Cycle II (8)

Our first reading today presents us with the curious case of Ahaz being offered a sign from the Lord Adonai, but turning it down. The reasons that Ahaz turns down the sign are ostensibly quite noble, he says that he does not wish to tempt the Lord. Yet, the prophet Isaiah …

In today’s gospel we see John having doubts about Jesus and sending his disciples to Jesus to ask if he is indeed the one who is come or if they should expect another. What might have occasioned these doubts on the part of John the Baptist? We might get clue from looking at …

If we observe the stories of people who encounter Jesus in the Gospel, they are by and large people who are seeking help from Jesus, normally in the form of some physical healing. Invariably Jesus provides them with the help that they are seeking and they depart from Jesus …

Jessie Chan is a young Chinese woman who is trying to recover from a very painful breakup of her six-year relationship with her boyfriend. A shot of light pierces this darkness in the form of a witty, charming, sensitive fellow by the name of Will who waltzs into Jessie’s …

In order to understand what is going on in this story, we need to realize that it is to be read in the context of what has come just before it, namely the feeding of the 5000. It is no accident that purity laws in Jewish customs and traditions revolved around food and …

In 2018, Pete Davis a Graduate student at Harvard Law gave the commencement address at his graduation. He spoke of an experience that will perhaps be familiar to many of us of being up late at night looking for a movie to watch on Netflix. Even after watching numerous …

In today’s first reading we see the prophet Elijah suffering from classic burnout syndrome. He is sitting forlornly under a broom tree and prays for death in these words: “This is enough, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Many of us know all too well …