The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

February 9, 2025 -Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time,  Luke 5:1-11

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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Peter was a good experienced fisherman. But there were times when he and his fellow fishermen returned to their home port with empty nets. Even after having spent hours and hours hoping for at least a few fish to bring back to market. So, in today’s gospel we meet a very discouraged Peter, who after fishing most of the night, returned home with no fish.

Jesus was there on the dock with a smile, and after being informed of Peter’s bad luck on the sea, Jesus calmly suggested that Peter get back in his boat and give it another try. Peter’s immediate response to Jesus is not recorded. Yet we can imagine the look on Peter’s face. Here’s a local carpenter, who likely never even caught a fish in his life, telling Peter, a seasoned angler, to go back out to fish after hours and hours of wasted effort.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

February 2, 2025 – The Presentation of the Lord- Luke  2:22-40

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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I don’t know if I am as old as was Simon, the elderly person mentioned in today’s gospel who waited and waited to meet the Messiah, but his encounter with Jesus is important to reflect on for all of us, including me. As the gospel implies, this elderly man lived in the hope that on some wonderfully fine day he would meet the one promised by God in his religious tradition as the one sent by God to fulfil the hopes of his people.

As many scholars of that time point out, the air was filled with expectations of such an event. And Simon experienced this moment of fulfilment when Jesus was brought to Jerusalem to be offered as one in the service of God’s chosen people. We might be a little envious of Simon because we may think that we have not enjoyed a similar event. Or have we?

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

January 26, 2025 –Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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Did you ever think about how fortunate we are to have the four gospel accounts of the life of Jesus? They were written well before the invention of the printing press, and certainly before we had typewriters and laptops. Further, the four gospels have stood the test of time for reliability as trustworthy accounts of the life, the activities and teachings of our lord and saviour, Jesus Christ. Each gospel has a unique tone and emphasis which is not surprising. In no significant way do they disagree with each other. Another amazing point.

Today’s gospel provides us with some background for the creation of Luke’s gospel. In brief, Luke states that while he was not an eyewitness to many of the events he describes, he did research and collected the basic facts of the life of Jesus as were available to him.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

January 19, 2025 – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

John 2:1-11

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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Most of us are familiar with John’s account of the wedding feast at Cana. It’s one of those times during the life of Jesus where we can draw many lessons. For instance, it points to a positive view of marriage, which the Church eventually listed among its sacraments. It highlights the importance of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the ministry of Jesus.

But here I want to stress the inherent value of joy and celebration in our lives. It appears that Jesus himself enjoyed a good party. He even arranged for the celebration to continue after the beverage supply had run out. He even arranged that the wine he supplied was better than the original offering. He wanted everyone at the feast to be happy and have a good time. Especially the bride and groom. Yes, there are times when life is difficult and trying.  But there are also good times. When they arrive be sure to enjoy them. And be thankful for them.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

January 12, 2025 -The Baptism of the Lord

Luke 3:15-22

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The gospels draw a sharp distinction between John the Baptist and Jesus. This was not intended to downgrade the ministry of John the Baptist, but to contrast it with what Jesus did. The work of Jesus was more important than John’s. And this can be shown especially by how the evangelist, Luke, describes the baptism of each. It’s interesting to note that there is no record of Jesus ever baptizing anyone.

Here I want to point out the profound meaning of the baptism of Jesus by using the gospel expression that the baptism of Jesus was of the Holy Spirit and fire. There’s no mention of water but given the early sacramental ministry of the followers of Jesus, we can assume its presence in the rite.

So, three aspects of baptism come to mind. First, it is achieved by God’s Spirit. Second, it is done using water in some form. And finally, it is associated with fire. Symbolism is very important to communicate the full meaning of the baptism of Jesus.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

January 5, 2025 – The Epiphany of the Lord

Matthew 2:1-12

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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The event creating the feast of the Epiphany was a visit to the Holy Family in Bethlehem by three significant figures in ancient times. Once referred to as kings, we now know that was incorrect. Matthew called them magi who today would be referred to as learned men or scientists. Like many ancients they studied the night sky to find clues about the nature of reality. Today they would be called cosmologists or astronomers.

