Last Sunday’s lesson in Christian Business Management 101 is continued this Sunday with a lesson about indifference. The parable of Dives and Lazarus is a warning to those who enjoy an abundance in material things without being responsible for those who are poor. The story is developed along the lines of the reversal of fortunes, [...]
Continue reading about (Sunday XXVI — C) A Lesson in Indifference (Luke 16:19-31)
All the goods of the earth are destined for all men and women, present and future. The accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few to the detriment of those who don’t even have a decent roof on their heads is a scandal. It is sinful. Does this justify a class war, where the [...]
Continue reading about (Sunday XXV – C) Christian Business Management 101 (Luke 16:1-15)
There are two values that Jesus wants his disciples to make their own: the kingdom and the Father. As Jesus nears Jerusalem where His Cross will be raised as a sign of the love of God for all men, he tells the Pharisees and experts of the Law about the mercy of God and the [...]
Continue reading about (Sunday XXIV — C) The Father’s Mercy (Luke 15:1-32)
As Jesus approaches his destination, the place where he immolates himself in utter obedience as the Servant-Son, he declares before those accompanying him the terms of discipleship. Nothing is to be loved more than Jesus himself: not even family members, nor one’s possessions. As a consequence, he challenges his listeners to be prudent in their [...]
Continue reading about (Sunday XXIII — C) The Terms of Discipleship (Luke 14:25-33)
As Jesus nears the moment when he will celebrate his last supper with the disciples, he also begins to talk about the Messianic banquet. The occassion is a meal with certain leaders of the Pharisees. The episode begins with the healing of a man with dropsy,one of those who are thought to be unfit to [...]
Continue reading about (Sunday XXII – C) Dining With Jesus (Luke 14:1-14)
Fundamentalists usually ask: "Are you saved?" The question is made by one who thinks he is saved. The interlocutor of Jesus in today’s Gospel asks "Will only a few be saved?" It is a question that derives from one who is unsure whether he will be saved or not. To this one, Jesus gives the [...]
Continue reading about (Sunday XXI — C) Struggle Through the Narrow Door
The 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time coincides this year with the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. Our lectio cursiva of Luke’s journey to Jerusalem is suspended for the moment. In its place we are invited to reflect on Mary’s song of praise, the Magnificat, which is her song of victory, an anticipation of the [...]
For the nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) we are given texts that are related to wisdom, faith and servanthood. Wisdom is the will of God ordering the moments of salvation history; it is also the obedience of the chosen people as they cooperate with God’s will at every step of their history in faith. [...]
Continue reading about (XIX Sunday — C) Servants of the Lord (Luke 12:32-48)
Scholars have noted the social concern in Luke’s gospel. They have seen it in the way Luke modifies materials he holds in common with Matthew (Q) and the special materials he incorporates into his gospel. One of these latter materials is the Parable of the Rich Fool. Luke incorporates it into his narrative as part [...]
Continue reading about (XVIII Sunday — C) The Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21)
Luke is the evangelist who emphasizes prayer. He not only modifies his materials so as to bring out the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life, he also adds materials that illustrate how one should pray. For this Sunday, we are given a taste of this particular characteristic of the Lucan gospel. Upon the request of [...]
Continue reading about (XVII Sunday — C) When You Pray (Luke 11:1-13)
Martha and Mary has become popular names in the early church that Luke does not hesitate to use them as characters in a story about hospitality. In Luke 10:38-42, Martha and Mary illustrate two forms of hospitality: one that is specifically for a prophet (Mary), and another that is for a guest (Martha). While Martha [...]
Continue reading about (XVI Sunday– C) Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42)
The Lucan theme of "Being on the way with Jesus" continues with the narration about a scribe whom Jesus challenged to practise the commandment "Love your neighbor as yourself." To be on the way with Jesus is the path of on-going conversion where the disciple (or would be disciple) is challenged to continually evaluate one’s [...]
Continue reading about (XV Sunday — C) Being Neighbor to Someone (Luke 10:25-37)
For the 14th Sunday of OT — C, a vision of Mother Jerusalem, an image of the Church of the last days, is given to us. She is the Mother of all nations, "catholic" in the care she provides for her children. This picture is complemented by the narration of the sending of the seventy-two [...]
Continue reading about (XIV Sunday — C) The Christian Mission (Luke 10:1-24)
When we were baptized, we were enrolled into the Lord’s school of discipleship where we learn to make our own the two primary values of His life: the Father and the Kingdom/Reign of God. The years of apprenticeship will cover the whole of our lives and will involve the death of our egoism and growth [...]
Continue reading about (XIII Sunday — C) Lighten Your Baggage (Luke 9:51-62)
For the eleventh Sunday, we are presented with the Lucan story about Jesus’ gives a lesson on generous love to a Pharisee who had invited him to dinner. The lesson is derived on the actions of a woman — a public sinner — who barges into the Pharisee’s house and displays her love for Jesus. [...]
Continue reading about (XI Sunday — C) She Was Forgiven Much (Luke 5:36-50)
