A Vincentian reading of the Sunday readings

Delight Others, and Not Ourselves

The wisdom of God made flesh dwells with us.  He is delighted to be with us.  But he wants, first of all, to delight us. The scribes and the Pharisees time and again test Jesus.  At best, they seek to connect with him.  At worse, they set a snare for his steps.  But...

Constitutive, Indispensable, Crucial

Jesus is constitutive of the Christian community.  Do we say and live this as St. Vincent? Moises makes clear what truly matters.  Jesus does so too.  For the two of them, it is not about us.  Or the group that we make up, chosen and gifted so as to serve others. ...

Zealous for the House, the Kingdom, of God

Jesus burns with zeal for the house, for the kingdom, of God.  Needless to say, the disciples are to be as zealous as their Teacher. John and Joshua show that they are zealous.  John’s zeal is for those to whom Jesus has given the power to drive out demons.  And...

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...
Laborers of the Lord of the Harvest

Petty and Narrow Self-Interests

Jesus dies for us sinners.  That is how the God of unfathomable goodness proves his love for us as petty and stingy as we are. Our petty desires for gain, power and security hinder the revelation of truth.  And not knowing the truth leads to people’s...

Laborers of the Lord of the Harvest

Name that Is above Every Other Name

Christ is the reason why his followers bear the name of Christians.  They are other Christs, then, anointed to announce repentance and the kingdom of God. Jesus assures those who gather in his name and pray together that they will receive what they ask.  And it will...

Laborers of the Lord of the Harvest

Knowledge for Christian Service

Knowledge of Christ is what matters above all.  Those who know him receive in trust keys of authority to serve others faithfully and caringly. The Father, Lord of heaven and earth, gives to the childlike the knowledge he hides from those who are wise.  Peter is among...

Laborers of the Lord of the Harvest

Caring for Those in the Outskirts

To see Jesus is to see the merciful God who is caring towards those in the outskirts who cry out to him. Jesus is a Jew.  It seems he is even portrayed as siding with those who show their contempt for the Gentiles by calling them dogs or swine.  This closed and...

Laborers of the Lord of the Harvest

Astounding Very Much Indeed!

Jesus, the astounding Son of Man, will astound us even at the last judgment.  He wants us to put him in the center. Among other things, the way Jesus teaches is astounding.  He teaches with authority.  This means, says St. Gregory the Great, that his authority does...

Laborers of the Lord of the Harvest

Figure of God and of the Disfigured

Even without a figure that would draw us, Jesus is still the epiphany of God. The figure of Jesus makes appear above (epiphanein in Greek), that is, on the surface, the mystery of God.  But it is hard for us who are still in the world to welcome Jesus. The ambivalence...

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