderstand or perhaps fear. Thus, when Jesus witnesses life-giving communion in today’s…
In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus continually challenges people to have life within them. He speaks of Divinity as that source of life within all. For Jesus, all creation embodies life-giving Divinity. So it is that the bread and wine Jesus offers have Divine life within them. So too do each of us. Today’s Gospel…
This Sunday’s Gospel is a healthy lesson on staying nourished. We need to do so while living in a depraved and deprived world. It is the world of Militarism and it has projected its harmful qualities onto a deity. Militarism’s depraved and deprived qualities have been made holy. We first encounter Militarism’s two qualities…