Simon Peter is one of the first and closest disciples of Jesus. As his travelling companion for something like three years, Simon Peter has had many first-hand experiences of Jesus, but has also observed how others have responded to him. In this passage, we witness again how Jesus uses questions
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Within the culture of Jesus’ time, there were those who insisted that the ills of society were due to certain traditional religious laws not being observed rigorously enough. More specifically, some were trying to claim moral superiority (and some measure of power) by being hyper vigilant about what, how and
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From the Book of Genesis, we hear the next part of the story of the people whom God has chosen and who have, in turn, chosen to follow God. Like most relationships, this relationship is complicated to say the least. On the run from a serious family rift, he has
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In the Genesis reading, we hear about how Isaac and his wife Rebekah engage with parenthood after fertility struggles. Sadly, even disappointingly, once children are born we hear how Isaac has not learned from his own family of origin about the importance of cultivating a good relationship between siblings. From
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One of the things that makes the scriptures of our faith so powerful is how they refuse to sugarcoat the history of the family of faith. Even the depths of humanity are remembered including Sarah’s demand that Abraham’s son Ishmael and his mother Hagar be banished. The reading from Matthew’s
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In his letter to a community of faith in Rome, Paul acknowledges that a life of faith in God will not be easy, but can be bearable and even, eventually, hopeful. Jesus began his work toward the renewed kin-dom of God and, even while he was still alive, he brought
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Once we have decided that we are on the best and right path to fulfill the divine hope for this world, is there anything left to do but travel on? If the answer is “yes”, we may have a problem.
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We live in a complex and dynamic world. As followers of Jesus we are called to acknowledge and proclaim that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In some parts of the world this proclamation has led to the persecution of Christians, as Stephen (in the passage from
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As Jesus speaks, we learn that even in the apparently simpler times of Palestine two thousand years ago, there was more than one group and individuals vying for followers. Like then, we need to hone our listening so that we can better choose which voices we respond to. The Epistle
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It appears that the disciples have heard, but have certainly not believed Mary’s testimony of having encountered the resurrected Jesus. They have gathered together in fear, behind locked doors, to grieve Jesus’ death. When he appears to them, the first thing he does is to offer them a blessing of
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