The disciples sent on a mission left two by two, never alone. For when alone, the disciple doubts everything, even himself. The first mission was to support each other; Jesus commanded them to take only a staff, like Moses, so they would open new ways. They invited people to convert, anointed many sick with oil,…
Our Sunday gospel notes Jesus’ neighbors’ reaction after they heard him preach: “But isn’t he the carpenter, the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?” A few pages earlier, the group of relatives mentioned by the neighbors went down to Capernaum to bring home “the eccentric cousin” because they said he’d gone mad. And now…
Jesus walks to a house where a 12-year-old girl has died; he walks beside her father’s grief. On the way, a woman who has suffered much but is so tenacious that she doesn’t give up approaches Jesus and daringly reaches out and touches his cloak as her healing tool. The impure woman condemned not to…
The scriptures are familiar to those present before Jesus, but they need someone to reveal the Godly nuances stitched through them, which Jesus unveils with his words. In the same style as Psalm 27, the writer, inspired by deep yearning, says, “We long to see your face, oh God,” while Jesus reveals the heart of…
This Sunday, we witness the first sprouts of Jesus’ mission. His arrival thrilled everyone, and people, filled with curiosity and eagerness, started flocking to the house, each yearning to listen to him. Jesus started sharing God’s love with peace, healing, restoration, and compassion for those in need. News of his wonders spread like a much-needed…
Take, this is my body. In the Gospels, Jesus reaches out to me through his radically human actions and unveils God’s face through gestures common to all. He starts with a powerful verb: Take! Sharp and precise like a health specialist who noticed my ostensibly malnourished soul. Jesus does not ask the apostles to stop…
The Gospel speaks of the Trinity while sending forth the eleven as if they are now integrated into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the breath that will restore trust, joy, and faith in God’s eternal love. The eleven went to the mountain of Galilee, even those who doubted. An ego-wounded community felt inadequate after…
This Sunday’s Gospel plays with impossibles. Jesus counts on only eleven frightened, confused men and a small core of faithful and courageous women. He didn’t give up on them. They followed him on the roads of Palestine. They did not understand much but loved him very much. Love is good soil for the Gospel, and…
Jesus, in his divine communication, presents God to us through the reflection of the most basic forms of creatures: He is the vine, and I, as a believer, am a branch; we are part of the same plant, sharing the same life, rooted in the same sap. And then the marvelous down-to-earth metaphor of the…
Today, we hear, “I am the good shepherd!” echoing God’s description of his name in the Old Testament: I am who I am. Seven times, Jesus introduces himself: “I am” – bread, life, way, truth, vine, door, good shepherd. He does not mean “good” in the sense of being patient and gentle with sheep and…