Reflection for the Week

Jesus withdrew so that the crowd would not try to make Him king after five loaves and two fish miraculously became a meal for thousands. The Gospel of John assures us that God doesn't ration the gift of the Holy Spirit, either. To Nicodemus, a Pharisee, the idea of grown people "born from above" and "born of the Spirit" made no sense, but He kept listening to Jesus. Later, with the Apostles on trial before the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel advised letting them go. If just a fad, their endeavors would die out. If not, the Sanhedrin might

Picture the Risen Lord lightheartedly greeting His friends and followers. Mary Magdalene mistook Him for the gardener. ("Mary!") Two disciples heading to Emmaus a couple of days after the Crucifixion asked if He hadn't heard about the things that occurred in Jerusalem. ("What sort of things?") Mistaken for a ghost, Jesus asked the Disciples for something to eat. (Would a ghost do that?) Jesus appeared on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius, and Peter jumped into the water. (What could the Lord say?) Peter and John later found themselves in hot wat

Martha, Mary, and Lazarus held a dinner for Jesus and the Disciples. Judas objected when Mary anointed Jesus' feet with costly oil, but the Lord realized that holding on to her loving act would help when she grieved for Him after the Crucifixion. At the Last Supper, the Lord revealed that Peter would deny Him three times but still follow Him later. After letting Jesus down, Peter would need to recall that the Lord didn't want him to quit. On the Cross, Jesus entrusted His Mother and the Disciple whom He loved (probably John) to one another as m

Jesus saved a condemned woman by challenging anyone without sin to hurl the first stone at her. When He told Jews in the Temple area that they didn't know God, people picked up rocks to throw at Him. After the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, chief priests and Pharisees plotted in fear that everyone would come to believe in Him. The Lord and His Disciples withdrew, leaving people to wonder whether the coming Passover feast would draw Jesus back out into the public. If we get angry with God, do we ask what truth we have missed that can set us

Frustrated with people refusing to believe without seeing a miracle, Jesus cured an official's son from a distance, sight unseen. At the pool of Bethesda, Jesus healed a man and then slipped away to avoid accusations of violating the Sabbath. Chief priests and Pharisees looked for ways to stop Him, while others looked to Jesus with hope. When disappointed in prayer, do we take a dim view of the Lord or ask Him to shed more light on what we truly need?

Jesus wore out His welcome in Nazareth by pointing out that God didn't limit miracles to the Israelites. When Peter asked if he had to forgive someone as many as seven times, Jesus said seventy-seven. In a parable of two people praying, the Pharisee thought highly of himself, while a tax collector with downcast eyes prayed for mercy. When counting our blessings, how do they stack up against our sins?

Children learn from "show and tell." Jesus told His followers not to follow the Pharisees' show of hypocrisy. For their part, Pharisees took offense at parables that clearly applied to them. The Lord challenged His disciples to give as much mercy and forgiveness as they wanted to receive from God. Jesus modeled humility. Still, when He told the Twelve of His looming Crucifixion, the mother of James and John asked the Lord to promise her sons places of honor in the Kingdom. When push comes to shove, would we rather take a shortcut or follow in t