16. Lk 4: 31-37

1  Lk 4: 31-37: The narrative brings out the power of Jesus’ word which is supported by the effectiveness of his actions. Through his preaching, exorcisms and healing, Jesus makes God’s kingdom real among the people. In this gospel passage a man possessed by an evil spirit shouts and acknowledge the power of Jesus. 

15. Mt. 25: 31-40

1  Mt. 25: 31-40: The purpose of the passage is to tell us what we must do in order to be saved. The passage is as much a parable of separation (the sheep and the goats) like the wheat and the weeds in 13: 24-30 or the net and the fish in 13: 47-50. It is also a description of judgment.

14. Lk. 24: 13-27

1  Lk. 24: 13-27: Every ‘breaking of the word’ leads one finally to the Eucharist ie. ‘Breaking of the bread’ where one finds and acknowledges Jesus , as we see in the journey of two disciples to Emmaus. This is the way every Christian to discover Jesus, who is the way to life. They go away from Jerusalem. Jesus meets them on their way and puts them back on track.

13. Mt. 23: 29-36

1  Mt. 23: 29-36: The history of Jews was the history of murder from Abel to Zacharias. It is a history of rejection and often the slaughter of the men of God. It makes us think when the history judges us, will its verdict be that we were the hinderers or the helpers of God! It is a question that every individual, nation must ask themselves.

12. Mt. 5: 43-48

1  Mt. 5: 43-48: The antitheses of the Sermon on the Mount reach their climax in the last one dealing with the scope of our love. “You must be perfect”(v.48) which means  that God loves his people with a mind of universality and single-mindedness. God loves all of us and each one of us totally.

11. Mt 4: 12-17

1  Mt 4: 12-17: Nothing happens to Jesus that is not provisioned by God. If Bethlehem is the place of his birth (2:6), Nazareth is the place of his upbringing (2:23) and Capernaum is his place of Mission (4:15f). The definitive salvation is announced by Jesus and comes to us by a change of heart - a heart of conversion to a new life based on God’s love and working of Spirit within us. 

10. Mt. 24: 45-51

1  Mt. 24: 45-51: The spirit which leads to disaster is the spirit which says that there is plenty of time. It is the comfortable delusion of the servant when he thinks that he will have plenty of time to put things to rights before his master returns. Rejection to the kingdom is based on his failure in duty and reward depends upon the fidelity. So Jesus wants us to be employed and be faithful in doing our duty. 

9. Mt. 9: 14-17

1  Mt. 9: 14-17: Sorrow and gloom would mostly come but the man who walks with Christ walks in the radiance of joy. When any living thing stops growing, it starts dying. It may be that we need to pray that God would deliver us from the shut mind and from the cocoon of old routine life. 

8. Mt. 1: 1-16

1  Mt. 1: 1-16: While giving the genealogy of Joseph, the last verse shifts to focus on Mother Mary and the birth of Jesus. The shift to focus on Mary is with a purpose to show that she is chosen by God Himself to be the mother of God. Thus royalty of kingship gained, the tragedy of freedom lost, the glory of liberty restored. It is the mercy of God that is the story of mankind and of each individual man.

7. Lk. 21: 25-33

1  Lk. 21: 25-33: Jesus speaks about his second coming. We are advised not to have the argument about it as to when it comes and what it would be like. Our conception of history must be that it is moving towards a goal – a goal in which Jesus will be recognized by all as LORD. That is all we know and all we need to know. He uses the parable of the fig tree to know this principle. 

6. Lk 6: 27-36

1  Lk 6: 27-36: Love your enemies in v.27 apply first to his persecutors of Christians in his communities. Jesus doesn’t ask for a mere tolerance but active love. More specifically the above verse 27 applies to the possessors of his community. They are not to show a mere reciprocity but to be uncalculating in their giving. In any society, the rich, the middle class, the poor and the poorest need conversion to Jesus’ words though in different degrees, manners and terms.   

5. Lk 8: 22-25

1  Lk  8: 22-25: Jesus calms whatever in the extreme condition of life. Thus he calms the storms of temptation, passion, and sorrow. If these come in abundance like the strong storm it destroys man from within. Jesus is the rescue point.  

4. Mt. 13: 24-30

1  Mt. 13: 24-30: The passage teaches us that there is a hostile power that works against all that is good. Often this power cannot be distinguished in the beginning or we should not indulge in hasty judgments. We are told to accept them as in the field – a mixture of good and evil (wheat and weeds) as a whole. The one who is perfect –‘God’ himself has the power to judge correctly at the end of the world –at the maturity of time.

3. Mt. 8: 5-13

1  Mt. 8: 5-13: The Jews are the chosen people of God but since they reject Jesus they forfeit their right to the gentiles - ‘from the east and the west’ as in 8:11 who have accepted Jesus. This warning may be applied today to the new ‘sons of the kingdom’ – the Christians, who belong to the church but who may be in practice far less ‘Christ-like’ in their attitude and behaviour than the people of other religions. 

2. Lk. 13: 6-9

1  Lk. 13: 6-9: Just as the fig tree is given a final chance, a period of grace, to bear fruit, so people are given time to repent and reform. There is no space for self-complacency. Spiritual collapse is more death-dealing then physical death because its implications are eternal. We can direct ourselves to God or to sin. In either case, we are responsible for what we will have become.

1. Mk. 8: 11-21

1  Mk. 8: 11-21: The Pharisees want a miracle that will undoubtedly prove that Jesus does the work of God. Jesus refuses. People who love truth and seek what is right will recognize the seal of God in the deeds of Jesus. But Jesus will have to give a sign – his resurrection. So people, who demand a miracle before they believe, receive no answer.