Introduction for 18th to 22nd Sundays: We have finished reading Matthew’s Sermon on Parables and move now to a crucial narrative section dealing with the Church as First-fruits of God’s Kingdom/Reign. Repeatedly we will see how the crucial step to enter that Kingdom/Reign is a deep faith in Jesus, a faith that rejects all other […]

14th Sunday in ordinary time Background : This Sunday’s selection is the first from Matthew’s exploration of the meaning of the Kingdom/Reign of God. The evangelist often refers to the Kingdom/Reign of Heaven, but that is a pious Jewish euphemism. A Jewish perspective is also needed to appreciate the references to the “learned,” which refers

Trinity Sunday Background: Grace, love, fellowship—these words from the end of this Sunday’s selection from 2 Corinthians provide the common threads that runs throughout all the readings. Today’s focus is not on the inner relationships among the Persons of the Trinity but upon their relationships with us in both Old and New Testaments. As the