What guided them to Jesus was a star. A very bright star. Many years ago, I attended a presentation created by the Adler Planetarium in Chicago about a possible explanation of that guiding star. It was suggested that it might have been a confluence of planets (perhaps Mars, Jupiter or Venus) or a planet with the brightest star in our sky, Sirius. All are viewable in January to this day.

This was all described as a possible explanation, not scientifically probable. But an interesting hypothesis. I was about twelve years old when I viewed that presentations. I also bought the first book I ever purchased with my own money. It was called “The Stars.” Thus began my lifelong fascination with the universe which we currently inhabit.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

December 22, 2024 – Fourth Sunday of Advent  - Luke 1:39-45

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Right from the beginning of the greatest event in human history, there are surprises. But they are not the kind one might expect. For instance, think about the conception of Jesus. Mary his mother was an ordinary woman who lived in an ordinary place. My guess is that she blended in with the crowd as she passed each day with her family members and neighbors.

And clearly Mary was totally surprised with the visit of the angel inviting her to be a part of God’s entrance into our world. Her first thought was likely some version of “why me? I’m a nobody. Nothing special at all.” She might have asked why wasn’t the daughter of a king, a high priest or someone already distinguished? Are you sure God want me?

Let’s continue with the story. Already pregnant with Jesus, Mary learns that her cousin Elizabeth is also with child. Being the kind of person she is, Mary decides to visit her to see if she can be of assistance. She didn’t have comfortable transport like we do. Likely she had to walk on the trails nearby. Not easy for one with child. That’s what we read about in today’s gospel. Again, we are invited to think about God’s plan to use ordinary people in simple circumstances to achieve God’s decision to become one of us. God involved people of ordinary means, just like most of us.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

December 15, 2024 – Third Sunday of Advent  - Luke 3:10-18

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Last week, we thought about the mission of John the Baptist. He prepared the way of the Lord by making straight the path to him. To do this he engaged in a ministry of penance, repentance and a preaching that was laser-focused on the coming of Jesus, the Christ. Be prepared, he said. God is coming in the person of Jesus. And believe the “good news.” Those words are equivalent to the concept of “Gospel.” Some contemporary translations of the New Testament actually use that phrasing for the essential message of Jesus. Thus, when we read the gospels, reflect on their meaning and importance by thinking of them as “good news.”

As I thought about that simple phrase, I asked myself where do I hear good news today? Immediately I thought of the news that is reported on daily television. I also recalled my reading of the newspaper. And my acquaintance with daily podcasts and reports that I read online. Do they report “good news” or something else? You can answer for yourself, but I must admit that what I mostly hear or read about is not good news! In fact, its spans the spectrum from news that is “not so bad” to what is terrible. Mostly “bad news.”

So, what is this good news that John the Baptist mentions, or that Jesus himself communicates to his contemporaries (and to us) in his own ministry? Not just any word, but God’s word describing the deepest meaning of what was, what is and what will be? What’s “good” about that?

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

December 8, 2024 – Second Sunday of Advent - Luke 3:1-6

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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I love visiting art museums. I have been blessed with opportunities to view the collections of many of the great museums both in the United States and Europe. One thing I noticed was that many museums feature religious paintings. But they are not scenes of churches or portrayals of God’s astounding creation, but of people. Especially three.

Jesus (certainly to be expected), his mother Mary (also no surprise there) and then a third person which made me wonder. Why so much attention on him? He is hardly mentioned in the Bible and only early on in the life of Christ.

Of course, I am referring to John the Baptist, that wily character who spent most of his time in the desert, feasting on its delicacies of various insects and for seasoning, he used wild honey. Eventually he made it to the Jordan River and began a solo preaching career, calling people to be repentant in their lives.

The Nazareth Page- A gospel meditation for your home

December 1, 2024 – First Sunday of Advent - Luke 21:25-36

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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As we begin a new year in the church, we are immediately met with a gospel about the “end of the world,” an interesting twist to encourage us to look at time a bit differently.

Most of us have been introduced to images of what it will be like at the end. Or when it will happen. I learned about this future “event” in Catholic grade school. As I recall learning about it, my fear level immediately increased. It sounded very scary.

Many churches believe that this event will include the return of Jesus – a second coming. Often this future event might involve a massive separation of the good people from the bad ones – of those already dead and those soon to die -the so-called Last Judgment. This would possibly be accompanied by spectacular cosmic, often destructive events. Some Christians believe that the end is immanent. Until it isn’t.