17th Sunday - C (July 24, 2022)

 

“Father”

Luke 11: 1-13

 

When Jesus prayed, his intimacy with God the Father must have been so evident and inspiring.  Witnessing Jesus at prayer, the disciples asked him to teach them how to pray.

 

In response, Jesus taught the disciples then, and is teaching us now, to call God, “Father.”

 

Jesus has that inspiring intimacy with the Father.  Imitating Jesus, as we call God “Father,” may we grow in our intimacy with God.

 

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17th Sunday - B (July 25, 2021)

 

Our Five Loaves of Barley Bread

John 6: 1-15

 

At the time of Jesus, barley bread, unlike wheat bread, was the bread of people who were poor [1].  And there were only 5 loaves for a crowd of 5 thousand people.

 

What matter is the attitude – the attitude of Jesus.  Jesus noticed the hunger of the people.  Nobody asked or suggested that he gave the crowd food.   It was Jesus who took the initiative to feed them. 

 

“Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them” to the people.  These three actions are the very actions Jesus would do when he gives us the Eucharist, the gift of himself – the gift of God’s life and love. 

 

The number of people and their needs are so great.  We might not have much.  Five barley loaves might be all we have.  With Jesus’ attitude and united with him in his gift of his Eucharist, our five barley loaves can satisfy the hungers of people. 

 

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[1] John Petty, www.progressiveinvolvement.com

16th Sunday - B (July 18, 2021)

 

Jesus’ Heart Was Moved with Pity

Mark 6: 30-34

 

When Jesus “saw the vast crowd, [who] were like sheep without a shepherd,” “his heart was moved with pity for them.”

 

Mark’s description of Jesus’ response conveys the sense that it was heartbreaking or gut-wrenching [1] for Jesus seeing the people and their situation. 

 

So is Jesus when each of us and any one of God’s children suffer in anyway.   

 

And may we imitate Jesus’ compassionate heart when our brothers and sisters suffer. 

 

[1] John Petty, www.progressiveinvolvement.com

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17th Sunday - A (July 26, 2020)

Treasure and Pearl of Great Price

Matthew 13:44-52

Three weeks ago, on the 14^th Sunday, we heard Jesus giving praise to God who “have revealed to little ones” out of God’s “gracious will.”

Today, we hear again in St. Paul’s testimony that God has chosen us to be God’s children (2^nd Reading).

God is the merchant who searches for us because for God, we are the treasures and the pearls of great price.  The parable of a merchant selling all that he has to buy a pearl or a field with a treasure might sound ridiculous.  But still, that is merely a symbol of God’s love.  This love is so great, beyond our comprehension, that God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, died the death of a slave on the cross for us sinners.   

Thus, in the Easter Proclamation, the Church professes, “to ransom a slave you gave away your Son.”

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17th Sunday - C (July 28, 2019)

“Teach Us to Pray”

Luke 11: 1-13

Having watched Jesus praying, “one of his disciples” asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”  Jesus’ relationship with his Father must be so evident and inspiring.

Maybe today, I can thank God for the people who have taught me to pray.  What do I learn from their relationship with God?

And how is my relationship with God?  Is it in anyway evident? 

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17th Sunday - B (July 29, 2018)

Abundance

John 6: 1-15

Beginning today, for five Sundays, instead of the Gospel of Mark, we’ll have Chapter 6 from the Gospel of John. Jesus speaks of himself as the Bread of Life for the most part of this chapter.

The chapter begins with this miracle.  And John certainly highlights the abundance of the food that Jesus gives.

What humans can offer is so limited.  “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”  “A boy has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”

In contrast, Jesus gave them “as much as they wanted.”  There was “more than they could eat.”  They “had their fill.”  And there were still twelve full baskets of leftovers.  

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17th Sunday - A (July 30, 2017)

Readings

The Image of Jesus Christ

In politics, people often split camps by what they consider conservative and liberal values. 

In recent years, so much talk and ink (and keystrokes) seem to have deepen the chasm between the traditional and progressive camps also in religions, including Christianity.

Jesus’ words today urge us to learn to appreciate and make use of “both the new and the old.”

We trust in the promised the Risen Christ made, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  We believe that the Holy Spirit, the gift from the Father, constantly guides the Church.  Therefore, the Church is always renewed.  At the same time, She constantly draws from Her rich storeroom.  That is why we say the Church is always alive. 

At the same time, the Holy Spirit guides each of us toward the goal of the Christian life.  This goal is not about being traditional or progressive, conservative or liberal. 

We are called to become more and more “conformed to the image of Christ.” (Second Reading).

May we have the courage of Solomon to pray for the wisdom to discern and to become more like Jesus Christ (First Reading).

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17th Sunday - B

Commentary

John 6: 1-15

A Boy with Five Barley Loaves

A nameless boy in a system that placed children at the bottom of its social ranks.

He had five loaves of bread.  While the crowd of hungry people numbered more than five thousand.

And his bread was made of barley, the kind of bread poor people ate.

Who am I?

What do I have to offer?

What are the needs of people?

Yet, Jesus wants to work with me and to use what I have.

17th Sunday - B (July 26, 2015)

Readings

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17th Sunday - A

Commentary
Matthew 13: 44-52

God Searching for Treasures

Today Jesus gives us a pair of parables that complement each other.

Let’s just look at the main verbs that describe the actions of the two characters in the two parables, namely “to find” and “to search.”

Merriam-Webster Dictionary online gives three main definitions for “to find.”
1. to discover (something or someone) without planning or trying to : to discover (something or someone) by chance
2. to get or discover (something or someone that you are looking for)
3. to discover or learn (something) by studying about it

“To search” also has three definitions
1. to carefully look for someone or something : to try to find someone or something
2. to carefully look for someone or something in (something)
3. to carefully look through the clothing of (someone) for something that may be hidden

The image of the “merchant searching” clears any ambiguity that the Kingdom of God can be discovered “without planning” or “by chance” (the first meaning of “find.”)

There is nothing “by chance” or “without planning” with God and God’s Kingdom.

Some commentators also suggest that the treasure and the pearl of great price can be references to each person created by God, and redeemed by the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. For sure, our existence and membership in God’s Reign is not by chance nor without God’s planning.

How do I treasure myself and the gift of membership in God’s Kingdom?

 

17th Sunday - A (July 27, 2014)

Readings

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