The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

July 12, 2020 – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 13:1-23

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

I have never been a farmer, but in my two primary jobs, that of being a parent and a teacher, I tried to do what farmers did. Be a good sower. Plant seeds, and hope that something results that is alive and grows to maturity. Today’s gospel is for anyone who tries to accomplish this goal.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

July 5, 2020 – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 11:25-30

I really needed to hear the words from this Sunday’s gospel. I felt they were written just for me. Maybe you will think the same. Here are those words of Jesus: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

These are not only timely words that connect with what we learn from the daily news, but even more to our personal lives. It’s fairly easy these days to list burdensome items from the world around us. Like the pandemic that we are now suffering through, which leaves us with so much uncertainty and worries about what’s ahead. We cannot forget the suffering of families around the globe. Or the fears faced by minorities, not only in the United States, but in so many countries. There are the challenges related to improving police protection, which have no easy answers. And we ought not ignore increasing climate change and global warming that affect us in many ways.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

June 28, 2020 – Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 10:37-42

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

Today’s gospel is complicated and one that I think is easily misunderstood. Some might think it is anti-family because it seems to say that our love for God (and Jesus) is in competition with our love of family. Or even that love of family is not important. I write these gospel reflections to help readers appreciate the importance of interpersonal life, especially as it exists in marriage, family life and friendship. I want to place those important relationships in the context of a vital Christian life. I try to show the importance of connecting our love of God with our love of neighbor.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

June 21, 2020 – Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 10:26-33

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

In my early twenties I noticed that my forehead seemed to be growing. Friends might comment that I should do something. I was unconcerned about this, mostly because I didn’t think I could fight the forces of nature. I had uncles who were mostly bald, so I figured I likely shared some of their genes. And sure enough, as I approached middle age, I became part of those very good-looking bald men in the world. I would smile whenever I heard this Sunday’s gospel when it mentioned that God knew the number of hairs on our heads. I thought that in my case this was no great accomplishment. It was my private joke with God.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

June 14, 2020 – Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) - John 6:51-58

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

Much of the bread I ate as a youngster was store-bought. It was white and soft and tasteless. Mostly it was used to hold a slice or two of American cheese or baloney. It was not considered unhealthy, although it wasn’t sold as a health food either. To call bread “the staff of life” would raise eyebrows. Such a designation would be considered inaccurate to say the least.

Yet historians often note that civilization was partly based on the invention of bread. That’s because humans needed the nourishment of grains and one of the best ways to preserve grain was to bake it into bread. In that sense, for many cultures bread was not only nutritious, it also kept people healthy and alive.

And that’s how it was at the time when Jesus lived. So, when he talked about how he would use bread to connect believers with him, they easily understood his point. They knew that the eating of bread was directly related to their personal survival.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

June 7, 2020 – The Most Holy Trinity - John 3:116-18

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

Our faith and trust in God are tested in difficult times – like what we are living through these days. We are all growing restless and tired as we continue to live during the limitations placed on us during the Covid-19 pandemic. We mourn for those who have been taken from our midst. We worry about our own health and that of others, particularly those we know who are frail. Many of us are also struggling because of lost jobs or reduced employment. We are not accustomed to the many limits imposed on us these days. Still, we try to do our best.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

May 31, 2020 – Pentecost Sunday - John 20:19-23

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

Many of us have recently learned a bit about the importance of our respiratory activity. That’s because our system of breathing is the primary target of the coronavirus. Most who die from the virus lose the capacity to breath. And what’s more central and essential to human life than breathing?       

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

May 24, 2020 – Seventh Sunday of Easter - John 17:1-11

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

Our awareness of life and death has increased dramatically over the last few weeks. Thousands and thousands have tragically died during the coronavirus pandemic. So, it is almost impossible not to think of those who have died and to think about our own life in terms of our own eventual death.

From this Sunday’s gospel we recall that Jesus himself carried similar thoughts, especially as he neared the end of his own life. He thanked God for his life, a reminder that besides being divine himself, he was also human. Yet he fully believed that the end of his earthly life was not the end of him. He spoke of returning to the Father. He mentioned in his prayer toward the end that he had completed what he was sent to do, which was to offer to us an incredible gift from God. Eternal life!

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

May 17, 2020 – Sixth Sunday of Easter - John 14: 15-21

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

The air was heavy with fear and distress. Recently Jesus has upset those who used temple worship for their own ends, that of making money for themselves. Jerusalem at the time was filled with pilgrims who had come to celebrate the Passover. The Roman authorities were thus on guard because they were worried about a local political uprising against their occupation. They were especially concerned that a local person might excite the people to rebellion. They had set up on a hill at the edge of Jerusalem a set of crosses that were being used to eradicate anyone they felt was dangerous. Like I said, there was fear in the air on all sides.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

May 10, 2020 – Fifth Sunday of Easter - John 14:1-12

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.

Over the years, many books have been published summarizing “the greatest” of this or that. Like “Greatest short stories” or “Greatest sayings” or “Greatest poems.” And now with the sports world mostly shut down, we are offered on TV “Greatest Super Bowls” or “Greatest fights of the century” or “Greatest blunders in baseball.” Since we are so limited now, it’s good to be able to see the greatest of something.

If we were to list “the Greatest sayings of Jesus,” a passage from this Sunday’s gospel would likely qualify. It is this: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know the Father.”