Jonah felt angry about all that he had gone through to warn the notoriously sinful people of Nineveh, only to have God accept their repentance and spare them from destruction. A scholar of Mosaic Law, someone who looked down on Samaritans, doubted that Jesus could find fault with him. Then the Lord told His parable of a good Samaritan. Two sisters welcomed Jesus’ visit, but Martha got nowhere by asking Him to tell her sister to help with the serving, instead of sitting around listening to Him. When the Lord doesn’t grant what we ask, do we

Kids depend on adults. When the Disciples asked Jesus who ranked among the greatest in heaven, the Lord advised them to become like children. James and John offered to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village that refused to welcome Jesus, but the Lord said to just move on. Jesus had appointed 72 messengers to precede Him to Jerusalem, giving them power to heal wherever they found welcome. At each stop, received in peace or not, the messengers preached the Kingdom of heaven at hand. God gives people talents to use in their individual l

Even people in the same room with Jesus did not always see Him as the Light of the world. In contrast, Nathanael met Jesus for the first time, realized that the Lord already knew him, and recognized Him as the Son of God. After giving the Twelve authority to preach and heal, Jesus sent them as missionaries with the instruction to take nothing with them except the clothes and sandals they wore. That took faith! Rumors spread as people speculated that John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the other prophets had come back to life as Jesus. Herod had

In every Mass, Catholics repeat the words of a centurion (a Roman military commander) whose faith amazed Jesus. Admittedly unworthy to have the Lord under his roof, the centurion asked Jesus by messenger to just say the word that would heal a servant. No one had to ask when Jesus knew the need and brought the only son of a widow back to life for her. The Lord had His detractors, who wanted people to dance to their tune. Scribes and Pharisees scoffed at the company Jesus kept. Nevertheless, the Lord drew crowds of people who could relate to His

Before healing a man’s withered hand, Jesus asked the scribes and Pharisees in the synagogue if they thought it lawful to do something good on the Sabbath. They refused to answer but became enraged when Jesus worked the miracle. Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles after spending a night in prayer. Their world got turned upside down! The Beatitudes illustrated why as Jesus declared that people who suffered hardships would find themselves eternally blessed. Challenges we face may seem to contradict hope. Sometimes, we don’t know what to do. Jesus

Despite plenty of poor widows and lepers among the “chosen people,” God had helped Gentiles when He sent Elijah to a poor widow in Sidon and directed a Syrian leper to see Elisha. People in Nazareth had marveled at Jesus before He came up with those infuriating bits of Old Testament history. Within minutes, they wanted to throw Him off a cliff! At the Lake of Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee), an ardently enthusiastic crowd pressed toward Jesus on the shore until He got into Peter’s boat to teach. Afterward, when the Lord suggested going fi

Jesus told hypocritical scribes and Pharisees that they blocked the way into the Kingdom of heaven by setting examples such as swearing oaths on gold, instead of guiding people toward God. John the Baptist stood up to Herod, who found John both fascinating and fearsome. In Jesus’ parable about ten bridesmaids, five missed a torchlight procession to the wedding feast because they went to get more oil. In another story, a man going on a journey entrusted some wealth to three servants. Two used it wisely, and one unprofitably buried it for safek