Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?” —Luke 13:23 Jesus did not answer this question directly. He answered it with a picture. Picture a door locked with people standing “outside knocking and saying, ‘Sir, open for us’ ” (Lk 13:25). Then a voice from the other side of the door replies: “I do not know where you come from” (Lk 13:25). Next, those locked out try to explain that there must be some misunderstanding, for they have gone to church and received some religious instruction (cf Lk 13:26). Once again the voice from the other side...

“The scribes and the Pharisees have succeeded Moses as teachers; therefore, do everything and observe everything they tell you. But do not follow their example.” —Matthew 23:2-3 The scribes copied the Sacred Scriptures by hand. This indicates that in their time they were among the most intelligent and best educated people in the world. They were professionals and experts in the Holy Bible. The Pharisees believed in angels and in the resurrection of the just. They had the most advanced theology in history up to that time. Jesus Himself recognized that they and the scribes were the rightful, authoritative successors...

“The hand of the Lord came upon me, and He led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones. He made me walk among them in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.” —Ezekiel 37:1-2 Pope St. John Paul II called our Western culture a “culture of death.” According to the prophet Ezekiel’s vision, we live on a plain of dry bones. However, some people are so brainwashed or naive that they don’t notice the death...

“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves!” –Ezekiel 34:2 We see in today’s Gospel parable the effects of a shepherd pasturing himself. Some faithful laborers worked a full day in the Lord’s service, but at the end of the day, they focused on “what’s in it for me,” such as assuming they would get a greater reward (see Mt 20:10ff). This focus is understandable from a human viewpoint. But Jesus teaches that it’s not to be the focus of His disciples. If we fix our eyes on what we get rather than on what Jesus gets,...

“It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” –Matthew 19:24 Many of us are middle-class Americans and consequently are among the richest people in the world. Therefore, Jesus’ words apply to us: “I assure you, only with difficulty will a rich man enter into the kingdom of God” (Mt 19:23). Although there is nothing wrong with being rich (see Sir 31:8-11), Jesus indicated that it was almost impossible (Mt 19:26) not to grow haughty from our riches (Ez 28:5). In the book of Proverbs, Agur...