In today’s first reading from Hebrews, we hear that Jesus is our high priest. The reading proclaims that Jesus is our heavenly high priest: “It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the...
Jesus puts a key question to the Pharisees and to all of us in today’s Gospel: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Some Pharisees have a rather strict interpretation of the Sabbath Law. Some are...
Natural religiosity is a way of relating to God based on sacrifice, rigid observance of rules, judging others, and external signs of holiness. For many people in Israel their relationship with God had degenerated into the external forms and minimalistic observance of...
Today is an interesting intersection of national events. President Trump’s return to the oval office after four years will begin today with his inauguration. The same day in which we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I have no doubt that pundits,...
The key question in today’s Gospel is about forgiveness and who has the authority and the power to forgive sins. Some of the Jewish scribes maintain: “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus has just healed a paralytic lowered before him by his four friends:...
