31. Jn. 10: 1-6

Jn. 10: 1-6: The voice of the shepherd goes before us, guides us, protects us and tells us who we are. We are told to listen and follow the shepherd because he has gone before us to prepare the way for us and knows the territory, the hardships and struggles involved and knows that we can face them. Listen Jesus’ voice and follow Jesus and the rest will before us as protection, guidance and nourishment!

30. Lk. 4: 22-30

Lk. 4: 22-30: Familiarity causes Christ to be condemned and therefore he often goes to strangers. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty provokes proud men. They will not seek his favour in his own way and are angry when others have the favour they neglected. Still is Jesus rejected by the multitudes who hear the same message from his words!

29. Lk. 5: 12-16

Lk. 5: 12-16: Many came to Jesus: the blind, the lame, the lepers and the sinners. They all came to be cleaned. We too are faced with the same question ‘Do I wish to be made clean, whole, holy?’ there are some areas of our life that need to be healed, to put into a correct mode and so on. Jesus can make everything clean, whole and holy!

28. Jn 2: 1-11

Jn 2: 1-11: Jesus manifest himself as the savior by changing water into wine. Those that live for their earthly desires have no real interest in heavenly matters. They live for their short bouts of laughter not realizing they will end in an eternal sigh. Only Jesus can bring a change in life to have real interest in heavenly matters. 

27. Jn 8: 39-47

       Jn 8: 39-47: Jews are boasting of their descent from Abraham who proved himself to be a true believer of God, even though they are not imitating him in this belief.  Jesus, whose origin is from beyond human history, will enable us to enter into the world beyond, if only we believe in him by living according to his teaching. 

26. Mt. 10: 1-15

Mt. 10: 1-15: The disciples representing the 12 tribes of Israel are sent on their mission by Jesus with instructions. Mission means ‘sending’.  The Father is the one who sends messengers to the world to gather those who believe in his love and promises. 

25. Mt. 20: 1-16

Mt. 20: 1-16: The late workers were paid as much as the early workers here in this passage. The message of the parable is to show that God rewards not according to the time of work but according to one’s entry to God’s call. Applying to ourselves it means that God does not compare us with known or popular saints. The Lord looks at what we have done with what we have. He examines how we have used the opportunities and skills we have been given. We fashion our own spiritual life or death. 

24. Mt. 6: 1-4

Mt. 6: 1-4: The Jews regarded alms giving equal to righteousness. Jews regarded also that when the recipient does not know from whom he gets it and the giver does not know to whom he gives it are these people greater than Moses. So Jesus continued preaching that alms giving must be an instinctive outflow of the loving heart, we must give to others as Jesus Christ gave himself to us. 

23. Lk. 18: 9-14

Lk. 18: 9-14: The servant church is entrusted with gifts of faith and the compassion of Jesus. It is to b e used creatively to increase when the king (Jesus) comes and not to remain with the communities and church in a static form. The faith of the people must grow in scope and in richness. 

22. Mt. 18: 23-35

Mt. 18: 23-35: Readiness to forgive those who injured us is demanded for a Christian living. Jesus not only urges us to forgive without limit (v.21-22) but shows us how our forgiveness is always related to God’s forgiveness (v.23-34)

21. Jn. 1: 29-34

Jn. 1: 29-34: Jesus is being introduced by John the Baptist to his disciples. Jesus came to be our Savior and our Sacrifice of sin. He is God’s own Son. He brings us forgiveness. God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus to come as a prophet, priest and king of Israel and all nations. Jesus came to be the Lamb of God as sacrifice for sin. 

20. Mt. 15: 21-28

Mt. 15: 21-28: The Canaanite woman is ‘low caste’ in two ways. By birth she belongs to another religion. Being a woman she is oppressed under men. But she has the humility to accept what she is and thereby Jesus acknowledges her faith though she belongs to a different religion. So Jesus teaches us to appreciate the goodness in others whether they belong to different caste, religion or status. 

19. Mt. 16: 13-19

Mt. 16: 13-19: The foundation of the church is faith in Jesus, the Christ and Son of God. The above text points to the primacy of Peter among all the apostles. The church always needs a visible head. This we believe is the successor of Peter, the Pope.

18. Mk 4: 35-41

Mk 4: 35-41: God is at work of destroying evil of every kind, whether it is of nature. God has power over (in calming the storm in the sea) nature. Human heart has to open by itself i.e.  by faith to experience God’s power. This faith must be based on the authority of Jesus and on his God-given identity. 

17. Jn 21: 15-19

Jn 21: 15-19: Jesus reveals himself as the supreme shepherd because he loves his people and that he appoint a shepherd to look after his flock. The basis of his shepherd is love. So he confirms that love from St. Peter of his love for him. As he affirms his love for him, Peter becomes the new shepherd of his flock, when Jesus is absent from them physically. 

16. Jn 15: 1-10

Jn 15: 1-10: The image of vine and branches are taken to explain the inner reality of the new people formed by Jesus. Jesus is the vine and we, the branches. Hence, each one of us has to consider how we are joined with Jesus through faith, prayer, and by keeping his word. Otherwise we will be cut off from him. Those who remain with him will be ‘pruned’ with suffering to grow in a life of union with Christ to produce more fruits of the Spirit. 

