The Better Part

Matthew 9.36 - 10.8 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection During Jesus' time on earth, he speaks often about the Kingdom of God. He shows people glimpses of the Kingdom of God, too, when he performs miracles. Always, always, he invites others to share in his work of bringing about the Kingdom of God here on earth. In the Gospel for this Sunday we see the beginning of this sharing of the work of the Kingdom. When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they wer

Matthew 28.16-20 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection We know that after Jesus dies and rises to new life, never to die again, he spends forty days appearing to his disciples. They talk with him, eat with him, and spend time rejoicing with him that his Risen life will never end. After forty days, Jesus returns to his Father in heaven. We call this the Ascension into heaven. "Ascend" means to rise from a lower level to a higher level. Jesus has already risen from ordinary life

Matthew 28.16-20 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection On Ascension Sunday, or the Feast of the Ascension, we celebrate the moment in Jesus' Risen life—forty days after the Resurrection to the full life of God—when he returns to his Father in heaven. "Ascend" means to rise from a lower level to a higher level. It can also mean to take the throne. We often call Jesus the King—the King of kings—and we celebrate the day that he takes his place on the heavenly throne. Once, when a

Matthew 28.16-20 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection On Ascension Sunday, or the Feast of the Ascension, we celebrate the moment in Jesus' Risen life that we speak of in the Creed: "He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty." Forty days after the Resurrection to the full life of God, Jesus returns to his Father in heaven. Frankly, this does not seem like the best of feasts. Imagine the disciples standing there on the mountain as Jesus

John 4.5-15 , 19-26 , 39-42 (full reading: John 4.5-42 ) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection (full reading: John 4.5-42 ) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection When we read the Bible, we can ask ourselves, "What is God doing?" In the reading for this Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Lent, at first it does not appear that Jesus does much at all. He sits by a well and has a conversation with a woman from Samaria. No miracles. No parables. Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar,

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 4:12-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is called the Sunday of the Word of God. When we do not read words, we need someone's voice to speak them or sign them to us. Jesus writes down no words. He does not need us to read. He needs us to listen to his voice. In the Gospel, we hear Jesus use his voice to call to four people. We can count them: Simon, Andrew, James, John. One, two, three, four—four names. Simon and Andrew are brothers from one fa

Matthew 4:12-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is called the Sunday of the Word of God. Sometimes Jesus is called the Word of God made flesh. God gives the Word a body and a voice, something we can see and hear. We can see the Word of God in our imagination, and we hear it speak to us in our heart. In the Gospel, we hear Jesus, the Word Made Flesh, calling four people to come follow him. There are two pairs of brothers: Andrew and Simon (who is also

Matthew 4:12-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the Sunday of the Word of God. The Word of God is a great gift to us. We enjoy our gifts. We play with them. So, each week, and in particular this week, we enjoy the Word. We play with it, turning it over and over, noticing how it touches our deepest needs, and delighting in the new aspects we discover. The Gospel begins with disturbing news. John the Baptist has been arrested. In the midst of reading

Luke 17.5-10 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Sometimes, the things that Jesus says just seem wonky. In the Gospel for this...

Luke 10.25-37 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Often, when we listen to stories about Jesus in the Bible, we hear people...

Luke 10.1-12, 17-20 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n One of the great things about Jesus is that there is no difference between...

Luke 24.44-53 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection Soon we will reach the end of the forty-nine days of the Easter season and soon we...

Luke 6:17, 20-26 Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel for this Sunday begins with Jesus coming down from a...

Luke 6:17, 20-26 Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel for this Sunday begins with Jesus coming down from a...

Luke 5.1-11 Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection So often when we listen to the Gospel, we hear about Jesus and his...

Luke 5.1-11 Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear about the moment when Simon Peter...

Mark 9.30-37 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, the disciples have a hard time. They cannot...

Mark 9.30-37 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus and his disciples travel alone. Usually,...

Mark 6.7-13 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection We are used to hearing about all the marvellous things that Jesus says and does. We...