Reflections for Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading (Mk 7:31-37) we hear of the curing of a deaf person. It’s nicely introduced by a reading from Isaiah about how God will cure the blind and the deaf, the lame and the mute (Is 35:4-7a). We’ve heard such stories many times and are not surprised by any of this. But […]

One of the messages Jesus emphasizes over and over again is that God isn’t looking for us just to follow the rules (Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23). Jesus is not the first to say this – many of the prophets had said the same. Hearing our first reading (Dt 4:1-2, 6-8) we can appreciate why this

Today we finish our series of readings from Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, in which he sets out the centrality of the Eucharist in our relationship with Jesus (Jn 6:60-69). Next week we return to Mark’s Gospel. We might expect at this point that John would finish with a flourish – maybe the Father speaking

In the readings of the last few weeks, John has been gradually building his story of what it means for Jesus to be the source of eternal life and how this is linked with his feeding us. Jesus has already told his listeners that the food that he provides comes from heaven and is better

This week Jesus doubles down on his claim to be the bread from heaven (Jn 6:41-51). Better than the manna that provided a meal for hungry Israelites in the desert, his food provides eternal life.  The people around him found this claim hard to swallow 😊. They knew this guy, it made no sense to

We heard how Jesus was sorry for the crowd because “they were like sheep without a shepherd”, and he taught them. They continued following him around (like sheep?) and he fed them. So of course they keep following him (Jn 6:24-35).  Now he starts to push them to do more than follow like sheep, or

We all need food. It is one of our most basic needs. But it’s not just an individual need, it’s also something we need as as a society, as a community. A society that is short of food can collapse into chaos very quickly. Many, if not most, of the revolutions and drastic social disruptions

Jesus and the disciples are starting to suffer the challenges of fame: you are followed everywhere; you never get a moment’s peace; no time even to eat (Mk 6:30-34). Some people seek fame, most would prefer to avoid it. Princess Diana was a classic example of someone who certainly didn’t seek it and definitely suffered from

The directions Jesus gives his disciples as he sends them out seem pretty strange: “He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick — no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.” (Mk 6:7-13) For those who may start packing

Continuing with Mark’s stories about faith, today we seem to head in a different direction (Mk 6:1-6). Unlike previous stories which told of faith and healing, we are now faced with absence of faith, and no healing, or at least none that Mark thinks worthy of elaboration. Our first reading (Ez 2:2-5) further emphasizes that