Is 49:3, 5-6. During the Exile, the prophet prepares his oppressed neighbours for the coming of a liberator whom God would send to save them, and to be a light for all nations. 1 Cor 1:1-3. Paul’s opening greeting to his Christian converts in Corinth. They are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be…
Hebrews 4:12ff. God’s word is a two-edged sword, penetrating soul and spirit; our compassionate high priest sympathises with our weakness. Mark 2:13ff. Jesus calls a tax collector to join him as a disciple, and then proceeds to dine with Matthew/Levi and his friends. Both by word and action he calls sinners, not the self-righteous. Qualities…
Hebrews 4:1ff. Through obedient faith, directed especially towards Jesus, we enter into our “rest” – a state of fulfilment that echoes God’s celebration of creation, on the seventh day. Mark 2:1ff. A crowd gathers round Jesus, at his lakeside home in Capernaum; he heals a paralytic after first forgiving his sins. Getting the balance right…
Hebrews 3:7ff. Our hearts are to be open, with confidence towards God today, not hardened, doubting and complaining. Mark 1:40ff. Jesus touches and cures the leper; the man ignores his instructions and proceeds to tell everyone about it. Discerning true from false religiosity The Scripture today invites us to evaluate our reliance on externals, whether…
Hebrews 2:14ff. Jesus shared our flesh and blood, our temptations and death, and so is able to help us in our trials. Mark 1:29ff. Jesus cures Peter’s mother-in-law, drives out demons, withdraws to a lonely spot to pray, and preaches the good news. Called to Commitment We are consoled by the intimate presence of God…
Hebrews 2:5ff. Everything is subject to Jesus who is totally one with us. He was crowned with glory, after being perfected through suffering. Mark 1:21ff. People are spellbound that Jesus teaches with such authority and even gives orders to unclean spirits. Power to make us new Our Scriptures reach into the deep roots of life…
Hebrews 1:1ff. In times past God spoke to us in many and varied ways, but in this final age, through his eternal and creative Son. Mark 1:14ff. Jesus begins his mission, proclaiming the reign of God and calling his first disciples to work with him in bringing the Good News to others. Affection and Spirituality…
First Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 42:1-4, 6-7. A servant of God, a chosen one, will courageously serve God and help others to salvation – like Jesus, this servant “fulfils all righteousness.” Acts 10:34-38. The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan was an “anointing with the Holy Spirit” after which he went about doing good….
“Noblesse Oblige” Today’s first reading, surely, is among the finest moral exhortations in the whole Bible. Human beings are called and graced into the image of God; and since God’s essence is love, God’s children must be characterised by their spirit of love. The quality is also how we “live through him” that is, through…
His Baptism and Ours
As one community contracts, another expands In spite of its fervent adherence to the person of Jesus and its high ideals of community purity and fraternal love, it is clear from the letters that the Johannine community suffered from grave internal tensions, which eventually led to its break-up, amid reproaches and recrimination. The beginnings of…
Is 60:1-6. In the age to come, the Messiah, the Saviour King, will reveal his glory to all the nations. To work for this is now the mission of the Church. Eph 3:2-3, 5-6. The salvation revealed in Christ is for everyone. In his Church, there can be no exclusivness or racial distinction. Mt 2:1-12….
Fraternal Love, and Encounter with Christ John’s letter continues its emphasis on fraternal love, as the surest sign that a person is spiritually alive, closely tied to Jesus and living authentically, or “from the truth”. Today he gives to his ideal of love “agapé” a strong flavour of social justice and of sharing, both of…
Are We Righteous, or Sinners? John’s letter continues on the idea that Christians are “born of God” but now adds a strong ethical dimension to this: Those who are truly “born of God” do what is right and are “righteous” – mirroring the righteousness of God himself. There is an almost sectarian fervour in the…
Christ-centred Focus The extensive use of the first letter of John in the immediate post-Christmas period is due to its strongly Christ-centred focus, in a meditative, almost mystical tone. In prayerful and somewhat repetitive fashion, John hovers around the theme of salvation and the love of God, incarnated in Jesus. It is through Him that…
Where should our Focus be?
Sir 24:1-2,8-12. Lyrical praise of the wisdom which God has revealed to men. This was most fully revealed in Christ, Wisdom incarnate, or the Word made flesh, as today’s Gospel tells. Eph 1:3-6,15-18. We are God’s adopted children, belonging to him as the adoption through his only Son, Jesus. We should try to grow in…
Num 6:22-27. The solemn priestly blessing, a prayer that God would bless and protect us and be gracious to us, is very apt at the beginning of a new year. Gal 4:4-7. Through the Incarnation, the distance between God and man has been bridged and now we can call God “Abba! Father!” Lk 2:16-21. The…
Theme: Family life is experiencing a crisis of stability, partly caused by economic hardship, but often by other factors like lack of generosity, or too much insistence on getting one’s own way. Today’s feast invites us to meditate on our own contribution to family life. In the homespun maxims of Ben Sirach, we read how…
Theme Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in our world, though he was with God the Father before all ages. His birth opens up for us a glorious new identity, as children of God. On this major feast, the Scriptures promote a spirit of joy, of our giftedness in having as our Saviour…
