The Extra Meisl: Sunday Gospel Reflections

"Does anyone know what Christmas is all about"? This is a question posed by Charlie Brown in "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Today in the Gospel (Luke 1:39–45), we hear the story of the Visitation. This meeting between two pregnant women, Mary and Elizabeth, teaches us some of what Christmas is all about: hospitality, welcome, service, and sharing the joy of Jesus.

4 Sunday Advent, year C

Advent is a time marked by the spirituality of waiting. Like when we sit in the arrivals area waiting for a loved one to return, the waiting of Advent reminds us of our need for Jesus and strengthens our desire to follow Him.

3 Sunday Advent: Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18

In Luke's account of the Baptist's preaching, we are reminded that the scope of Jesus' salvation is universal. Christ came to change our hearts and all structures of the world. While we wait for Jesus' return and the full actualization of His kingdom, we care called to build a more just and peaceful world.

2 Sunday Advent, year C

Bar 5:1-9; Phil 1; Lk 3:1-6

During this season of Advent, we pray that the life of Christ may be born anew in our hearts, especially in circumstances that seem hopeless and lifeless. As the mystic Angelus Silesius once wrote,“Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.”

1 Sunday Advent, year C

Jer 33:14–16; 1 Thess 3:12–4:2; Lk 21:25–36

We can feel powerless and insignificant when we consider the incredible wealth and oppressive and even violent power of some people. The Solemnity of Christ the King reminds us that Jesus exercises ultimate power and influence in an unexpected way, through selfless service to the least among us. When we follow Jesus' call to love others as He has loved us, our actions truly has significance now and forever.

Apocalyptic literature, like we find in the first reading and Gospel today (Dn 12:1–3; Mk 13:24–32), are some of the strangest and most difficult to decipher genres in the Bible. At their core, these texts are meant to inspire hope in a persecuted community. They convey that God is in control and therefore their suffering will not last forever. These texts encourage the community to live in faithfulness to the covenant. The Gospel in particular reminds us that Jesus is a light in our darkness.

Dn 12:1–3; Mk 13:24–32 

I think we all like to go people-watching from time to time. In the Gospel today (Mk 12:38–44), Jesus is in the Temple people-watching with His disciples. There he teaches them, and us, important lessons about who are the people worthy of our attention and imitation. Surprisingly, Jesus calls attention to a poor widow, calling us to imitate her sacrificial generosity.

32 Sunday OT, year B

In response to a question, Jesus gets back to basics, revealing the core of what it means to follow God's path: love God and love our neighbour (Mk 12:28b-34). In order to truly love our neighbour, we must get to know them so that we can serve them in the way that is truly best for them, not what we might think is best.

31 Sunday of Ordinary Time, B

In the Gospel today, we meet Bartimaeus (Mark 10:45-52). Although he is physically blind, he has better spiritual vision than others around him since he is able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and knows Christ will heal him. We can become spiritually blind when we fail to see Christ present in our neighbour and daily experiences.

30 Sunday of Ordinary Time, B

In the Gospel today (Mk 10:35-45), Jesus presents a vision of His community where all participate, all serve, and each and every voice matters. The Synod, currently happening in Rome, is an opportunity for the Church to become this kind of community.

29 Sunday OT, B