The adult person in the street, when confronted with questions about Ash Wednesday, may well remember 16 February 1983 and the horrendous fires. Ash Wednesday for practicing Christians has another dimension but, even then, the fires have something to teach us, as our Indigenous brothers and sisters will tell us. My teenage years spent working…
On this first Sunday of Advent, as the Church begins its telling of the Christian story once again, our Gospel reading turns our attention to the last things. The passage (Mark 13: 24–37), which is a portion of what is often called ‘the little apocalypse’, puts us in the presence of the adult Jesus offering…
Our Gospel passage is taken from Matthew Chapter 25 The last judgment scene is the final and climactic passage in Jesus’ discourse on the end times. Here Matthew provides the New Testament’s only detailed depiction of the great, final assize. The dramatic scene follows a series of exhortations and parables through which Jesus has taught…
Our Gospel passage today comes from Matthew, Chapter 25 A conventional theological reading of today’s Gospel treats it as a extract from a text on stewardship. Talents – gifts, skills, resources – are mutually interchangeable in the divine economy and therefore can be understood in economic terms. Christians are given different talents by God and…
A reflection on the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, verses 14-18 The passage of Scripture now before us is very short, if we measure it by words. But it is very long, if we measure it by the nature of its contents. The substance of it is so immensely important that we shall do well…
Chapter 23 of Matthew’s Gospel is an extended condemnation of the Pharisees’ and scribes’ religious leadership. After repeated confrontations with them, Jesus has finally had enough. Passages such as this require careful interpretation to ensure we don’t accidentally give false grounds for anti-Semitism. Matthew, including in this passage, shows great respect for the authority of…
All Saints’ Day is translated from 1 November. Our Gospel passage is taken from Matthew, Chapter 5 Just as Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth is his inaugural address in the Gospel of Luke, so the Sermon on the Mount is in the Gospel of Matthew. These passages communicate Jesus’ identity and the purpose…
Our Gospel passage for today comes from Matthew, Chapter 22 In this brief exchange between Jesus and Pharisees who ‘plot to entrap him’, we see Jesus as a consummate teacher and debater who amazes them – and us. Matthew, continuing to recount the dispute between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day, relates a…
Our Gospel passage for today comes from Matthew, Chapter 22 Set in the context of Matthew’s continuing critical conversation with the chief priests and Pharisees, the parable of the Wedding Banquet is a summary account of a central theological teaching found in all of Scripture. Our Gospel today illustrates the subtle interrelation of the grace…
Our Gospel passage for today comes from Matthew, Chapter 21 As we get closer to the closing weeks of Year A, the gravity of Jesus’ tone lends an almost Lenten-like quality to the news we proclaim. Indeed, the parables of the kingdom that constitute Jesus’ response to the questioning of his authority by the temple…
