Gospel Mark 4:21-25 A lamp is to be put on a lampstand. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed? Surely you will put it on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’     He also said to them, ‘Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given – and more besides; for the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’ Reflection Jesus uses the vivid image of a lamp to teach us about the purpose of faith and knowledge. A lamp exists to give light, not to be hidden away. Similarly, the truth and grace we receive from God are meant to be shared openly, not concealed. This passage challenges us to consider whether we're living our faith visi...

Gospel Mark 4:1-20 The parable of the sower Jesus began to teach by the lakeside, but such a huge crowd gathered round him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there. The people were all along the shore, at the water’s edge. He taught them many things in parables, and in the course of his teaching he said to them, ‘Listen! Imagine a sower going out to sow. Now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and sprang up straightaway, because there was no depth of earth; and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away. Some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. And some seeds fell into rich soil and, growing tall and strong, produced crop; and yielded thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’     When he was a...

Gospel Mark 3:31-35 Who are my mother and my brothers? Those that do the will of God The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’ Reflection In this passage, Jesus redefines family in radical terms. When his biological family arrives seeking him, he doesn't dismiss them, but uses the moment to teach something profound: spiritual kinship transcends blood relations. By pointing to those gathered around him—ordinary people listening and learning—Jesus declares that doing God's will creates the deepest bonds of all. This isn't a rejection of fam...

Gospel Mark 3:22-30 A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.     ‘I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’ Re...

Gospel Matthew 4:12-17 He went and settled in Capernaum: in this way the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled: ‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations! The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.’ From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ Reflection Jesus begins his public ministry not in Jerusalem's temple or among the elite, but in Galilee—a region looked down upon, a place of mixed peoples and darkness. Yet it is precisely here that the light dawns. This reminds us that God's kingdom breaks into our world not where we expect ...

Gospel Mark 3:20-21 Jesus' relatives were convinced he was out of his mind Jesus went home, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind. Reflection This striking passage reveals the human cost of Jesus' radical ministry. Even those closest to him—his own family—misunderstood his mission so profoundly that they thought he'd lost his sanity. Jesus was so consumed with compassion for the crowds that he neglected basic needs like eating, behavior that seemed irrational to his relatives. This moment reminds us that genuine discipleship often appears foolish to the world, and sometimes even to those who love us most. Following God's call may lead us to choices that others find incomprehensible. Jesus himself experienced the loneliness of being misunderstood, even by his own household. Yet he persisted in his mission, demonstrating t...