Ross Dizon
Author
Salvation for Jews and for Gentiles of Every Language
Through the tender mercy of God, Jesus visits us to guide our feet into the way of salvation. Someone asks Jesus, “Will only a few be saved?” The question suggests that the one who asks is worried about salvation. It is possible, however, that he is self-righteous. ...
Fire that Is All-consuming and Spirit that Is Life-breath
To set the earth on fire is part of Jesus’ mission. And how he wishes that the fire were already blazing! Undoubtedly, Jesus’ passionate and anguished wish keeps coming to fruition. In fact, a cloud of witnesses surrounds us. They are witnesses from all walks of...
Trust Firmly and Without Reservation
Jesus assures us that God trusts in us. We trust God because he first trusts us. Better than any prophet, Jesus’ embodies the divine invitation to trust. That is because the Teacher explains in simple terms that God is the heavenly Father who loves all his children...
Rich and Precious in the Eyes of God
There is no trace of greed in Jesus, and he is most rich in what matters to God. Jesus refuses to intervene in an inheritance dispute. Perhaps he does not want to do something that others may misconstrue as softness with those who love money. What is certain,...
Prayer of faith that is shamelessly bold
Jesus is “a man of the greatest prayer” (SV.EN IX:326). Because of him only, we try hard to be men and women of prayer. “Christ is constantly before the Father in prayer.” His good example prompts one of the disciples to ask, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John...
Mystic of Christ’s compelling charity
Jesus is the Lord of the harvest. To work with him means to be a mystic of charity. To be a mystic of charity supposes, in the first place, that one is like Abraham or Martha. Both avail of the moments of grace. Abraham opens his tent to travelers who are such...
Fullness par excellence and unequaled
In Jesus dwells all the fullness; those who treat the helpless with mercy are surely partakers of his fullness. “And who is my neighbor?” asks a scholar of the law who wants to justify himself. He is also one of those experts who like to test Jesus. They think they...
Credible witnesses of the Gospel
Jesus has the credible words of eternal life. We believe in him. Are we credible? Those who hear Jesus proclaim the Good News are amazed at his credible words of grace. He teaches with authority. He wants us to be credible also. The phrase “in pairs” indicates...
Disciples to the bitter end
Jesus is the good Teacher. He invites us to be his disciples. Jesus is resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem with his disciples. There, he will suffer greatly and die on the cross. The specter of a violent death does not make him turn back. Much less does...
Hidden still is Jesus’ messiahship
Jesus is God’s Christ. His being so remains hidden, however, from those who lack compassion. Jesus backtracks. He keeps hidden once again his being the Messiah no sooner than he has revealed it through Peter’s confession of faith. The Teacher directs his disciples...