A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Foolish and Slow to Believe, and Afraid

Jesus alone is Lord, the Most High, for there is no better and more lowly servant of all than he.  Hence, to mistake his greatness with that of the world is to be foolish before him. As it turns out, Jesus is right to ask his disciples to tell no one that he is the...

Rumors, No; Intimate Knowledge, Yes

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed.  To know and confess him so is to go beyond rumors; it is to live and die like him. There are rumors that Jesus is John the Baptist who is back to life.  Or is Elijah who is expected to come before the Day of the Lord...

Gestures and Words That Heal and Proclaim

Jesus opens our ears and makes loose the strings of our tongues.  He enables us to make gestures that heal and speak words that proclaim God’s kingdom. Amazing magic for the sake of a deaf and mute in a place where pagans live?  If this is what Jesus’ gestures make us...

Fresh Start in Life for Us Men and Women

Jesus shows us the new that one has yet to see or hear or think of.  To be his disciples, we have to make a fresh start. The Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus why his disciples do not follow the tradition of the elders.  It is because the disciples eat with hands that...
Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

Authority among Followers of Christ

Jesus teaches with astonishing authority.  He expects those he has sent to proclaim the Gospel to every creature to carry out their mission with authority. Jesus does not teach as the scribes.  These serve as official interpreters of the law and the prophets. ...

Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

Change of Mind, Heart and Behavior

Jesus embodies the change of mind, heart and behavior that the Gospel entails.  The kingdom of God belongs to those who conform to this change and clothe themselves with Jesus. With the arrest of John the Baptist, a painful change enters his life.  But God does not...

Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

Authentic Face of God and Religion

Jesus reveals the invisible God.  Jesus’ true brothers and sisters, then, cannot but reveal the authentic face of God and religion. The Only-Begotten Son is the exact image of the invisible God who dwells in unapproachable light.  He lives eternally and intimately...

Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

Hope of Israel and of all Nations

Jesus is the hope of Israel and of all nations.  Those who trust in him and welcome him rise.  They fall, on the other hand, those who distrust and reject him. Joseph and Mary are devout Jews.  That is why they come with the child Jesus to the temple to...

Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

Food for All that Gives Life and Saves

Already at birth, Jesus offers himself as the food that gives life and saves.  Unless we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we have no life within us. Mary does not lay her child in a crib.  Rather, she lays him, wrapped in swaddling clothes, in a manger, which holds...

Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

House for the Poor of All Peoples

Jesus fulfills the promise of God to king David of an everlasting royal house.  This kingdom is for the poor of all peoples. Living in a palace and enjoying peace and security, king David thinks of building God a house.  But the holy and pious thought of the king does...

Distinctive Mark of Christ’s Disciples

Gospel of Jesus, Messiah and Son of God

The Gospel, the Good News, is Jesus himself, his preaching, his ministry.  That is why his presence fills us with consolation, joy and hope. The Gospel implies newness, which shows up in the beginning.  That is because John the Baptist is a different, a new, prophet....

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