In the first reading today, the apostles and elders, after prayer and discernment, send a message to the Gentile believers. And at the heart of that message is this line: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these...
The first reading today begins with a very strong claim: “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” That is not a small disagreement; it is a statement about who counts—about what is necessary to belong to God. And the early...
In the gospel reading for today we heard Jesus tell some bystanders who wanted Jesus to plainly say that he was the Messiah. Jesus replied: “But you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them...
Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus in the garden. The folks walking to Emmaus did not recognize Him on the road. In today’s gospel the apostles don’t recognize Jesus. There seems to be a lot of that going around. Perhaps the seashore encounter is different. The...
In the gospel reading for today we share the story of the two disciples on that first Easter heading home discouraged by the events that had unfolded with the death of Jesus. By the time that Cleopas and his unnamed companion had walked with Jesus the seven miles from...
