As we know, procrastinating because we don’t wish to make a decision is, in actual fact, a decision. Similarly, as Jesus insisted, whoever is not for him is against him—there can be no neutral position in relation to Christ. And in today’s gospel Jesus explains that if anyone hears my words and does not observe […]

In our Christian tradition those who, under the influence of the Spirit, speak in the name of the Lord, are not mere mouthpieces or passive conduits of the divine message—the message they speak is transformative, not only for those who hear their message, but for the speakers themselves. Thus, those who speak in the Lord’s […]

Keep your hopes high and your expectations low is advice that, initially, seems counterintuitive. Surely, there should be a close correlation between hope and expectation? Can you have high expectations without hope, or can you have low expectations with hope? Well, if we consider that the dictionary defines the word “expect” as regarding something as […]

It is, perhaps, relatively easy to dismiss an unwelcome message or difficult teaching, when the teacher’s life is clearly at variance with what he/she propounds. This is what so frustrated Jesus’ opponents—his life unfailingly mirrored the truth of the words he spoke. Accordingly, they were left to try and discredit his teaching and, in today’s […]

Jeremiah’s call for vengeance on those who seek his demise, seems to stand in such contrast to Jesus’ prayer that his tormentors be forgiven, since they do not know what they are doing—a sentiment echoed by Stephen the first martyr with his dying prayer, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Notwithstanding this obvious […]

During this season of Lent our natural focus is on repenting of our sins and finding healing from all that still separates us from receiving the fullness of God’s love. Thus, like the repentant tax collector, we feel our unworthiness and cry out with him: O God, be merciful to me a sinner. Accordingly, it […]

Desiring (like the sons of Zebedee) to be close to Jesus is, obviously, a good thing—one we have all desired. Yet, like James and John, we perhaps underestimated just what getting close to Jesus demands. With experience and sober hindsight, we have come to know a little more about what we were asking, and just […]

In an interesting interpretation of Jesus’ admonition that we settle with [our] opponent quickly while on the way to court, the Desert Father, Isaiah the Solitary, identifies the “opponent” with conscience. As we know, in the long spiritual journey towards becoming truly holy (by our being conformed to Christ), conscience can be experienced as an […]

Sin can, at times, seem so personal and private that we can perhaps presume that it is only offending God and not affecting others. King Herod’s sins (and those of his family) remind us that this is really never true—our sin always negatively impacts our fellow human beings. Herod’s moral weakness, lack of inner discipline, […]

Saint John Chrysostom offers an interesting reflection on Jesus’ image of the kingdom of God being like a mustard seed. He identifies the mustard seed with Christ and thus comments: “O seed by which the world was made, through which dark­ness was dispersed and the Church brought into being! In this seed hanging on the […]