Tagged: Daily Reflections

“The apostles returned to Jesus.” –Mark 6:30 When Jesus first summoned and named the apostles (Mk 3:13), all hell broke loose. Jesus’ relatives declared He was out of His mind (Mk 3:21), and the religious leaders claimed He was possessed by the devil (Mk 3:22). When “Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits” (Mk 6:7), St. Mark believed that all hell broke loose again, for, at this point in his Gospel, he inserted the account of Herod’s beheading of St. John the Baptizer (Mk 6:14ff). When Jesus, through...

“For my eyes have witnessed Your saving deed displayed for all the peoples to see: A revealing Light to the Gentiles.” —Luke 2:30-32 Today, throughout the world, the Church proclaims that Jesus is the Light to the nations and the Glory of Israel (Lk 2:32). However, “the Light came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than Light because their deeds were wicked” (Jn 3:19). Thus, Jesus was and is a “sign of contradiction” for “the downfall and the rise of many in Israel” (see Lk 2:34). The message of today’s feast day, the Presentation of Jesus, is highly...

“Do not disdain the discipline of the Lord.” —Hebrews 12:5 When many of today’s Christians hear about the discipline of the Lord, they think of getting up early for Mass, being faithful to daily prayer and Bible reading, fasting, and persevering in a commitment to serve the Lord. When the writer of Hebrews thought of discipline, he thought of Christians having their blood shed (Heb 12:4) and being martyred. The people to whom the book of Hebrews was addressed also knew discipline to be public insult and trial, imprisonment, and the confiscation of their possessions by the government (Heb 10:33-34)....

” ‘If I just touch His clothing,’ she thought, ‘I shall get well.’ ” –Mark 5:28 A woman who was hemorrhaging touched Jesus. According to Jewish law, this made Jesus unclean (cf Lv 15:25, 27). Instead, His touch made the woman healed and whole (Mk 5:29ff). Touching Jesus is unlike touching anyone else in the world. Jesus reached out to touch and take the hand of a dead, twelve-year-old girl (Mk 5:41). According to Jewish law, this made Jesus unclean (see Nm 19:11). Instead, Jesus’ touch raised the girl from the dead (Mk 5:42). No one else’s touch can raise...