30. Jn. 7: 14-24

Jn. 7: 14-24: Jesus heals the impotent man on the Sabbath and the action infuriates the Pharisees. Jesus on the other hand justifies his action glorifying God. Jesus has the argument with them and he tells them to judge fairly. We see the logical, keen and clear mind of Jesus defeating the wisest but ill intentioned men of his times.

29. 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. 

28. Mk. 10: 46-52

Mk. 10: 46-52: The blind man at Jericho understands that if he lets this opportunity go by there will not b another chance; so he shouts all the way. An authentic disciple must be the one who is fully convinced of his/her total inability to become God’s child except through the power of Jesus. Only Jesus can provide the divine light. The bind man designates Jesus as Son of David. He actually ‘sees’ who Jesus is, more clearly than the disciples and the crowd who have been with him all along.

27. Lk. 15: 8-10

Lk. 15: 8-10: A woman searches diligently for her lost coin. The same way Jesus speaks of a God who searches for men who are lost in sin. For Jews it is a new idea or concept. Man searching God is understood by them easily. We believe in the seeking love of God, because we see that love incarnate in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to seek and to save that which was lost.

26. Mk. 4: 21-25

Mk. 4: 21-25: The word works secretly within the heart but when we discover the transformation that is at work in our life, we readily proclaim Christ and make known to others the secret that has made us happy. So Jesus wants us to read the Gospel and challenge ourselves before we follow any further. Then we produce fruit according to the Gospel in our life. 

25. Mt. 12: 33-37

Mt. 12: 33-37: That which is in the heart can come to the surface only through lips. Jesus laid it down that a man would specially render account for his idle words. In public he carefully chooses what he says in private he takes the sentinels away. So whatever he says in anger what he really thinks and what he has often wanted to say, but which the cool control of prudence has kept him from saying. It is often these words which cause the greatest damage. A man may say in anger things he would never have said if he was in control of himself.

24. Lk. 12: 57 - 13: 5

Lk. 12: 57 - 13: 5:  Jesus speaks about individual conversion and to have that conversion at the earliest, lest it is too late like that happened to those people upon whom the tower fell and perished. A Christian must be prepared to face any eventuality to settle things before the things go wrong.

23. Mk. 12: 38-44

Mk. 12: 38-44: Though the teachers of the law were not bad persons and they were interested in religion. They teach people trying to be a saint but he becomes a weak person. The very respect that people show leads them to overlook in themselves many wrongs that in anybody else would be severely censured. The poor woman is the personification of those uncountable poor, who made retribution to God as one deserves. God calls on the poor to give all that they have to live on.

22. Mt. 13: 24-30 & 36-43

     Mt. 13: 24-30 & 36-43: Because of the roots of wheat and weed are intertwine it is dangerous to put out the weeds. In the same way virtue and vice are seen intertwined in our life and it is, for us to see which direction we are moving forward. Because good and evil mingle in this world we need vivid symbols and signs to serve as focal points for our faith and our life.

21. Jn. 6: 60-63

Jn. 6: 60-63: Jesus knew that some would not receive him and reject him with hostility. No man can accept him unless he or she is moved by the Spirit of God. The word of God that Jesus spoke is the key to this Spirit of God by which one can come to God through Jesus.

20. Mk. 12: 1-12

Mk. 12: 1-12: The early church saw what was told in the parable fulfilled. The Jewish people rejected Jesus while the gentiles receiving him. The church is this new vineyard of Christ being entrusted by Christ to cultivate, care for and to bring forth fruits for God who is the rightful owner.

19. Mt. 11: 1-6

Mt. 11: 1-6: Jesus preached the gospel of divine holiness with divine love. He was saying to the disciples of John (to whom the episode is directed) “May be I am not doing the things you expected me to do. But the powers of evil are being defeated not by irresistible power, but by unanswerable love”. Jesus’ aim was to draw faith and hope from the disciples of John. It is again a direction to his disciples too.

18. Jn. 16: 25-33

Jn. 16: 25-33: Jesus opens up the way to the father making the one who believes in Jesus is also the beloved of God. To him there is the forgiveness, sympathy and the gift of Jesus. He is not alone, but with the Father making easy for the believer to come to the Father.

17. Lk 12: 22-34

Lk 12: 22-34:  It is not what we earn but what we give makes our life a blessing to all. To explain the above, Jesus tells this parable of the rich fool, in which the quantity of his wealth never saves him and never gives him eternal security. So the one who trusts in the providence of God, will find happiness in life, safety in the hand of God. He will forsake anxiety of heart and seek the kingdom of God in all throughout his life.

16. Mk 1: 40-45

Mk 1: 40-45: All who had skin diseases were considered lepers at Jesus’ times and thereby unclean and are outcastes.  By curing such a one is a conspicuous and significant feature of the ministry of Jesus. Jesus brings back the lost dignity of man into the warmth of human communion.

15. Mk. 5: 21-24 & 35-43

Mk. 5: 21-24 & 35-43: Jairus wanted a physical contact with Jesus-but Jesus looked beneath the surface touch to the deeper contact of faith. Through faith we make contact with Jesus. We can contact the same Jesus and be healed by the same saving power through faith and the sacramental liturgical life of the church.

