Gospel Commentary - The Arlington Catholic Herald

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Faith / Your Faith / Gospel Commentary

An ETA for the end times?

As we begin the season of Advent and a new liturgical year, our Gospel reading for this week is the traditional exhortation — keep watch. We begin each Advent remembering Christ will come again, yet we do not know specifically when Our Lord will return at the end of all things. Still, Jesus reminds us that we are like servants and door guards who know that the return is imminent. Thus, we ought to be ready at a moment’s notice to receive our master with all preparations and honor.

11/23/20

FR. RICHARD A. MISERENDINO

The rightful king

A peculiar feature of the early Israelite people, from the time of Moses to the time of the Judges, was that they had no earthly king. They had various kinds of leaders — priests, prophets, judges — who served as mediators through whom God led. But they had no king, because the Lord himself was the king of his people. It was for God and God alone to rule.

11/22/20

Steven Oetjen

Prepare early

In 1849, at the age of 7, after making his first holy Communion, St. Dominic Savio wrote a series of resolutions in his personal notebook. He declared the following: “I will go to confession often, and to holy Communion as often as my confessor allows, I will keep Sundays particularly holy, my friends will be Jesus and Mary, and I will choose death rather than sin.”

11/5/20

JOSEPH M. RAMPINO
The saints help us homeward

All Saints’ Day is a great day for remembering who we are and who we’re meant to be.More

10/28/20

RICHARD A. MISERENDINO

What lies behind the Law of Moses

A Pharisee asks Jesus, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” This question may not seem that difficult. What exactly is at stake? More

10/21/20

Steven Oetjen

Taking a cue from St. Paul: Give thanks for one another

St. Paul begins his letter to the Thessalonian community praising God and promising prayers for the Christians in that famous city: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly, calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.” More

10/14/20

Jack Peterson

Going to the wedding feast

One of the fastest ways to cut to the heart of Christ’s parables and understand what he intends, even through layers of symbolism, is to find the part of the parable that raises questions. This principle works well in the case of the parable of the wedding feast. Several strange details key us in to the fact that this is no ordinary wedding, and no ordinary set of invitations.More

10/7/20

JOSEPH M. RAMPINO

Receiving the messengers

The parable Jesus tells in our Gospel today perfectly encapsulates the phrase: “Don’t shoot the messenger.” Jesus is palpably frustrated with the lack of faith and comprehension shown by the chief priests and elders. How could the chief priests reject God himself when he’s right in front of their noses? As a result, he tells the story of the vineyard owner who is wronged by his tenant farmers: First they steal his produce, then they hurt his servants and messengers, and finally even put his son to death. It’s a story of unbelievable proportions, or so it seems. At the end, Jesus puts the question to his hearers: What would you do if you were the vineyard owner? Their answer is simple: Put those wicked men to death.More

9/30/20

RICHARD A. MISERENDINO

The Word that changes a river’s course

In today’s parable, a father asks his two sons to work in the vineyard. As for the first one, the text says, “He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards changed his mind and went.” As for the second, “He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,’ but did not go.” Note the asymmetry. For the first son, there was a moment in which he changed his mind. It seems obvious that to go from no to yes requires a change in between. In this case, we call it repentance. For the second son, however, no such moment of change is mentioned. Put simply, his yes was never really sincere.More

9/23/20

STEVEN OETJEN

Returning late in the day

I don’t know if you feel the same way, but for the past few weeks, the Lord, in the Gospels, has been really challenging my way of thinking. It is almost like he is grabbing me by the britches, turning me upside down and shaking loose certain preconceived, false views on life. Today’s Gospel passage is no different.More

9/16/20

Jack Peterson

A parable of forgiveness

Desperate people, experience tells us, will often make wild promises, swearing anything to God or others to avoid the final enclosure of despair in a moment of panic. It’s a pitiable moment whenever we see it in film or literature, and even more so if we experience it in real life. Christ’s parable about forgiveness provides us with just such a scene, illustrating for us the true drama of mercy.More

9/3/20

FR. JOSEPH M. RAMPINO

A roadmap to resolution

In this week's installment of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the famous roadmap to resolving conflicts and setting healthy boundaries. The entire passage presumes that Christian believers should be at harmony with each other. Why? Because we are in the presence of Christ, and by our baptism are grafted into the prince of peace himself. After all: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”More

9/2/20

RICHARD A. MISERENDINO |Gospel Commentary Sept. 6, Mt 18:15-20

You, too, take up your cross

It’s a shocking scene. Peter, just having heard Jesus foretell his coming suffering, death and resurrection for the first time, takes Jesus and rebukes him. “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” It seems like a loving concern the disciple has for his Master. But Peter is thinking as men do, not as God does. He does not realize the true nature of Jesus’ mission and that it involves suffering, dying and rising again.More

8/26/20

Steven Oetjen

‘Who do you say that I am?’

Imagine taking a walk with Jesus and a crowd of his disciples and watching him stop suddenly, turn around, look you in the eye, and ask you, “Who do you say that I am?”More

8/18/20

Jack Peterson

An important encounter

Few of Jesus’ interactions with people in the Gospels are more jarring than the one presented us this week. We are used to Christ as the understanding, merciful one who supports and encourages the poor. So when he initially refuses the request of this woman in trouble, even as she cries out “Lord, help me,” we can easily be troubled.More

8/12/20

JOSEPH M. RAMPINO

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