Browsing Pastor's Message
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 11/02/21
My Dear People,
Today Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment. Jesus replies quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5, the Israelite confession of faith known as the Shema (Hebrew for “hear”): Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! By the time of Jesus, this statement was understood to ... Read More »
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 11/02/21
My Dear People,
Jesus and his companions arrive at Jericho, an ancient city fifteen miles from Jerusalem, the site of Israel’s first conquest in the Holy Land (Joshua 6). After passing through the city, they are accompanied by a sizable crowd, probably including both Jesus’ followers and pilgrims heading ... Read More »
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 11/02/21
My Dear People,
James and John, two of Jesus’ earliest and closest disciples, could hardly have chosen a more tactless moment for their request. Perhaps they were dreaming so much about their future prominence that they were completely oblivious to his words about imminent suffering and death. Their approach ... Read More »
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 10/04/21
My Dear People,
Today Jesus teaches a lesson about poverty. When Jesus tells the young man to give everything away and follow him, the young man who had many possessions was not ready for this new challenge. Not every disciple is called to give everything away. There were wealthy ... Read More »
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 10/04/21
My Dear People,
Today the Pharisees asked Jesus a question about divorce. They allowed divorce in their communities. They even referred to Moses who allowed divorce. To Moses’s tacit permission for divorce in Deuteronomy (24:1-4), Jesus explained it was a concession to the sinfulness of the people of Israel, ... Read More »
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 9/20/21
My Dear People,
This episode is linked to the previous one because of someone acting in Jesus’ name (see 37). The Apostle, John, complains about a fellow who has been driving out demons in Jesus’ name even though he is not one of the disciples (see Luke 9:54 for ... Read More »
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 9/20/21
My Dear People,
The question that Jesus answers in today’s Gospel is: “Who is the greatest?” This happened when Jesus and the disciples came to Capernaum for the last time, arriving at the house of Peter and Andrew, which Jesus adopted as his own (1:29; 2:1). In private once ... Read More »
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 9/20/21
My Dear people,
Peter’s confession serves as a hinge, making the transition from the end of the Bread Section to the beginning of the travel narrative (8:31-10:52). After Jesus heals the blind man at Bethsaida, he and his disciples set out toward Caesarea Philippi about twenty-five miles to the ... Read More »
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 9/20/21
My Dear People,
When Jesus arrived in the Decapolis, He received a very different reception than on His first visit, when the people begged Him to leave (5:17). Perhaps His way had been prepared by an unlikely evangelist: the liberated demoniac, who broadcasted to the whole region what Jesus ... Read More »
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021
Posted by Christy .. on 9/20/21
My Dear People,
At the center of the first part of the Bread Section (6:30-7:37) Mark enters into a lengthy dispute over Jewish legal customs (7:1-23). This discussion returns to a theme that was prominent earlier in the Gospel--the religious authorities’ hostility toward Jesus (2:1-3, 3:6, 21-30). The earlier ... Read More »