15. Jn. 17: 20-26

Jn. 17: 20-26: Jesus prays for all his followers. He prays for unity among them as he experiences the unity with the Father. This unity that he has with the Father and reflected among his followers will always remain a ‘challenge’ to this divided world. This unity which is established on love and understanding will be the conscience of the world. This must be the thrust and endeavor of the church always.

14. Mt. 6: 5-8

Mt. 6: 5-8: Prayer is not merely reciting formulas but entering into a relationship with God. It is not the quantity of words we utter but the attitude of faith and love we develop. To pray is not to talk a lot, but to surrender our lives into God’s loving hands. 

14. Jn. 1: 14-18

Jn. 1: 14-18: Jesus whom the disciple and apostles had personal experiences is truly the word became (flesh) incarnate. In Jesus there is the fullness of God’s presence and loving kindness. Responding to that fullness, we receive from Jesus the same loving kindness which is grace in abundance, without any measure. 

13. Mk. 1: 21-28

Mk. 1: 21-28: The evil spirit in the synagogue recognizes Jesus. It is not a confession of faith but a ritual means to get power over Jesus. Jesus proves that his Word is mightier than the power of the evil one. Wherever the Word is heard and read, his power is there to heal people from evil forces, which disrupt their lives. The message and life of Jesus is ‘Good News’ indeed. 

12. Mk 6: 14-29

Mk 6: 14-29: The literary arrangement of keeping  the incident of Beheading of John the Baptist between the departure for mission (6:7-13) and return from the mission (6:30) means that anyone involved in the mission of Jesus must meet with difficulties, perhaps even martyrdom.  It also gives the message that humankind cannot advance unless people are committed to a life of integrity and self-sacrificing love, rather than becoming slaves to their passions.

11. Lk. 7: 11-17

Lk. 7: 11-17: ‘The dead man sat up and began to speak and Jesus gave him to his mother’. Jesus comes to forgive sins-to give life to the dead in sin. This life which Jesus gives, is to be used to glorify God and to be shared with other. The one who received this life must be of use to the church, the mother of faith.

10. Jn. 2: 13-17

Jn. 2: 13-17: Jesus purifies the temple and brings it to its original content and for the purpose for which it stands – ie. to worship God the Yahweh. No compromise is shown in this regard unlike the high priest Caiaphas, who allowed it to be a market place. Jesus teaches us that unless there is a connection between our piety and our everyday living, our devotions and liturgical services are pure hypocrisy. 

9. Lk. 13: 23-30

Lk. 13: 23-30: Salvation demands serious effort like entering through a narrow door. No superficial acquaintance with Jesus can claim to entry into God’s kingdom. Only those who respond to God’s invitation can enter the kingdom of God weather they are from east or west or north or south ie from the unexpected nations. 

8. Jn. 14: 1-6

Jn. 14: 1-6: If we have true faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ we will be liberated from all our sufferings. The ‘rooms’ show the intimate communion, sharing the very life of God, reaches it’s culmination in the life with God after our death. It starts with the present life in which Jesus is the Way, the truth and the life.

7. Lk 4: 16-22a

Lk 4: 16-22a: By referring Isaiah 61:1-2 and its fulfillment in him, Jesus presents himself as a prophet. The content that he reads makes him a liberator. As prophets are not accepted by people, in general, Jesus too finds himself rejected by his own people as indicated by Simeon at his presentation at the temple. As liberator he presents his preferential option for the poor. Liberation of oneself leads him to salvations.

6. Mk. 3: 7-12

Mk. 3: 7-12: Mark mention the seven geographical areas from which crowds came and followed Jesus. The universal aspect of Jesus’ mission is indicated. From the backdrop of these crowds Jesus calls the 12 disciples again Jesus’ ministry is universal in nature. The crowds are poor and from every walk of life and Jesus heal them from their maladies – now the same mission followed by the universal church. 

6. Mt. 3: 13-17

Mt. 3: 13-17: John the Baptist identifies himself with the sinful Israel just like the earlier prophets when they are called by God. ‘Heaven opened’ and ‘Spirit of God in the form of dove’ are symbolical of Jesus’ communication with God. We are reminded that  our baptism is a joining of the kingdom of God and this communication possible. 

5. Lk 1: 39-45

Lk 1: 39-45: Mary is being greeted by Elizabeth. She is being granted the blessedness of being the Mother of God. To be chosen by God is often means a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. God chooses a man in order to use him or her for a task that will take all the head, heart and hands can bring to it. Both the task and joy involved make one chosen by God, ‘blessed’ as acknowledged by Elizabeth. 

4. Mt 4: 12-17

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 comes to us by a change of heart - a conversion to a new life-style based on God’s love and working of Spirit within us. 

3. Mt 5: 1-12

Mt 5: 1-12: The blessing is related to the people or right attitudes, namely people who have dependence on God, longing for justice, sincerity, mercy and peacableness like the Greek Fathers whose feast we celebrate today. The happiness promised to them is the total liberation of humankind. Though this begins here and now, will reach its fullness in the hereafter. 

1. Mt. 6: 25-34

Mt. 6: 25-34: A Christian is the one who trust in God and setting all his hearts on the kingdom of God and His justice. If we truly commit ourselves to God’s cause, all the rest that we need for our happiness will be given to us.