Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 22:1-14 (Isaiah 25:6-10a; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20) Another kingdom parable, and so it begins, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to….” The first kingdom parable ends at verse 10. Up to that point the “kingdom of heaven” is...Read full story »
Monday, October 06, 2014
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 21:33-43 (Isaiah 5:1-7; Philippians 4:6-9) Parables seem to have been Jesus’ favorite teaching method. Matthew’s frequent use of the parables of Jesus indicates that he too preferred parables for instruction. He begins simply, “Hear another p...Read full story »
Monday, September 29, 2014
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 21:28-32 (Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11) The gospel reading of this Sunday is again a parable. A parable or teaching story can be long, as last Sunday’s gospel reading, or as short as the mini-parable the liturgy gives us for our consideration on this S...Read full story »
Monday, September 22, 2014
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 20:1-16a (Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a) The one year which Matthew assigns to Jesus’ ministry in Galilee is over. Jesus and his disciples are moving south on the east bank of the Jordan River. Their destination: Jerusalem. In Matthew’s plan for his...Read full story »
Monday, September 15, 2014
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
JOHN 3:13-17 (Numbers 21:4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11) When September 14 falls on a Sunday, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross replaces the Ordinary Sunday. The gospel reading for this feast is part of a dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. The latter wa...Read full story »
Monday, September 08, 2014
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 18:15-20 (Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10) As has often been noted, Matthew composed five major discourses attributed to Jesus. To have only five, no more, no less, seems to be based on a principle of Matthew that Jesus is the new and final messenger of God’s r...Read full story »
Monday, September 01, 2014
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 16:21-27 (Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2) Matthew is guided by the Gospel of Mark in a remarkable contrast between the glory of last Sunday’s gospel reading and the gospel of this Sunday. Last Sunday we experienced Simon’s grand profession of faith in Jesus as ̶...Read full story »
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 16:13-20 (Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36) Last Sunday’s gospel reading gave us an example of Matthew’s theological geography. Jesus left the traditional boundaries of the Holy Land and responded to the plea of a Canaanite, a heathen, a Gentile, a woman. In this wa...Read full story »
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 15:21-28 (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32) In the preceding story Matthew taught his Christian Community that the so-called unclean foods do not defile any one, that is, eating foods like pork, etc., does not make anyone incapable of engaging in community w...Read full story »
Monday, August 11, 2014
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 14:22-33 (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Romans 9:1-5) “Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd.” Thus begins this Sunday’s gospel reading, the immediate sequel to the feeding of the five thous...Read full story »
Monday, August 04, 2014
