The Two Sons After Jesus drove out the money changers and those who were selling and buying in the temple area (cf. Matthew 21:12-13), the chief priests and elders of the temple challenged His authority for doing so. Jesus then directed the parable of the two sons to them: A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he…
The Workers in the Vineyard The parable of the workers in the vineyard has been interpreted in many ways. However, the meaning of the parable can become quite clear after we figure out who is represented by what:• The owner represents God.• The workers represent those who are called to follow Jesus Christ.• The vineyard represents the world.• The work in the vineyard represents following Jesus Christ by LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOR.• The daily wage represents the kingdom of heaven.…
To forgive or not to forgive The servant in the parable (Matthew 18:21-35) begged for forgiveness and his master forgave his large debt. However, when a fellow servant begged for forgiveness for a much smaller debt, he was ruthless and he had the fellow servant thrown in prison until the debt was repaid. The master called him a wicked servant because despite being granted a huge favor, he showed no pity towards others. As a result, he was handed over…
Fraternal correction In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples how they are to deal with a fellow disciple who sins and yet remains within the community. First, the correction should be done in private; if this doesn’t work, then correction should be done in the presence of two or three witnesses; if this fails, then the matter is to be brought before the Church. If the sinner still refuses to be corrected, then he is to be expelled from the…
Life and Death In Matthew 16, Jesus began to talk to His disciples about the Sacrifice that He was about to make in Jerusalem – a sacrifice that involved great suffering and death. But Peter rebuked Jesus and said, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Matthew 16:22-23) For some…
Keys of the Kingdom After Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the…
Faith and Grace The story of the Canaanite woman in the Gospel of Matthew is not a favorite of many because in it, Jesus makes an unmistakable reference to the Canaanite woman as a dog. Some commentaries soften it by saying that Jesus was just teasing her, or perhaps Jesus did not use the term “dog” but another term for “cute puppy”, because cute puppies beg so persistently from their masters. However, in Jesus’ time, the terms “dog” and “swine”…
Faith and Doubt In the midst of a strong wind while they were in a boat tossed about by the waves, the disciples were terrified when they saw someone walking on the sea; thinking that it was a ghost, they cried out in fear. Therefore, Jesus called out at once: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Having heard the voice of Jesus, Peter called to Jesus, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you…
Transfiguration of the Heart The Transfiguration of the Lord is one of the significant events which happened to Jesus on earth. Other examples are His Birth, His Baptism, His Passion and Death, His Resurrection and Ascension. What is the significance of the Transfiguration? A bright cloud cast over Jesus and the three apostles, which indicated the presence of the LORD as it did in the Book of Exodus: A cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the…
Three Parables In the Parable of the Treasure (cf. Matthew 13:44), a person finds a treasure buried in a field and joyfully sells everything he has in order to buy the field. Similarly, in the Parable of the Pearl (cf. Matthew 13:45-46), a merchant searches and finds a pearl of great value, and he sells everything he has in order to buy it. In both parables, a person finds something so valuable that they give up everything they have in…