20th Sunday - C (August 14, 2022)

 

The Fire of Jesus

Luke 12: 49-53

 

Last Sunday, Jesus declared, “Your Father is pleased to give  you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

 

Today, as we continue with the same chapter, Jesus might be asking me to consider what in me must be purified by the fire of his love so that the Father’s gift of the Kingdom might be blazing.

 

20th Sunday - A (August 16, 2020)

 

“Send Her Away”

Matthew 15: 21-28

 

The disciples’ reaction to the woman asking Jesus for help is, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” 

 

Send her away for she is bothering us. 

 

Unfortunately, that kind of response to a person who is in need is not uncommon.

 

In the Gospel passage that we heard two Sundays ago, the disciples had the same reaction before Jesus fed the people.  They suggested that Jesus sent the people away.  “Dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

 

The disciples want to send people away, feeling they are being bothered.  

 

How often do I do the same?

 

Jesus, in spite of the apparently harsh words, responded to the woman’s request.  Moreover, he would lay down his life for all humanity. 

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

20th Sunday - C (August 18, 2019)

“Keep Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus”

Luke 12: 49-53

Jesus said to his disciples then, and to us today, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing.”

Jesus said these words as he continues his journey toward Jerusalem, where he will complete his mission through his death and resurrection, which he here refers to as the “baptism.”

We all know difficulties and trials in our personal lives and in the life of the Church.

May we not lose sight of the mission that Jesus has shared with us – “to set the earth on fire.” 

The Letter to the Hebrews (2^nd reading) reminds us of how Jesus did it – by enduring the cross.  So we need to “persevere in running the race … while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.”

The saints who form “so great a cloud of witnesses” have done this.  They now support us with their examples and prayers for us, and continue to cheer us on.  

 

Image source: www.agnusday.org

 

20th Sunday - B (August 19, 2018)

The Eucharist – The Gift of Eternal Life

John 6:51-58

In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the phrase “eternal life” more than he does in all 3 other Gospels combine.  This is a major theme in John’s faith in Jesus.

In Chapter 3, Jesus speaks of eternal life as the gift of God’s love for the world in giving his only Son: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  (3:16).

Later, Jesus prays during the Last Supper, summarizing his mission that he spoke of in 3:16: “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.”  Knowing Jesus is having eternal life.

And in today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of his body and blood as the gift of eternal life already given to us even now.  “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”  (Note:  the verb is in the present tense).

Knowing Jesus is not some abstract knowledge.  In his body and blood, we encounter the Divine and God’s loving gift of eternal life.

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

20th Sunday - C (August 14, 2016)

Commentary

Luke 12: 49-53

“To Set the Earth on Fire”

A week ago, Jesus told us “your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom,” (Luke 12:32).  Yet, today, in the same chapter, he speaks of some really troublesome things. 

What’s the idea here?

On the one hand, Jesus’ words, referring to divisions even within families, might be interpreted as disturbing and hard to accept.  In fact, we know some people rejected his message then.  Many still do today.

On the other hand, the gift of God’s kingdom that Jesus brought us is the greatest gift.  It is greater than what is considered natural in a human family.  There might be times when one’s family is not willing to accept it. Even then, the gift of the kingdom of God is worth the rejection of one’s own family.

And this message from Jesus might even mean that anyone who has been given the gift of the kingdom would do all one could to share that gift with everybody, beginning with one’s own family. 

That is the fire Jesus gives us to share with all until the whole earth is blazing with the fire of God’s love.  

20th Sunday - B

Commentary

John 6: 51-58

To Believe, To Eat, and To Drink

At the beginning of this Gospel, in the Prologue, John tells us, “He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (1: 11- 12, 14).

And now, Jesus tells us how he fulfills this mission that John introduced,

The Son of God has come in human flesh. Not all will accept that, particularly his own. But to those who believe, he gives the gift of himself. Those who eat his flesh and drink his blood have eternal life. And eternal life is being one with the Father and the Son.

The response on our part: to believe, to eat his flesh, and to drink his blood.

20th Sunday - B (August 16, 2015)

Readings

Image source: http://www.agnusday.org

20th Sunday - A

Commentary

Matthew 15: 21 – 28

“Great is Your Faith”

Last week (19^th Sunday), Jesus walked on the water and calmed the storm.  But at first, the disciples were “terrified” and “cried out in fear.”  They quickly forgot that it was Jesus who “made them get into the boat” and cross the sea.  Peter doubted even when he asked and Jesus told him to come, walking on the water.

The disciples could recognize Jesus as “the Son of God” only after they had seen his power.

Today, a gentile, the Canaanite woman, recognizes and professes Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of David.” 

Unlike the disciples, she has faith in Jesus and professes it even before Jesus heals her daughter.  She does not need or demand the Son of David to respond to her request as a condition of her faith.  Acknowledging him as Lord, and knowing who she is, she could beg him, “Have pity on me.”  Then again, “Lord, help me,” after having done him homage.  

Thus, Jesus commends, “O woman, great is your faith!”  

20th Sunday - A (August 17, 2014)

Readings

Image source:  Jean-Germain Drouais - The Woman of Canaan at the Feet of Christ

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

20th Sunday - C

Commentary

Luke 12: 49 – 53

Set the Earth on Fire

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing.” 

Jesus brings God’s love to us.  The flame of God’s love sets the world on fire.

And we are privileged to share in this mission of Jesus – to set the world on fire with the love of God.

May we have the same desire that Jesus has – “I wish it were already blazing.”

Pope Paul VI understood this mission that Jesus has given to the Church when he wrote “The Church exists in order to evangelize.”  (Evangelii Nuntiandi, #14)

And what is true about the Church as the One Body of Christ is true about each of its members. 

In that sense, if we have encountered Jesus, then, we now “exist in order to evangelize” until the whole world is blazing.

20th Sunday - C (August 18, 2013)

Readings

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