The Vineyard Laborer

The Pain is Nothing Compared To Being With You Mk 9: 38 -43, 45, 47- 48 26 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Introduction Today’s Gospel tells us something about who is included in God’s kingdom and who is not. The disciples were quick to exclude someone who was doing something good simply because he was not one of them. Jesus, however, explains to them that God’s kingdom belongs to all who are righteous and do good. It is those who sin who will be excluded from the kingdom. Jesus then offers some radical solutions that would make one eligible to enter God’s kingdom. The Gospel It was perhaps one of those days when the disciples were on their own and were not in the company of Jesus. On that day, they witnessed someone driving out demons, just like the way Jesus did. What surprised them, however, was that this stranger was casting out demons in Jesus’ name. They tried to stop the stranger from what he was doing because the stranger was not one of them.   ...

You Have Shown Me What Greatness Is Mk 9: 30 – 37 25 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Introduction Today’s reading narrates to us how Jesus found out how his disciples were arguing among themselves as to who was the greatest. Jesus then takes the time   to teach them about the real meaning of greatness. The Gospel. Our reading today begins with Jesus and his disciples journeying through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know about this journey, for by now, people would have followed him if they knew he was around. Apparently, he wanted to have time with his disciples in order to teach them something very important. True enough, Jesus tells his disciples something quite confidential which so far, has been revealed only to them. He speaks once more about his passion and death, saying: “ The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him and three days after his death, the Son of Man will rise. “ But despite this pivotal revelation abou...

That I May Learn to Think Like You Mk 8: 27 -35 24 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Introduction In today’s reading, Jesus asks his disciples who they think he was. Apparently, it was Peter who was able to correctly identify and confirm who Jesus was. Notwithstanding this, Peter’s understanding of Jesus didn’t match Jesus’ own understanding of himself especially in matters relating to his suffering and death. The Gospel As Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples who do people think he was. The disciples offer different answers. They tell Jesus: “ John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asks them: “ But who do you say that I am?” Peter then replies: “ You are the Christ.” The word "Christ" comes from a Greek word which means the “anointed one.” Peter’s reply seems to have been accepted by Jesus since he tells his disciples not to divulge to anyone what...

Open My Ears That I May Hear You Mk 7: 31 – 37 23 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Introduction In today’s gospel, we see Jesus healing a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus heals the man, giving him the ability to hear and speak plainly. The Gospel The Gospel begins by giving us a geographical detail of how Jesus traveled from the far western region of Tyre to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, called the district of the Decapolis. There, people brought him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking. The man must have been born deaf, as those who are born deaf usually grow up with impaired speech. By now, Jesus’ reputation as a healer was well known. And so people begged Jesus to lay his hand on the man who was deaf, hoping for a miracle to happen. Then Jesus took the man off by himself, away from the crowd.   In healing the man who was deaf, Jesus made two gestures. First, he touched the man’s ears with his finger. Then, he s...