Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 12: 28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
    Hear, O Israel! 
    The Lord our God is Lord alone!
    You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
    with all your soul, with all your mind, 
    and with all your strength.
The second is this:
    You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
    He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
    with all your understanding,
    with all your strength,
    and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

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Imagine hearing those words from Jesus.

The man in the Gospel is a scripture scholar – and likely a very virtuous person – who is complimented by Jesus for his efforts. 

Then he’s reassured, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

I wonder what this man was missing.

I wonder what we might be missing.

If knowledge of God and a virtuous life leads us to the brink of the kingdom but not into it, then what helps us cross the finish line?

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Discipleship, which at its heart is love.

It’s one thing to know the commandments, and another to be proactive in putting them into practice day after day.

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, and with all your soul,” Jesus says, “and your neighbor as yourself.”

What would it look like for me to love God and my neighbor just a little more today?

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“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Keep loving your God and your neighbor as yourself and then you’ll cross the finish line.

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Image credits: (1) Amazon.com (2) Pantocrator, Sinai (3) Blessed Sacrament Youth Ministry

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Mark 12: 18-27

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.’
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
    I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 
    and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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A few years ago, I traveled to Abu Dhabi, smack dab in the Middle East. One evening, I was hosted by a gentleman – not of our faith – who asked me many questions about Christianity.

One of them was, “How can God become a baby?”

That’s something I’m sure many children have asked their parents after attending church on Christmas day. “How can God become a baby?”

The difference between those children and my host was the disposition from which they ask.

Children are trusting, curious, and innocent. They soak up knowledge like sponges. 

This man, however, was asking from a place of disbelief. Nothing I said would’ve opened his heart to Christ.

Then it hit me: 

For those who don’t believe, no answer will be enough.

But for those who already believe, no answer is necessary.

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In the Gospel today, Jesus faces a similar crowd. Like my host in Abu Dhabi, the Sadducees aren’t interested in Christ at all; rather, they want to make him look like a fool.

“A woman married seven brothers,” they say, “but she bore no children. At the resurrection, whose wife will she be?”

Even if Jesus answers them, no words will be enough. They will not believe.

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Faith is ultimately a matter of the heart. 

While you and I still may have questions about our faith, it boils down to trust. Like innocent children, we believe Jesus, who says, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”

May the Lord grant us the reward of our faith: eternal life.

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Image credits: (1) Haiku Deck (2) The Thorncrown Journal (3) Patheos

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Gospel: Mark 12: 13-17

Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent
to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him,
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion.
You do not regard a person’s status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or should we not pay?”
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them,
“Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one to him and he said to them,
“Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
They were utterly amazed at him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”

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The Pharisees know how much the Jews hated paying taxes. They wanted their own land and their own government; they wanted to rule themselves.

If Jesus tells the Jews it’s lawful to pay their taxes, then he’ll appear to be a friend of Rome, and in opposition to their cause.

But if he tells the Jews not to pay their taxes, then he can be arrested as an enemy of the State.

It’s a catch-22.

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“Bring me a denarius to look at,” Jesus says.

Where else will the Pharisees draw a coin from but their very own pockets?

As much as they hate to admit it, they, too, paid their taxes. “So, repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” Jesus says, “but to God what belongs to God.”

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What belongs to God?

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We do.

In one of the very first verses in the bible, God says, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.” 

Meaning, Caesar can have our coin. 

But God is deserving of our lives.

How do I give God my life? What would it look like to hand over a little more of myself today?

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“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

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Image credits: (1) Got Questions (2) Coin Talk (3) Compelling Truth