In today’s readings we hear about two violent tyrants. In the first reading the Greek King or Tyrant Antiochus uses violence and torture to try to force the Jews to violate God’s law. In the Gospel Jesus tells a parable that is taken from the real-life example of...
It is right in front of you! You just need to know where to look. This is Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel. People search high and low for a new messiah, claiming some emperor, some king, or some president is the one who will save and deliver us. Jesus warns us...
In today’s Gospel Jesus warns his disciples against causing scandal: “Things that cause sin (skandala) will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur.” Jesus calls for both fraternal correction and forgiveness: “If your brother or sister sins,...
In today’s first reading we hear once again that Jesus is Lord, the Lord of all: “This is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” This means, Paul suggests, that none of us is our own Lord but Jesus is our Lord...
God is not fickle! That is the good news in today’s first reading from Romans. In Romans 9-11 Paul deals with the issue of his fellow Jews who refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Paul previously asked the question about his fellow Jews, “I ask, then, has...
