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Jesus casts out the evil in our lives by strengthening us to overcome our moral deficiencies. His power is always at work to make us more like him.
READ
MT 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
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UNDERSTAND
by Father Greg Friedman, OFM
Jesus will perform wonders when and how he sees fit. Nobody has a claim on them. Jesus will work on his own terms.
The role of prophets such as John the Baptist was one that required great faith in view of their role to challenge religious and civil leaders.
Prayer, loving attention to our neighbor, consistent gratitude to God: all these are ways to keep ourselves aware that the Lord Jesus is on his way to judge the living and the dead.
I was surprised to read in an earlier “Ask” column that John the Apostle did not write the Gospel of John. Who did?
We are not entirely sure. First, I should point out that only around the year AD 125 were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John first identified by Papias as the authors of the Gospels. Some Gospels presumed to be written by other prominent Christians were not accepted into the Bible—the Gospel of Thomas, for example.
Earlier this year, I adopted a “sit-spotting ” nature meditation practice, which I wish I’d started doing a long time ago.
Every other morning, before dawn, I hike back into the forest behind our rural home, to a secluded spot where a spring-fed stream tumbles down layers of exposed limestone. I sit there for about half an hour, watching a small stretch of the stream and listening to the sounds of the water and the woodland. I journal for a bit, then I hike back home.
The kingdom involves the coming of Jesus in power and glory to judge the living and the dead, to discern each person’s final relationship with God.
For us, the challenge of the gospel remains real. We want to save face, keep from rocking the boat, avoid the embarrassment of taking an unpopular stand. But at what cost?
To some extent each of us is a hypocrite because none of us expresses in our actions the full limitations of our hearts. To what extent am I a hypocrite?