14. Mk. 7: 24-30

Mk. 7: 24-30:  Jesus is seen here in healing and preaching without looking into the people’s background especially of religion or caste. Jesus wants us to avoid all kinds of disparity from our minds and in matters of service; he wants us to be more generous. In this gentile woman also Jesus finds faith and he praises it in front of others.

13. Mt. 14: 22-33

Mt. 14: 22-33: ‘Walking on water’ is considered a divine act from Old Testament times. The disciples failed to understand the significance of this divine act even after ‘the multiplication of bread’. Only the final acts – the cross and the resurrection of Jesus could invoke some understanding in the minds of his disciples. Thereafter all deeds of Jesus were understood by the disciples probably with the help of the Holy Spirit.

12. Lk 10: 38-42

Lk 10: 38-42: Two sisters respond differently but authentically to the Lord. Martha is busy serving and Mary listens to the Word. Jesus approves what Mary has done. We all develop spiritual and sacred shorthand by which we standardize our efforts and responses to events. Such an approach is much easier in a busy world that seeking out the uniqueness of individuals that come our way. Mary reminds us to make time to examine the special features of our family, Social and professional loves. Each situation caries its own individual potential for grace and life.

11. Mt. 10: 16-22

Mt. 10: 16-22: The passage gives us the experience of the generation of Christians after Christ’s earthly life. The Christians were hunted by the state, rejected by the religious establishment and ridiculed by their families. A great leadership was demanded to unite them all as of today when the church faces religious pluralism, affluence and secular hegemony. We have to struggle to keep ourselves at spiritual peace.

10. Lk. 6: 27-36

Lk. 6: 27-36: Jesus teaches about how the eschatological community should be. There must be a structural social change. It depend upon personal change –which remains for long time only when it happens from the personal conversions. The social change which happens without the personal conversion and it will not last long because of the new structures of oppressions and exploitations starting from it. So Jesus advocates about love for enemies.

9. Mt. 5: 13-20

Mt. 5: 13-20: Jesus gives three missionary images to explain the role of these who follow him. They are to be salt, light and a city built on a hill. This means that they are to be a grout of peoples who will be highly visible because of the unusually dedicated character of the lives, who will illuminate the world as light does, and who sanctify, purify and preserve the world in its relationship of God lie salt.

8. Jn. 19: 30-37

Jn. 19: 30-37: Water that flowed from the side of Christ stands for the powerful new life as well as the spirit. Blood expresses the saving power of Jesus’ death. The salvific power is displayed in these symbols of blood and water.

7. Lk. 8: 4-15

Lk. 8: 4-15: Luke wishes to impress the Christians that they must be fervent and ‘active’ hearers of the word (v. 8:8). So whatever worries, pleasures, discomforts that they may tend to strangle the growth of faith in the word, they should persevere with open and responsive minds and hearts. The parable of the sower is meant to elicits from the hearers to be active.

6. Jn. 4: 39-42

Jn. 4: 39-42: The Samaritans were introduced to Christ by the woman. The word of God must be transmitted by man to man. We also find in Samaritans a nearer intimacy and growing knowledge of Christ. Soon their growth in knowledge in Jesus came to discovery and they surrendered to Christ as the savior of the world. What they found in Jesus, John writes later in 1 John 4: 14 and gives Jesus this title ‘par excellence’

5. Mt. 18: 6-9

Mt. 18: 6-9: Sometimes, it is an individual who leads others to sin at other times it is society itself with its corruption, violence and unjust social structures. Jesus invites us to be aware of sin personal and social. There will be evil in this world, but we must make sure that we do not contribute to it or let it flourish through our inactivity.

4. Jn. 6: 30-36

Jn. 6: 30-36: It was God who gave manna to the people; of Israel in the wilderness. It was only symbolic of bread of life. The real bread from heaven is to be found in the one who came from heaven, i.e. Christ himself. In him we find not only satisfaction from physical hunger, but life also. Jesus was claiming that the only real satisfaction was in him.  

3. Lk. 10: 25-37

1    Lk. 10: 25-37: The Jewish conception of a neighbour originates from ‘flesh’ and ‘blood’.  Jesus corrects this by establishing that the neighbour is the one who is close to any brother or sister in need. Loving the neighbour must not be only in the thought but also in deed as we see in this parable of Good Samaritan.

2. Jn. 6: 1-15

Jn. 6: 1-15: Jesus needs what we can bring to him. It may not be much but he needs it. If we would lay ourselves on the altar of service, there is no saying what we could do with us and through us. We may be sorry and embarrassed that we have not more to bring, it is no reason to fail to bring. Little is always more in the hands of Jesus.

1. Jn. 6: 45-50

Jn. 6: 45-50: Jesus is the bread of life. Bread is very essential for life. Those who refuse to Jesus are those who miss life in this world and in the world to come. Those who accept Jesus will find this life worth and glorify God in the world to come.