Mary M. McGlone

Every now and then, we see someone whose face, maybe even his or her whole being, appears radiant. People speak of brides and grooms as glowing with joy. It is even more than joy. It might appear when parents first behold their child, or see that child accomplish something wonderful. We seem to glow in moments of genuine fulfillment and love. When we understand what has caused that sort of feeling to shine forth from others, we get a glimpse of their deepest desires and the essence of who they are. That is what the disciples saw happen to Jesus as he prayed on the mountain.

Scripture for Life: Although we can't go up that same mountain nor enjoy encounters with God as did Abraham, the Gospels were written to allow us to contemplate Jesus and, like the disciples, to learn how he is God for us in every sense of the phrase. 

As we begin Lent, Luke tells us a story in which the challenge of tempting Jesus makes the devil so desperate that he actually imitates Jesus and quotes Scripture to induce him to betray his identity and vocation.

Scripture for Life: As we begin Lent, Luke tells us a story in which the challenge of tempting Jesus makes the devil so desperate that he actually imitates Jesus and quotes Scripture to induce him to betray his identity and vocation.

It seems to me that we often tend to hear the Gospel too piously. When I picture a scene in which Jesus preached today’s Gospel, I wonder if he might have blindfolded a couple of kids to illustrate his point.

Scripture for Life: The Gospel for this Sunday calls us to question the opinions we hold and to be cautious about where we look for guidance. The quest for a good guide is far from easy.

When I was a high school sophomore, we had a teacher that some of us disliked. When I complained to my mom, she told me that I must pray for the teacher. When I repeated my grumbling days later, Mom asked if I had done what she said. I said, “Yes.” In response to her raised eyebrows, I continued, “It was nearly impossible, but, yes, I am praying for her … to have a happy death before the end of the semester.”

Scripture for Life: What is Jesus asking when he tells us to pray for those who mistreat us?

Luke won’t let us blink or turn away. He portrays Jesus as looking up at the people of the world and addressing us with the words, “Blessed are you who are poor” and “Woe to you who are rich.”

Scripture for Life: What are we who live in great comfort to make of this presentation of the "good news"? Rather than quibble and wiggle with phrases like "poverty of spirit," we need to face Luke's presentation of the Beatitudes as it is.

What was Peter expecting when he let Jesus commandeer his boat as a pulpit? He had already met and heard Jesus and had even invited him to dine in his home where he saw Jesus heal his mother-in-law.

Scripture for Life: What was Peter expecting when he let Jesus commandeer his boat as a pulpit? Little did Peter know that when he said, "At your command, I will lower the nets," he was paraphrasing Jesus' mother.

Scripture for Life: Both Jeremiah and Jesus were headed for trouble precisely because God had set their sights on a panorama much wider, and a faithfulness much deeper than their contemporaries wanted to consider.

When was the last time you were in church and heard a truly breathtaking homily, saw people moved to tears by the challenge they heard, or witnessed a prophetic challenge to pious decorum?

Scripture for Life: When was the last time you were in church and heard a truly breathtaking homily, saw people moved to tears by the challenge they heard or witnessed a prophetic challenge to pious decorum? 

“There’s nothing worth doing that isn’t worth overdoing.” Thus spoke one of my delightfully irreverent college friends. Impudent as that sounds, it echoes one commentary about the first of Jesus’ signs recorded in John’s Gospel.

Scripture for Life: Obviously, the wedding at Cana story is not a story about marriage and family. Nevertheless, it is a story about a marriage feast. In John's Gospel, it is the first act in the Messiah's mission to bring the union of God and humanity to fulfillment.

“The people were filled with expectation.” That is how Luke described the excitement around John the Baptist.

Scripture for Life: Jesus' response to his baptism reminds us that the ceremony is but one tiny moment, the meaning of which is determined by how we live it out. Observing him, we realize that baptism does not give us a status but a mission. 

What would happen if a group of Romanian Gypsies or Afghan Muslims showed up at the parish or chancery, announcing that they had come to find the reformer who was about to make our church into what it ought to be?