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  Friday – 9 th Week of Ordinary Time    Gospel - Mark 12:35-37 Scratching my head! The Chair Ever have the experience of going to a teacher to get them to explain something they said in class?   And the teacher provides a lengthy, confusing, convoluted response.   And you walk away even more confused and even more filled with questions than you did before!    Yes, I know, many of my students had that happen when I talked about the “ chair ”.   So many questions!     Even my grandsons were like: “please don’t go there; you’re making my head hurt”, Sometimes, I offered too few words in explanation.   I can’t begin to count how many times I would write a single word on a student’s report or homework assignment.   VAGUE!!!   Yes, I know, that was probably not very helpful! In many ways, throughout the Gospels, Jesus does exactly that.   He challenges us, makes us think and not just blindly swallow whatever He is...
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  Thursday – 9 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Mark 12:28-34 Love is the Answer, and the Question Church of Transfiguration, Mt Tabor Finally!   A Pharisee asking Jesus an honest question and actually agreeing with His answer!   There are 616 precepts in Jewish Law and asking Jesus which one is the greatest is probably asking for trouble.   Jesus’ answer perfectly sums it all up.   Why obey all those precepts?   Love, love is the answer.   I obey the law because I love the law-giver – God!   Because I want the relationship to be strong and to flourish. It’s that love of a parent for a child, the willingness to get up in the middle of the night to give them a glass of water even though you were sleeping soundly.   It’s a love that goes out of its way to comfort them when they are sick or skinned their knee.   It’s a love that joyfully shares in their laughter even when you have a long list of jobs to do around the house.  ...
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  Wednesday – 9 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Mark 12:18-27 1 Bride for 7 Brothers? Wedding Chapel, Cana Hypocrisy – Round 2!   Today it’s the Sadducees turn to try and get under Jesus’ skin by asking a ridiculous question about heaven.   What if a woman ended up marrying 7 men (brothers)?   Then to whom is she married when she gets to heaven?   It reminds me of grade school religion class when we would play ‘stump the teacher’!   If God is all-powerful, can He make so big and heavy that He can’t lift it???? Let’s be clear; the Sadducees don’t even want an answer from Jesus; they just want to make Him look foolish.   They don’t even believe in a resurrection.   And that, I think, is the point.   Their only focus is on this life. They believe there is nothing after death.   They believe that any reward or punishment happens to us in this life, not the next.   So they can only conceive of heaven in human terms, in terms o...
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