Category: Daily Reflections
“For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.” –Isaiah 62:1 At the wedding of Cana, Mary told Jesus: “They have no more wine” (Jn 2:3). Jesus seemed to respond that He wasn’t going to do anything about it because His hour had not yet come (Jn 2:4). Then Jesus changed the water into wine (Jn 2:9). Did Jesus change His mind? Did Mary talk or pray Jesus into changing His mind? Can our prayers get God to...
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“People who are healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do. I have come to call sinners, not the righteous.” –Mark 2:17, our transl. Saul, the first king of Israel, was outwitted by some asses shortly before he was anointed king (1 Sm 9:4). Then Saul asked Samuel, the seer, where the seer was. Samuel responded that Saul could see the seer right before his eyes, because Samuel was the seer (1 Sm 9:18-19). Saul seemed to have trouble doing anything right. Saul tried to get out of being made king by “hiding among the baggage” (1 Sm 10:22)....
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“Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” 1 Timothy 4:4 Many of us tend to take things for granted – the colors of flowers, the songs of birds, the beauty of sunrise – these are all things that many people barely notice. It is only when you begin to contemplate a life without these blessings that you realize how colorless and uninteresting it would be if they were absent. We should cherish and appreciate every blessing in our lives. We should learn to appreciate the wonders of God’s Creation and...
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“Who can forgive sins except God alone?” –Mark 2:7 When Jesus saw a paralyzed man being lowered on a stretcher through a hole in the roof, He said: “My son, your sins are forgiven” (Mk 2:5). Jesus miraculously and instantaneously healed the paralytic to show that He “has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mk 2:10). When Jesus was criticized for eating with Levi and his friends, Jesus stated: “I have come to call sinners” (Mk 2:17). John the Baptizer introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Paul exclaimed: “You...
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“Why do You hide Your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression?” –Psalm 44:25 The Israelites, God’s chosen people, refused to repent of sin. So four thousand Israelites were killed in battle, as they were defeated by the Philistines (1 Sm 4:2). “The wages of sin is death” (Rm 6:23). Then the Israelites decided not to repent but rather to bring forth the ark of the covenant to lead them into another battle. “Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured” (1 Sm 4:10-11). God’s chosen people were made “the mockery and the scorn” of their...
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