The risen Jesus is at God’s right hand and intercedes for us.  His love enables us to live and die as he did. There are in the New Testament paradoxical teachings.  These ideas, for instance, strike us as odd:  to die is to live, loss is gain, to serve is to rule,...

Jesus is the faithful witness and the King of martyrs.  To welcome him means to follow him to the end with palms in our hands. Of the four gospel writers, only John mentions palms.  Matthew and Mark speak only of “branches.”  Luke, for his part, says nothing at all...

Jesus ushers in the new creation. He comes to make all things new. Hence, he wants us to be just and holy. The prodigal son goes back home. He stands for those who are not holy: robbers, evildoers, adulterers, tax collectors. But as it turns out, the older son should...

Jesus is divine mercy in person.  Hence, he is ready to forgive us if we come to our senses and decide to turn back to God. We have all to come to our senses and return so as not to perish.  For we all stray, those from Galilee or Jerusalem.  Those of us who are older...

Jesus is the Good News of salvation.  He calls us who have sinned—and no one of us is free of guilt—to return to God.  So, there is hope for us.  In the face of evils, like war crimes, many wonder, “Where is God.”  As though the guilt were his.  Why does he allow...

Christ is always before the Father in prayer.  And it is while he prays that the appearance of his face changes and his clothing turns dazzling white.  Prayers make for good changes. In a forum in which exchange of ideas took place, a comment spoke of prayers as...

Jesus wears the crown of glory since he rejected the devil’s lure and suffered death.  The Crucified is model of true grit; we fix our gaze on him. The Holy Spirit who came down on Jesus in the Jordan now leads him to the desert.  There, the one who embodies the truth...

Jesus is the light of the world.  To follow him means not to walk in the dark, in lies, but to have the light of life, the truth. Jesus warns his hearers about blindness and the darkness that comes with it.  It is, of course, about spiritual blindness, about not...

Jesus, the second man is from heaven.  He bids us to be one with him, so that we who are of the earth may become heavenly also. We heard last Sunday that Jesus looked at his disciples and then announced the blessings and the woes.  Did he mean to say that he wanted...

Jesus became a curse to free us from curses and fill us with blessings.  He became sinner and poor to make us just and rich. Those who are to catch men and women have much to learn still.  And today the one who has called them teaches them about curses and blessings....