We are workers in the vineyard of the Lord, and it is not for us to hoard the profits for ourselves, but to get a harvest for God. So in Lent, we do not simply work on our own holiness, but in being more effective evangelizers.
In his parable of the rich man ignoring poor Lazarus at his door, Jesus taught us that God wants us to care for the poor at our door, so we can enjoy good things, as long as we do not do it to the exclusion of helping others in need.
After a long day of healing, Jesus wakes early the next morning to go out to a deserted place to have time to pray. We all need intimate times of prayer in order to continue preaching and healing others.
When the people pursued Jesus across the lake, he did not admonish them, but felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Do we have that compassion for the needs of others?
In today's Gospel, Jesus heals Simon Peter's mother-in-law, who not only gets up to serve Jesus, but opens up the house to be a center of healing for all those who needed it. Are we willing to open our hearts and our homes to all who need?
In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us that John the Baptist is Elijah, calling people to repentance so that the Messiah could arrive, and we could build a universal brotherhood.
Jesus tells us "Come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." The prophet Isaiah proclaims that with God's help "they will run and not grow weary." Let us welcome God's healing, renewing grace into our lives so that we can extend this grace to others.
Jesus told his disciples the parable of the unjust judge who nonetheless rendered justice for the persistent widow out of fear. Is our image of God even worse than that of the unjust judge? What king of faith do we have in God?
Jesus tells us that sins against him will be forgiven, but not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit unites in love, and to sin against it would be to divide with hate.
In this Halloween season, when we see scary masks, we are reminded by Jesus that we should not fear the dead, but instead should fear wearing masks ourselves—that is, being hypocrites.
