On the Threshold

Gospel for Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time By Glen Argan I dislike this Gospel of the sneering Sadducees with their conjured-up yarn of the woman widowed seven times over (Luke 20.27-38). These wealthy dudes feign sympathy for the poor widow who ends up in “heaven” married to the seven brothers. Some paradise! We think of the

Gospel for Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 By Glen Argan Jesus’ visit to the house of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector in Jericho, is perhaps the most challenging story in the New Testament (Luke 19.1-10). “Toll collector” is the more accurate term for Zacchaeus’ occupation. No doubt backed up by a gang of thugs, Zacchaeus would extort a toll from those

Gospel for October 23, 2016 The parable in Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 18.9-14) is straightforward. Yet, it is noteworthy that the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector praying in the Temple is only told in Luke’s Gospel. So too with the parable told last Sunday, that of the widow and the unjust judge. The two parables come after Luke’s

Responsorial Psalm for Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016 By Glen Argan The psalmist is nervous: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will come my help?” (Psalm 121.1) Just over a year ago, my wife Nora and I walked through the French Pyrenees, the first stage of a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The weather

Gospel for Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016 By Glen Argan On the face of it, Jesus’ healing of the 10 lepers (Lk 17.11-19) is a great Gospel for Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend. Jesus is walking to Jerusalem. He encounters some lepers and sends them to see the priests. On the way, all 10 see they are healed of leprosy, but only one