Reflections for Ordinary Time

The early church expected that Jesus would return pretty soon, if not next week then next month or certainly next year. The sense of excitement and urgency in the period immediately following Jesus’ death and resurrection is hardly surprising, but we see even during Paul’s lifetime a major shift in these expectations. At the time […]

This week the Pharisees continue their attempts to trip up Jesus. We’ve skipped his debate with the Sadducees about life after death, and now we hear a different line of attack from the political trap over paying taxes to the Romans. Or perhaps it really isn’t an attack – in Mark’s version of this story

This week we have references in two of our readings to major historical figures outside of the bible. The first is Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, and ruler of the largest empire in the world up to that time (600-530 BC). The other is Caesar – specifically Tiberius Caesar Augustus, the second Roman emperor. Such

For the last few weeks we have had a clear link between our First Reading (from the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel) and Jesus’s teaching – with a focus on the difference between our view of justice and God’s. This week there is also a link since both concerns feasts – representing God’s favor to His

Sour grapes, or sweet fruit? Today’s readings make it clear that God has expectations of His people – and throughout history those have not always been met. Sometimes they have been missed by a mile. That’s true of the People of Israel up to and including Jesus’ time, and of his Church through to modern

Enough with this justice thing! Seems like we just can’t get away from it. There is a certain truth in that. God doesn’t let us get away with things, and the track record of humankind in this regard is not exactly great. You might also think you recognize the reading from Ezekiel from when we

Let’s be clear upfront – in today’s reading Jesus isn’t recommending HR policy, or advising on labor relations! The Lectionary actually adds a preamble telling us this is a parable. That first sentence isn’t in the text of Matthew’s Gospel. Why? – well Mathew’s original readers wouldn’t have any difficulty recognizing it as a parable.

This week our readings continue the theme of how to respond to others who do us wrong. This one really doesn’t seem to call for any interpretation – what is there to add? We can note that Jesus really isn’t going beyond what we read from Sirah in the first reading. Sirah shows how the

Ever since Cain declared “Am I my brother’s keeper?”, it’s been clear that the answer is yes. God does hold us responsible for looking after those around us.  The extent of that responsibility is a bigger question. Sure we should help each other out, but ultimately other people are responsible for themselves – aren’t they?

Jesus gives us a daunting challenge: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Denying ourselves and taking up a cross sounds pretty tough. Coupled with Jeremiah’s lament “All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me” this really doesn’t sound like something we