At the home of a Pharisee, a sinful woman approached Jesus, washed His feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, kissed them, and applied some ointment. What the Pharisee regarded as impudence (what nerve!), Jesus recognized as love. With forgiveness of her sins, she loved Him all the more. In contrast, the Pharisee failed to even provide the customary basin of water for Jesus to rinse His feet upon arrival. As the Lord traveled from town to town, He shared the Good News like scattered seed. Explaining one of His parables, He taught that w

Proclaiming blessed hope for the poor in spirit, the hungry, the distraught, and those despised because of Jesus, the Lord wants people to act on His words. His teachings provide a rock-solid foundation for faith. Building upon it, we can become blessings for others! Saint Paul compared himself to an athlete who trains, strives for victory, and tries not to get disqualified along the way. Scribes and Pharisees became confounded by the way Jesus could turn their challenges around to challenge them. For instance, after promptly curing a man’s w

After proclaiming Scripture in the synagogue, Jesus said that Israel didn’t have an exclusive claim on God’s favor. That got the carpenter’s Son driven out of town. Jesus went to Capernaum, where people recognized the authority of His teaching and witnessed the power of His words when He expelled an unclean spirit. Washing empty nets after a frustrating night out fishing, Peter (the expert fisherman) didn’t hide his skepticism when Jesus advised going back out. Two boatloads of fish later, Peter knew his unworthiness, listened as Jesus

Scribes and Pharisees focused on ritual observances. Jesus compared their hypocritical ideas on spiritual cleanliness to cups scrubbed on the outside but filled and sullied with self-indulgence on the inside. The Lord told His parable of a long wait for the groom to escort a wedding party to the celebration. Half of the bridesmaids had to leave to buy more lamp oil and found themselves locked out of the reception when they got there. King Herod wrongly took his brother’s wife in marriage and ordered the arrest of John the Baptist for saying s

A young man blessed with many possessions in life walked away sad when Jesus said that wealth held him back. The Disciples had given up everything, and Peter asked what they would get out of it. Jesus talked about eternal life. In a parable, temporary workers who put in a full day expected more pay than those who had worked for merely an hour. Another tale described invited guests refusing to attend a wedding feast for the king’s son. Among people then invited off the streets, one skipped putting on a wedding garment (a robe a king would have

Children depend on their parents to love them, care for them, and give them what they need. Jesus noticed the reluctance of adults to humbly acknowledge dependence on our heavenly Father. Even the faithful sometimes go astray, but the Lord never hesitates to bring a lost sheep back into the fold. The Pharisees used Mosaic law on marriage to challenge Jesus, who taught His followers not to undo God’s work. We might want to draw the line on how many times we will forgive. When Peter suggested seven as a cutoff, Jesus said to go for seventy-seve

Walking across a turbulent sea, Jesus came to the rescue when Peter tried it but started to sink. The Disciples wondered what went wrong when they failed to bring healing to someone unable to heed physical dangers. Jesus taught that “impossible” would no longer apply if they had faith the size of a mustard seed. On the other hand, a Canaanite woman had faith enough to put differences in beliefs aside and plead with Jesus to heal her daughter. Pharisees and scribes preferred sticking to the letter of the law and asked Jesus why His disciples