While at sea with his disciples, Jesus rebuked a violent squall and told it to be quiet, and it obeyed. His disciples were amazed. Can we trust in the power of Jesus? Do we have a sense of the awesomeness of God?
Jesus famously said that we cannot serve two masters, God and mammon. If we serve God first, then we can have healthy attitude towards our own material goods, not clinging to them, but using them to help those who do not have enough.
The Letter of James advises those who are sick to be anointed with oil by the elders of the church, which is part of the basis for our Anointing of the Sick, a beautiful sacrament of healing and comfort that does not need to be put off until the end of life.
Building on Jesus' teaching against divorce and the Church's teaching that the family as the domestic church is the basic building block of a stable society, we are challenged to reach out to help families that are struggling, to help them draw closer to God's love.
Jesus tells us, "if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you." We feed our faith and our souls by regularly and devoutly partaking in the Eucharist.
Philip explained the Good News of Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch, who then immediately demanded to be baptized. This is a day to reflect on the great gift of Baptism that has been offered to all of us.
In today's Gospel we get a hint that Caiaphas wants to kill Jesus in order to maintain his political power. Today our politicians sometimes try to protect their vested interest rather than working for the common good.
Jesus' enemies want to stone him because he is preaching a vision of Judaism that is different than their own. Can we look upon what is new with eyes of love that try to understand rather than with condemnation?
Jesus tells his followers whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant. This is looking at the world the way God sees it, the right way up, unlike when we have allowed our own vision to be skewed, thinking servanthood is low.
Jesus admonished the Pharisees to be more humble. Humility is seeing ourselves as God sees us, not more or less, which allows us to become purified of our bad qualities because we also see the good.
On this Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we celebrate Jesus as the Light of the World by blessings candles and committing ourselves to be light for others.
In today's Gospel, Jesus gives instructions to his disciples, who are open to accepting his wisdom and applying it to themselves. This is the virtue of docility, which is not so popular today, but important for learning nonetheless.
