Reflections

Temptations of Jesus (Matt 4: 1-11) On the First Sunday of Lent each year, the Gospel is about the temptations of Jesus before  commencing his public ministry.  “Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” The nature of temptation Today’s First Reading (Gen 2:7-9. 3:1-7) offers a story…

Today’s Gospel is about understanding the positive meaning of the commandments.   At the time of Jesus, the Scribes and Pharisees were the dominating legalists.  On the one hand they brought in multiple rules which squeezed the joy out of religion.  But on the other hand, they analysed the Commandments to see where exceptions to the…

Jesus Christ, the Universal King (Luke 23:35-43) Today, the last Sunday of the liturgical year, is when we celebrate Jesus Christ, the Universal King.  In today’s Gospel, Luke takes us to the foot of the cross on Calvary.  At the end of Jesus’ journey, over his head, his crime was posted, “Jesus Christ, King of the…

Pray continually and never lose heart (Luke 18:1-8) The message of today’s Gospel is clearly expressed in the opening line: “Pray continually and never lose heart.”  We are prepared for this lesson by the First Reading.  A battle was being fought, and as long as Moses kept his arms raised in prayer, Israel had the…

Luke, more than the other writers, is the evangelist of prayer. This Sunday’s Gospel, the healing of ten lepers, instructs us on having trust in our prayer of petition and returning to God in thanksgiving.  Trusting, asking, and thanking. “Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.”  The lepers had to shout loudly because they were compelled by…

Lord, increase our faith (Luke 17: 5-10) The apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith.  How did he answer them?  Would their faith be deepened by an astounding miracle like planting a mulberry tree in the sea, defying all the laws of science?  Sadly, many of those who witnessed the real miracles of Jesus…

Rich Man, Poor Man (Luke 16:19-31) Last Sunday our Gospel was about the proper use of money, with a warning that money can be tainted, and that one easily becomes a slave to material riches.  In today’s Gospel, Luke develops the teaching of Jesus in his parable of two contrasting men, one very rich, the…

Pride or Humility It was common practice to invite an entertaining guest to a banquet. Jesus was invited to a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee. Table-talk is very different to sermon-talk. A light-hearted exchange can reach into areas that formal instruction could not touch. In the merriment of a good meal you…

Get your focus right (Luke 13:22-30) Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.    Someone came up to him and asked, “Sir, will there be only a few saved?” (Luke 13:22-30).  It’s very likely that the questioner was a Jew who believed that only Jews had any chance of getting to heaven.  Many of us grew up convinced…