Sunday Reflections
Third Sunday of Easter
“We proclaim a Christ crucified, a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to gentiles.” (1 Cor 1:23)
Luke was writing for a gentile audience. Being a gifted story-teller, his…
Second Sunday of Easter
Thomas would have made an excellent witness in court. He wanted tangible evidence that Jesus had risen. He was a practical man. At the Last Supper he had said to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where…
Easter Sunday
The empty tomb must have looked stark to Mary Magdalene, Peter and the beloved disciple. Mary had come there presumably to grieve, for this was customary with the Jewish people, and we know from…
Palm Sunday
Today, Palm Sunday, we are invited to reflect on two very different gospel stories. The first is Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where the crowds hailed him as their king, and the second,…
Fourth Sunday of Lent; Laetare Sunday
Nicodemus, unlike his fellow Pharisees, felt he had something to learn from Jesus. His journey began in darkness, which John uses as a symbol of ignorance, and it ended in the light of the cross.…
Third Sunday of Lent
Today’s reading from John differs from the synoptic gospels, which all record this event but place it at the end of Jesus’ life. John, however, puts it at the beginning. He also uses the story to…
Second Sunday of Lent
Mountains in scripture were seen as places where a person could come closer to God. Abraham was told to take Isaac to the mountain in Moriah. Moses met God on Mount Sinai and in today’s gospel…
First Sunday of Lent
Mark’s account of Jesus’ time in the wilderness is very short. Perhaps this gives us an opportunity to imagine the scenery ourselves and enter into the story. Also, its brevity might reflect the…
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Leviticus, in its present form, was probably completed in about the sixth century BC. It reflects the view that God wanted to live among his people and that they were to be set apart,…
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theodicy, the question of why a good God permits suffering, is one of the themes explored today. In ancient Israel it was thought that the just were rewarded with prosperity and long life and the…