Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 63:16-17, 19; 64:2-7; Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37 MARK’S JESUSMark’s Gospel is the shortest and tersest of all four. The discourses of Jesus tend to be terser as well. Mark’s portrayal of Jesus has none of the poetry of the Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon on the…
Sunday’s Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17; Psalms 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; Matthew 25:31-46 THE SHEPHERD KINGThe job of shepherd and the job of king couldn’t be more different from each other. Shepherds are on the lowest rung of society, kings are at the top. But God says, through the prophet Ezekiel, that the Messiah…
Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalms 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13 EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTEDIf it ever crossed your mind that Jesus was somewhat lacking in a sense of humor, today’s Gospel should belie any such notion. Jesus’ story of the five wise and five foolish bridesmaids is downright hilarious. The circumstances of the…
Sunday’s Readings Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6; 1-John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12 OUR HOPE AND GOD’S PROMISE The Church uses these waning November days and darker skies as the season to remind us of the last things. Today’s feast, the Solemnity of All Saints, is the centerpiece of three days that point to doctrines we…
Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 22:20-26; Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40 LIVING JUSTLY“You give that back right now!” How many of us have heard that line, probably more than once, as we were growing up? We come home with the trophy of what we thought was a really sweet deal, only to have…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; Psalms 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21 IN GOD ALONE Isaiah speaks to us today of Cyrus, King of Persia, anointed by the Lord. God calls Cyrus by name and leads him in service to the Israelites. In this passage we hear that it is the Lord…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14 GOD REVEALED TO THE NATIONSWhat wonderful images we have today of the reign of God! Isaiah speaks to us of a great feast—a heavenly feast—a feast of abundance with rich foods and choice wines. It is the Lord’s own affair, Isaiah explains,…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalms 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43 THE GIFT OF THE REIGN OF GODMatthew’s Gospel today expands on Isaiah’s ballad considerably. A comparison with the same story in Mark’s Gospel clearly shows us that here the author is busy teaching this community of Jewish Christians: “This is a story…