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Like Jesus in today’s Gospel, can we turn ‘our cross’ into love that is fruitful for others?

March 17, 2024

“When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32) In today’s Gospel, Jesus expresses his desire to save everyone by turning suffering into glory. It begins when some Greeks want to see Jesus and they approach one of his apostles who has a Greek name, Philip, who

Like Moses and the bronze serpent, we must take heed of the cross and contemplate what kills us: sin

March 11, 2024

“The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3:14-15) In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus’ words to Nicodemus would have brought to his mind a scene from the book of Numbers: the Israelites are dying of snake

Jesus’s wrath in the Temple: Why does Our Lord get angry and how does He get away with it?

February 29, 2024

“Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money-changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’” (John 2:15-16) In this coming Sunday’s Gospel, we have one

The Transfiguration of Jesus calls us to be obedient like Abraham

February 25, 2024

“Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain” (Mark 9:2). Sunday’s Gospel of Jesus’s Transfiguration is paired with the narrative of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac in the first reading, prompting the question: What is the link? Jesus says to His disciples: “If any man would

Those who suffer in the cause of ‘righteousness’: Alexei Navalny’s Christian conversion

February 20, 2024

The unexpected death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in mysterious circumstances at a Russian penal colony has drawn comment from around the world, especially about his mistreatment by the Russian State and Vladimir Putin. What is often left out in such commentary, certainly by mainstream media, is the role that faith played for Navalny in

Jesus’s favourite reference when preaching: the Book of Psalms

February 19, 2024

The Book of Psalms is the most quoted book in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. As a man of prayer, the Lord regularly prayed and cited the psalms in his teachings. He also used the psalms to reveal who he was, as his life reflected the teachings, aspirations, and aspects of holiness

Curing the sick and casting out demons: Christ’s earthly ministry was to heal and to cleanse

February 13, 2024

The last two “ordinary” Sundays before Lent begins tomorrow, 14 February on Ash Wednesday, saw us reading from the first chapter of St Mark’s Gospel. Here we see the beginning of Christ’s ministry of preaching, curing the sick and casting out demons, and there are some important features that we should note from these two

The mystery of Jesus’s ‘stern’ moment with the leper (and with us)

February 08, 2024

“Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone'” (Mark 1:43-44). Our lectionary translation for part of this forthcoming Sunday’s Gospel uses the word “sternly” for how Jesus speaks to the leper he has just healed. But does this translation really work? On one hand, Jesus has reason to