Year A (5)

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 …

Today’s gospel gives us the opportunity to contemplate the person of John the Baptist, whose ministry and preaching constituted a radical subversion of the established channels of authority. Firstly, we must remember that John the Baptist came from a priestly family. His …

The German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent almost 60 years writing his magnum opus, Faust. The novel centres on a wager between Faust and Mephistopheles, who symbolizes Satan. In a scene reminiscent of the wager between Satan and God in the Book of Job, …