Whoever is Not against Us is For Us In today’s Gospel, the disciple John questions Jesus about an unknown exorcist who was driving out demons in Jesus’ name. John’s question might have been motivated by jealousy. John’s question is further evidence that the disciples have not yet grasped Jesus’ words to them. They continue…
The Suffering Servant In today’s Gospel, Jesus begins to prepare his disciples for what is to come. He identifies himself with the “just one’ in the Book of Wisdom which we heard in today’s first reading. He will be put to the test to give proof of his gentleness and patience. He will be…
The Kingdom of God How could Peter, the apostles, and Jesus’ other close companions have got his mission so totally wrong? We see it in this week’s Gospel, but the truth is that from the very beginning and right up to his death, the apostles were more or less clueless. That may sound a bit…
Listening to God Words In today’s reading, Jesus heals a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. This is a story about Jesus’ healing power, and in it we find clues about our understanding of sacrament. In the Sacrament of Baptism, water and oil are used to show the power of the…
God’s laws If we read today’s Gospel carefully, we will see a pattern in Jesus’ teaching method that will be repeated in the weeks ahead. Jesus’ first teaching is directed to the Pharisees who questioned him. Jesus’ words are then directed to the crowd, teaching that a person is defiled by his or her words…
Lord, to Whom shall we go? In today’s Gospel we are being asked to make a choice, as we are, to choose to follow Jesus or not. Will we choose to follow him for a while and see how things work out and if they don’t we can always opt out of our choice of…
I Am the Living Bread Who is Jesus for me? Who is Jesus for us? The early followers of Jesus had to struggle with the words that Jesus gave to them. Even more they had to struggle to understand and accept fully that Jesus is God. Jesus tells us that He is the living…
Bread of Life Today’s Gospel begins with a report that the Jews complained about Jesus’ claims regarding his identity. They knew his family, and they knew he was the son of Joseph. They could not comprehend what Jesus meant when he said that he came down from heaven. Jesus responds to the complaints by…
Open Your Mind and Heart to the Lavish Love of God. When the Israelites asked for food in the desert, God gave them exactly what they needed. Their grumbling didn’t put him off; he fed them with manna and quail. God only asked them to trust in his loving care for them. When crowds of…
Trust in the Lord Today’s Gospel passage from Saint John reflects the first reading. Jesus asks Philip to feed the people and Philip knows right away that there is not enough food. He complains that not even a large amount of money would be able to purchase enough food. Philip forgets the teaching that…