Reflection for the Week

People could tell Jesus was in town when sick people lay on mats in the marketplace, hoping for healing if they could just touch the tassel of His cloak. Jesus knew that the “chosen people” felt favored by God. At the time, granting a Gentile woman’s request to heal her daughter would seem like throwing food meant for children to the dogs. The woman persisted, saying that even dogs get scraps dropped by the children. Jesus used actual meals as opportunities to minister, too. He multiplied seven loaves and a few fish to feed a huge crowd.

A man freed of unclean spirits wanted to follow Jesus, but the Lord sent him home to his family with the instruction to proclaim the miracle done for him. Although a messenger brought word that the daughter of a synagogue official named Jairus had died, the official trusted that the Lord could still help. Meanwhile, Jesus realized that healing had come through Him to someone in the crowd. When a woman cured of hemorrhaging fearfully admitted that she had touched His cloak, the Lord did not take back the healing. Jesus sent the Apostles out in p

Jesus told a parable of seed falling on a footpath, rocky ground, a patch of thorns, and fertile soil. The Word of God, like scattered seed, can only bear fruit in people well-grounded in belief. Even a little faith, once it takes root, can grow. Although always fully divine, Jesus grew in His humanity. He doesn’t limit His love but, instead, regards anyone who does the will of the Father as family. Using the image of a lamp, the Lord explained that everything will come to light. Do we measure out the love, forgiveness, and compassion that we

Pharisees and others clung to rigid observances, hoping that they could earn salvation. They challenged Jesus, asking why His disciples didn’t fast or why they unlawfully picked heads of grain to eat while walking along on the Sabbath. Noticing a man with a withered hand in the synagogue, the Lord saw no reason to wait until after the Sabbath to heal him. Jesus asked the Pharisees, but they refused to give their opinion. While Pharisees and Herodians then used the healing that day to plot against Jesus, throngs of others placed their hope in

Jesus invited Peter, Andrew, James, and John away from their fishing boats and nets to follow Him. After likewise calling the customs collector Matthew (Levi) away from his post, Jesus didn’t mind eating at his house among tax collectors and sinners. After a group of four men lowered a paralytic through the roof to reach Jesus, some scribes decried the Lord’s forgiveness of the man’s sins as blasphemy. Jesus then enabled the man to pick up his mat and walk. People at the synagogue recognized that Jesus taught with authority—an impressio

When Jesus blessed five loaves and two fish which then fed a crowd of thousands, even the Twelve didn’t grasp that He came to satisfy a deeper hunger. Jesus walked over the water to join the Disciples in a boat as they struggled to row against the waves. They thought they were seeing a ghost, and He had to calm them before calming the choppy water. Leprosy was incurable in biblical times, yet Jesus touched a leper who believed and cured him. Rather than becoming jealous, John the Baptist found joy in making way for the Lord. When we struggle

Shepherds had received a joy-filled message from heaven, announcing the birth of our Savior. They left in haste to see for themselves, found everything just as an angel had described, and shared what had been told to them. Years went by, and John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Son of God, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. After hearing John’s proclamation, Andrew told His brother Simon Peter that he had found the Messiah. When Jesus invited Philip to follow Him, Philip went and got Nathanael to come, too. Having encountered the Lor