Jesus tells of a Pharisee who has the habit of going up “to the Temple area to pray.” He feels at home there but will not extend that feeling to another who has joined him. For, while there, the Pharisee’s prayer habit is to insult and ostracize those he judges as not belonging there…
One of Jesus’ new disciples, Peter, has a sick mother-in-law. Jesus goes to her and heals her of a fever. Emerging from her solitude of suffering, she immediately begins to be of service to those in her home. When others learn Jesus healed her, it is written, “the whole town was at the door.”…
Jesus is here to change the world. Are we? Do we think he or we should be up to something less? Change is powered by prayer. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells of a widow who will not be wearied by an unjust judge. Be persistent, “pray always.” we can be in communion with…
Jesus’ early disciples, as we meet them in the Gospel, are all adults. They include fishermen, homemakers, and tax collectors. They have learned trades and disciplines. They have also learned who God is and how to pray from their religious rulers. There is much they know. Then Jesus comes along. They do not entirely…
Jesus is, like most of his contemporaries, marginalized – politically, financially, and theologically. He is not, however ,powerless. One aspect of Jesus’ power is demonstrated by his empowering others. He encourages people to create with their brothers and sisters a new politics (care), a new economy (share), and a new theology (dare). After sending…
Prayer is the loving communion we all share with divine power. Jesus tells a parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector in this Sunday’s Gospel to exemplify loving communion. The parable shows the difference between his own witness of prayer and that of hierarchs like the Pharisee. It was the difference between loving…
Pesky widows are a power to be reckoned with. I know. I had a pesky widow for a mother. Jesus’ choice of a pesky widow with a legal concern in this Sunday’s parable lauding prayer is intriguing. Jesus reverses the Old Testament reading lauding prayer. Moses, a man and a warrior, is praying for…
Prayer is a routine and vital ingredient of Jesus’ life. The Gospel shows Jesus frequently going off to be alone in prayer. It also shows him frequently teaching the disciples how to pray. This Sunday’s Gospel has a few such teachings and includes Jesus’ simple yet profound and indeed revolutionary prayer to Abba. Jesus’…