28. Mt. 5: 38-42

Mt. 5: 38-42: Against the backdrop of the Old Testament saying (Leviticus 24:19: Exodus 21:22 ‘tooth for tooth’), Jesus gives the new rule not simply to avoid retaliation but to forgive. Forgiveness is the only way to interrupt the endless and destructive recycling of hatred and revenge.

27. Mt. 5: 17-26

Mt. 5: 17-26: Jesus is proposing a new spirituality of love which fulfils the teachings of the Old Testament and the prophets. His teachings never intend to reform or improve but offer us a new way of life which will do all that the law intends to do in a far superior way. Love for Jesus has the absolute value to which all else is subordinate.

26. Mt. 4: 1-11

Mt. 4: 1-11: Filled and guided by the spirit is what one feels in prayer life. Not by giving bread but by giving the ‘word’ that he is going to prove himself to be the Son of God. Not by testing God but by trusting in God that one must reach God. To obey God till death and to give himself as expiation for sin is his way – the cross. Divine Sonship is not for compromising to the world but is a way of service to save the world.

25. Mt. 15: 29-31

Mt. 15: 29-31: We see Jesus curing physical disability on this last day of the season of epiphany. The lame, the maimed, the blind and the dead are laid at his feet and all of them are cured. Jesus is infinitely concerned with the bodily pain of the world. People are seen here thanking God for Jesus. Those who bring men health and healing are still doing the work of Jesus.

24. Mt. 25: 31-40

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.

23. Lk. 5: 33-39

Lk. 5: 33-39: We have in Jesus a new power source for all of us. In him we have the start of a new creation – a humanity that can reach God, know God and live the life of God through a super natural source of life. Jesus is what we are all meant to be. Christianity is more than a new set of parables, new teaching or a new way of putting old things together.

22. Mk 10: 35-45

Mk 10: 35-45: The disciples were not a company of saints. They were ordinary men set out by Jesus to change the world. They were ambitious having failed to understand Jesus, his mission and the purpose of his coming. In them we find the amazing confidence and the amazing loyalty in Jesus. Jesus raised these ordinary men to change the world as apostles and his ambassadors of the Divine plan – the will of God to which Jesus submitted himself to.

21. Lk. 14: 25-35

Lk. 14: 25-35: The man who follows him should not be on the way to worldly power and glory, but must be ready for loyalty which would sacrifice the dearest things in life and for a suffering which would be like the agony of a man upon a cross. It is the Christian way to salvation. But he won’t be alone. He who called him to the steep road will walk with him every step of the way and be there at the end to meet him.

20. Mk. 13: 32-37

Mk. 13: 32-37: Jesus prophesies about his second coming. He exhorts us by saying that we must be like men who know that their master coming but do not know when. We live in the shadow of eternity. We must complete our work every day in a way fit for him to see and being at any moment ready to meet him face to face. All our life becomes then a preparation to meet the King.

19. Mt. 8: 5-13

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 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 behavior than the people of other religions.

18. Mt. 11: 20-24

Mt. 11: 20-24 What was the sin of Chorazin, of Bethsaida and of Capernaum? They forgot the responsibilities of privilege. We cannot condemn a man who never had the chance to know any better but if a man who has had every chance to know the right and does the wrong. People of Tyre and Sodom were of the former type while people from the towns of Galilee are the latter type. Knowing the right, they did the wrong. They didn’t believe in Jesus.

17. Mt. 16: 24-28

Mt. 16: 24-28: ‘what profit……’ the words resonate in them as they do with us because they speak to a universal human experience. We can lose ourselves in events and we play many roles with the family, friends and co-workers. Only by centering on Christ we can strike a balance in the role we play in the Gospel passage reminds how to do this in our life.

16. Lk 13: 10-17

Lk 13: 10-17: Sin is a factor that pervades a person’s entire being, just as the Holy Spirit pervades the entire personality. To live as a son or daughter of God is to live out the consequences of that Spirit inside us. It takes a great deal of spiritual discipline to unlock that spirit we all have received. We must allow to spill ot that spirit into our life and surrender to Him. 

15. Jn. 8: 31-38

Jn. 8: 31-38: Whoever lives according to the Word of God lives in truth. The truth will set them free from evil and sin. This freedom is possible only in the faith in the Son, Jesus Christ, who lives with the Father in heaven. Jesus liberates the one who believes in him from evil and sin and they are called children of God. 

14. Jn. 9: 35-39

Jn. 9: 35-39: The Jews cast the blind man (who now got sight from Jesus) out of the temple. But the Lord of the temple finds him. Jesus is always true to the one who is true to him. Loyalty to Jesus always brings revelation. Jesus is revealed to this man. Such a one is not far away from the kingdom of God. 

12. Jn. 3: 22-31

Jn. 3: 22-31: The disciples of john were absorbed in the hard ways of life and thought that  in that life style a true justice will come on them. By this last testimony of John about Jesus, he establishes that Jesus comes from on High and can fully satisfy the human heart. In him nothing of the good is lost, since he embodies all.

11. Mt. 23: 1-12

Mt. 23: 1-12: The message of Jesus’ word is not to be followed in life with fanfare. It is not the title or position that marks out the true believers and followers of Jesus. It is the attitude of heart that makes us children of God in the deepest and most enduring sense. What we should have is to have openness to God’s word which make truly brothers and sisters in the world.

10. 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.

9. Mk. 9: 33-37

Mk. 9: 33-37: A disciple is to serve the powerless and the needy, just like a ‘child’ who is not acknowledged or had no rights at that times. The ‘children’ are to be welcomed who are in need and helpless. By this one will ultimately welcomes God in his or her life.

8. 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.

7. 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.

6. 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)

5. Jn. 3: 14-21

Jn. 3: 14-21: Jesus reveals what will happen to him referring Numbers 21 from the Old Testament. Incarnation and crucifixion are God’s plan to save humanity and leads them in the way to eternal life.

4. Lk 11: 14-23

Lk 11: 14-23: The cosmic dimension of that ultimate battle took local form in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus is accused of destroying the kingdom of God! So he experiences another form of poverty – misunderstanding, misinterpretation and his words or intentions distorted. In this controversy Jesus stresses the importance of unity. Division leads to failure and destruction. So Jesus, who establishes unity and destroy the failure of everyone who has faith in Him.

3. Mt. 23: 34-39

Mt. 23: 34-39: God wanted to protect, love and care the people of Jerusalem. But they refused the prophets, Christ and first Christians who came in the name of God and spoke His Word. But they were killed and rejected. Destruction of Jerusalem was a punishment of its crimes. God’s plan and way cannot be objected, blocked by any one.

2. Lk. 2: 22-38

Lk. 2: 22-38: Simeon foretells the rejection of Jesus by his own people. So salvation is extended to all in the world. St.  Luke ascribes new motifs concerning new identity and mission of Jesus.

1. 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!