The Better Part

Matthew 5.17, 20-24, 27-28, 33-34, 37++   full reading: Matthew 5.17-37 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, the Gospel reading this week speaks about how to live righteously. 3-6 year olds are at a stage of enjoying the gift of relationship with God, and we ought not to rush them into a moral reflection on what to do to remain in that relationship. This reflection, therefore, focuses on Jesus's voice as he speaks to the people—he who is the Word made flesh.) So

Matthew 5.17, 20-24, 27-28, 33-34, 37++   full reading: Matthew 5.17-37 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n The Gospel reading for this Sunday is part of a long talk that Jesus gives while sitting on the hillside of a mountain, surrounded by so many people who gather to hear him. He says, Do not think that I have come to abolish  the law  or the prophets ; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill . Abolish  means to put an end to something, or to get rid of it. Jesus s

Matthew 5.17, 20-24, 27-28, 33-34, 37++   full reading: Matthew 5.17-37 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n For several Sundays now, we listened to parts of a long section in St. Matthew's Gospel called, "The Sermon on the Mount." We call it this because Jesus preaches to people while sitting on the hillside of a mountain. People gather from all over Galilee to hear him. In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear him say, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or

Matthew 5:13 -16   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus speaks about light . We know a lot about light . The light  of a candle is beautiful. It catches our attention. We like to watch the flame. The light  helps us to see. What does Jesus want us to know about light ? Jesus says, You are the light  of the world. Who ? You  are the light  of the world. Us? How can we be light ? Do we catch people's attention? Do we help people to see?

Matthew 5:13 -16   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus sits on the mountain with his many disciples gathered around him, listening. He has told them how to be people of the Kingdom of God. He has shown them what pleases God. Then he looks right at each one of them and says, “You are the salt  of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and tramp

Matthew 5:13 -16   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus continues to teach his disciples. He sits on the mountain looking out at them all—all of them looking back at him, waiting, listening. They come from all over just to listen to him. They come from across the land; they come from across time— we are here, too. Does Jesus know that we are here, listening? He says, “ You  are the light  of the world . What do these words reveal? Ho

Matthew 5:1-12   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We know that in the Bible, Jesus walks from town to town teaching about the Kingdom of God . People follow him because they love to hear his voice. In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus takes a break from walking. He sits down. But Jesus does not stop teaching about the Kingdom of God . Oh no. The people still get to listen to his voice. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his dis

Matthew 5:1-12   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Bible, we often hear Jesus teaching people about the Kingdom of God. Jesus understands that we need to know about the Kingdom. He knows that when we set out to play a game with our friends, we first sit down to work out the rules. We want to know who can play. We want to know how to play well. Jesus understands that we need to know these things about the Kingdom of God. So he sits down and lets us look for a mo

Matthew 5:1-12   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n The most incredible thing about Jesus is that, by dying on the cross, he defeats death. God fills him with abundant, eternal life—he can never die again. God turns everything we know upside-down. Life is stronger than death. Does Jesus spend his whole life waiting to die and rise again? Of course not. He spends his adult life telling all he knows about the Kingdom of God. Now Jesus enjoys the fullness of the life of G