May 30, 2015
Most Holy Trinity - B
Commentary
Matthew 28: 16-20
I Am With You Always
At the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, as Jesus came into the world, the angel told Joseph that Jesus was the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy. "They shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1: 22-23)
Today, as recorded by Matthew, we listen to the very last words Jesus spoke before he ascended to heaven, "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
The prophecy was and continues to be fulfilled in Jesus, God with us.
In Jesus, the Son, we humans come in touch with the divine reality. And the One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is now with us always.
May 23, 2015
Pentecost Sunday - B
Commentary
John
20: 19-23
Peace
Comes with Forgiveness
To
the disciples who are afraid, Jesus gives his gift of peace.
To
the disciples who know they have denied and abandoned him, Jesus
gives his gift of peace.
And
the disciples are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to give that gift
of God's peace through the gift of forgiveness. “Receive the Holy
Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you
retain are retained.”
May 16, 2015
7th Sunday of Easter - B
Commentary
Jesus'
Two Prayers
Jesus
addresses God as “Holy Father” [1]
as he prays for his followers.
And
Jesus asks the Holy Father two things:
“You
keep them from the evil one.”
“Consecrate
them in the truth” The verb “consecrate” can also be
translated as “make [them] holy.”[2]
The
first prayer demands trust on our part – that God keeps us from
evil. In fact, we pray this every time we make the Lord's prayer our
own, “deliver us from evil.”
Two
attitudes are required on our part with the second prayer: humility
and openness. Humility to acknowledge that holiness and truth come
from God and God alone. [3] Openness to allow God's holiness and truth to
consecrate us.
-----------------------
[1],
[2], &
[3] Frank
Moloney, This
is the Gospel of the Lord: Reflections of the Gospel Readings, Year
B.
Homebush, NSW, Australia: St. Paul Publications, 1993;
p. 126 – 127.
Ascension of the Lord - B
Commentary
3
Words
Two are from what Jesus said to his disciples then
1.
“Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every
creature.”
2.
“In my name.”
and
3.
“They went forth and preached everywhere.”
Today,
Jesus continues to send us, his disciples
1. to go and carry out the
same mission – to proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
2. In
His name.
3. Everywhere.
May 10, 2015
6th Sunday of Easter - B
Commentary
“Love one another as I love you”
We continue today’s Gospel where Jesus left off last week in
John Chapter 15.
And the theme of last week is to remain in Jesus.
One can be with another person against one’s will.
Not with Jesus.
Today, Jesus explains that to remain in him is to remain in
his love. And this divine love, the
truest form of love, is never forced. Even
when he lays down his life for us, we are still free to accept or reject that love.
This is the kind of love Jesus has for us.
And to this kind of love, Jesus calls us, “Love one another
as I love you.”
May 9, 2015
May 2, 2015
5th Sunday of Easter - B (May 3, 2015)
Readings
Jesus
spoke these words in John 15 after Judas had left (13:30). In
addition, Jesus had predicted Peter denying him (13:38).
That
background makes it more poignant that in these eight verses, the
word "remain" (sometimes also translated as "abide")
is used eight times.
And
the branch that remains with Jesus is pruned by the Father "so
that it bears more fruit."
Jesus
also speaks of the tool of the Father's pruning: his words, "You
are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you."
These
images helped me to relate to the words of Jesus in this passage.
Hopefully, it can do the same for you.
Images courtesy of http://www.grapesfromcalifornia.com
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