Gospel (Page 7)

There is something very reassuring about Luke’s Holy Family. For him, the most important element was not the ‘holy’ but the ‘family’. What made Jesus the man he grew to be was not an environment of closeted privilege but the sacramental ordinariness of peasant life. The lineage back to DavidRead More →

Mary moves from those who would gossip and doubt to the arms of a kindred spirit. Her soul’s friend, Elizabeth, is filled with the goodness and grace of God rather than the accusation and judgement of her neighbours. After all, Elizabeth has something in common with Mary – Elizabeth knowsRead More →

For all the austerity of his life, John spoke to people in words they could grasp. It was his austerity that drew people’s respect and trust. Here was a man who cared nothing for comfort, money or fame, who could not be bought, and who could speak the truth withoutRead More →

Luke provides an extraordinarily detailed list of the public officials who were in office when John and Jesus began their work. The names of Pontius Pilate and of Herod the tetrarch are easily recognised here. Luke demonstrates that John the Baptist and Jesus enter into the real world of history,Read More →

On this First Sunday of Advent, we begin a new liturgical year.  This season of Advent reminds us to be attentive of the various ways Jesus daily comes into our lives.  However, the Gospel reading for this first Sunday of Advent is a bit unsettling.  In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tellsRead More →

Jesus was given in an act of vulnerability, he came vulnerable in manger-mild, and he was killed in the great act of willing vulnerability. This is important, and inextricably bound to his Kingship. This is the kind of king that Jesus was, and is. It does do one well toRead More →

We frequently hear the phrase, “the signs of the times”. This gospel deals with the signs of the end-times. Is there a certain tension between the description of these events (taken in part from the Book of Daniel) and the last verse which states that “about that day or hourRead More →

Widows are mentioned in both sections of this gospel. They represent the poorest and most vulnerable people in society. But those who “devour widows’ houses”, who multiply their sufferings, can be seen strutting around in public, even praying in public, seeking to be honoured. Such hypocrisy is hateful to Jesus.Read More →

How do I strive to love my family members, my neighbour, my co-workers or someone I happen to meet on the street?  Do I consciously strive to love every person I encounter, even the individuals I may not like? Hopefully, the time we spend with God each day makes usRead More →

Bartimaeus shows his faith in Jesus in two ways. Firstly he calls out to Jesus to heal him in a specific way. Faith is only faith when we are able to express exactly what it is we are trusting God for. It is no good to just ask a generalRead More →