I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The LORD GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced… (Is 50:6:7) The farsighted utterances of the prophet Isaiah generally known as the Suffering Servant Prophecies (which …
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (Jn: 8:6-7) The biblical narrative of the adulteress who was brought …
On the day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land… On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased;… the Israelites … ate of the yield of the land of Canaan. (Jos 5:11-12) Canaan was an ancient land of the …
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?‘ (Lk: 13:7) It must be allowed that fig trees may not bear fruit until the age of four, so the tree in our story must be …
The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. (Gn: 15:5-6) When God spoke with Abram and promised him …
“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here… Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” (Lk: 4:9;12) If you are a parent, then it is very likely you have had recourse to the phrase, “You are testing my …
Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? (Lk: 6:42) We begin our reflection on this Sunday’s gospel reading with a rhetorical question. In it Jesus is being obvious that one who cannot see certainly cannot guide another who needs guiding. In …
Abishai whispered to David: “God has delivered your enemy into your grasp this day… But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed and remain unpunished?” (1 Sam: 26:8-9) In this Sunday’s gospel reading Jesus attaches a greater demand of love onto the commandment to love. …
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream (Jer 17:7-8). There is no faith without grace. In chronological order, the process of human redemption goes this way: grace, faith and good works. …
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” (Lk 5:4-5) The boats of Jewish fisherman on the Lake of Gennesaret were unlikely to be large vessels and …