The Lord went about teaching. He backed the authority he possessed by performing prodigious deeds like miracles. The people listened to him and believed him because Jesus provided them with motives of credibility. One of these motives of credibility is miracles.

The gospel to celebrate the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple reminds us of certain actions we need to monitor in our lives. Basically, it is the movement of presenting ourselves before the Lord. The devil hates this because what he wants is that we depart from him. The inches he succeeds in distancing us from our Savior are a point for him. We are therefore going in the opposite direction if we are not moving toward God's place or direction. Simeon reported to the temple to witness his salvation, and that meant seeing Jesus. Mary and Joseph also reported to the Temple to do as the Law specified. Let us get used to this. Otherwise, it is hell we are headed to.

If we would like to get a good idea of what God's Kingdom would look like, we have this opportunity in today's gospel about the Beatitudes. Jesus offers himself as a good model embodying the characteristics of how our lives should strive to look like. On top of the commandments that God offered Moses to put before the people of Israel, Jesus delivers his pitch in the famous Sermon on the Mount. He perfects and fulfills those commandments with the Beatitudes.

Our dear Lord Jesus Christ performed one of the more amazing miracles during his lifetime. He calmed a storm when urgently awakened by his disciples on a boat. He chastised them for their lack of faith.

Today, we listen to God's Word telling us about seeds again. They are sown, and they sprout and grow. However, the Lord directs our attention to the reality of those seeds springing into action in the fact of their growth. They become seedlings. Then, they grow further. How do they do that? We know not how. However, such a mystery does not prevent us from noticing the obvious, namely, they have grown. Later, in maturity, he cites the mustard seeds maturing and producing branches strong enough to carry perching birds. We can even enjoy their shade.

Jesus' teaching today includes a veiled warning about how we judge others. How we measure others--and this assumes we have a certain standard by which we assess the others--will be used with us as well. I have begun a long time ago to be merciful to the others, no matter what, because I would like God to be merciful with me too. It is as simple as that. Being very strict with the others, even to the point of being unfair in doing it because although we lack data we proceed to rashly judge them, or that we measure them by our own egoistic standards, then we will likewise get the same measure, but this time it will be God's standard. That will be totally difficult to top!

The Lord reminds us of the crucial role openness and willingness play relative to the Word of God. He employs the seed, the sower of the seed, and the different kinds of surfaces that receive that seed. Depending on that receptivity, that seed would either dry up or bear much fruit.

The end of Satan! That would be the day. We read in the gospel that Jesus was again under the microscope. His enemies claimed that he raised the dead by the power of Satan. He was in the payroll of hell. It sounds absolutely absurd. Jesus squarely and definitively attacks this accusation!

Jesus is the much-awaited Messiah foretold by the scriptures. He fulfilled all the prophecy markers found in the Old Testament. That meant he was destined to die to fulfill his mandate from his Father.

Today, we hear of a criticism about Jesus. They commented that he was crazy because he was working so hard that he was not concerned about eating. He let himself be occupied so much he did not consider taking care of himself. Questions about how much one worked without resting reasonably well so that one could work well later on. We could be bothered by this. Let us learn from the Master what he does and says.