An official believed the Lord’s promise that his gravely ill son would live, and so it happened. Beside a pool called Bethesda, where people came in hope of healing in the water, Jesus told a man denied a turn to pick up his mat and walk. Bystanders accused the man of violating the Sabbath by carrying his mat. Controversy surrounded Jesus, who explained that His works testified to the Father’s sending Him. When chief priests and Pharisees asked guards why they had not arrested Jesus, the guards said that no one had ever spoken like Him. Whi
Read MoreInfuriated people in Nazareth drove Jesus out of His hometown after He compared His experience there to the treatment of Elijah and Elisha. Rejected by the Israelites, those prophets became bearers of miracles to a poor widow in Sidon and a leper in Syria. We may question the sincerity of repeated apologies for wrongdoing against us, but we respond mercifully if we ask, “Who’s counting?” Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength might seem to leave no room for loving neighbors, except that the Lord taught us to see Him in pe
Read MoreDevout Jews wore clothing with four tassels (reminders to obey the Lord’s commands) and phylacteries (boxes containing Scripture passages, strapped to the head and one arm). While the mother of James and John wanted the Lord to promise that her sons would sit at His right and left in the kingdom, Pharisees already sought glory for themselves by wearing oversized cloak tassels and phylacteries. In a string of the Lord’s parables, a rich man ignored someone gravely impoverished right at his doorstep, tenant farmers killed to avoid turning ove
Read MorePeople speculated about Jesus, wondering if an ancient prophet or John the Baptist had come back to life. Peter got it right when he called Jesus “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” The Lord, in turn, gave Peter the keys to heaven. Key elements of hope in everlasting life include Church teaching, forgiveness, and communion with the Church and God. The Gospels offer some practical ways to seek holiness: Pray the Lord’s Prayer, know that God has provided signs of His love, and do more than obey the Commandments. Jesus encouraged peopl
Read MoreAfter seeing Jesus multiply meager supplies of bread and fish on two occasions to feed vast crowds, the Disciples failed to understand what the Lord meant in His warning to beware of the “leaven” of Pharisees and Herodians. (Pharisees enjoyed authority as experts in Mosaic Law and detailed rules under the Law, while Herodians sought to preserve political power of Herod’s descendants. Both groups were self-serving, while Jesus gave His all to satisfy the spiritual hunger of others.) The Lord taught that celebration and sacrifice both have
Read MoreSick people lying on mats outside hoped for and received healing from Jesus. Pharisees and scribes hoped to discredit Him. For example, they pointed out that some of the Lord’s followers skipped ritual handwashing before putting food past their lips. Jesus said to worry instead about doing mere lip service to God and His Commandments. The “chosen people” felt favored by God, and Jesus acknowledged that healing a Gentile woman’s daughter would seem like throwing food meant for children to the dogs. When she responded that even dogs get t
Read MoreWhen Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, a devout man named Simeon recognized the Child as the Messiah. In Jesus’ adult ministry, people in His hometown of Nazareth showed little faith in the Son of a carpenter, despite His wisdom. A grateful man freed of unclean spirits wanted to follow the Lord, even as others begged Jesus to leave the area because those unclean spirits had entered a herd of swine seen rushing into the sea in a terrifying frenzy. When Jesus began to send the Apostles to minister in His name, they each carried not
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