(Luke 5:1-11) Prayer – O Jesus, call me to serve you. Imagination: (See Peter on his knees before Jesus in the boat.) Context: Peter has witnessed many of Jesus’ miracles but this miracle is unique. Peter is a fisherman. He knows that filling both boats with fish is impossible in …
(Luke 4:38-44) Prayer: O Jesus, use your powers for me. Then, I will follow you wherever you go. Imagination: (Picture Jesus healing the sick.) Context: This text manifests Jesus’ great powers but it also shows his desire to avoid the limelight and to preach in other towns to complete his …
(Luke 4:31-37) Prayer: O Jesus, use your power to cleanse me. Imagination: (Picture Jesus in the synagogue.) Context: Rejected by the people of Nazareth, Jesus establishes his new base at Capernaum. The people receive him and, upon entering the synagogue, he casts out an unclean spirit. The people praise him …
(Luke 4:14-30) Prayer: O Jesus, never let me reject you and lose your blessing. Imagination: (Picture Jesus teaching in the synagogue of Nazareth.) Context: In Luke’s gospel, Jesus works some early miracles in Capernaum. Then, He returns to Nazareth and goes to the synagogue. He gives his inaugural speech, outlining …
(Luke 14:12-14) Prayer: O Jesus, let me help those who cannot repay me. Imagination: (Picture Jesus at table with the Pharisees.) Context: Jesus asks for a great holiness. His disciples must bless others with no hope of any return. Their reward will come at the resurrection. Gospel Text: (Read slowly, …
(Luke 14:7-11) Prayer – O Jesus, let me sit at your heavenly table. Imagination: (Picture Jesus at the banquet) Context: In Jesus’ time, the most important guests would arrive last. If someone took too high a place they would have to move down to the lower places. Jesus uses this …
(Matthew 25:14-30) Prayer: O Jesus, make me your faithful servant to whom you can entrust your blessings. Imagination: (Picture Jesus teaching His disciples.) Context: This parable is directed to the scribes. Surprisingly, the emphasis is upon the third servant (a symbol of the scribes). He has received the word of …
(Matthew 25:1-13) Prayer: O Jesus, I will go out to meet you. Imagination: (Picture Jesus with His disciples.) Context: In Jesus’ time, because marriages were delayed for hours until all the arrangements were worked out. Therefore, there were many midnight processions by torchlight with the bridegroom arriving unexpectedly. In this …
(Matthew 24:42-51) Prayer: O Jesus, I will watch for your return. Imagination: (Picture Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple with his disciples.) Context: This text contains two parables. The first likens God to a thief who breaks in at an unexpected time. The second is a servant. He can be faithful …
(Matthew 23:29-36) Prayer: O Jesus, free me from my blindness. Let me see the truth. Imagination: (Picture Jesus confronting his contemporaries.) Context: This is the longest of seven woes pronounced by Jesus. He prophesies his own death and the persecution of the Early Church. Gospel Text (Read slowly, possibly aloud.) …
(Matthew 23:35-37) Prayer: O Jesus, send your Holy Spirit, the fire of true repentance. Imagination: (Picture Jesus teaching inner holiness.) Context: Jesus continues to confront his opponents about their false teachings which lead many astray. “The cup and the dish” are people who follow the Pharisees. They are not taught …
(Matthew 23:13-23) Prayer: O Jesus, enlighten my path and lead my steps. Imagination: (Picture Jesus denouncing hypocrisy.) Context: Jesus is preaching in the temple during Holy Week. There, he meets severe opposition and must denounce false religious practices (which only increases the crowd’s anger). Jesus had given Peter the keys …
(Luke 13:24-30) Prayer: O Jesus, you are my Lord and Saviour. Imagination: (Picture Jesus with His disciples.) Context: By these parables, Jesus confronts his hearers. They understand, (all too well), what He means. He comes to their villages, preaches in their streets and eats with them. Yet, they do not …
(Matthew 23:1-12) Prayer: O Jesus, give me the heart of a servant. Imagination: (Picture Jesus instructing His disciples in humility.) Context: Jesus does not criticize the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees (although he alludes to moral rigorism). Instead, he attacks their practices of seeking honor and gaining title. This …
(Matthew 22:34-40) Prayer – O Holy Spirit, send your divine fire to help me love God and my neighbor. Imagination: (Pictures Jesus speaking to the Pharisees and the crowds.) Context: The Rabbis had 613 commandments, and a common question was, “Which is the greatest?” The Pharisees approach Jesus in a …
(Matthew 22:1-14) Prayer – O Jesus, may I always respond to your invitations. Imagination – (Picture Jesus confronting his enemies.) Context: The time is Holy Week. In the days before his capture, Jesus confronts his opponents in Jerusalem. In this parable, the invited guests are the Jerusalem leaders who refuse …
(Matthew 20:1-16) Prayer: O Jesus, You are a generous employer. Let me serve you faithfully. Imagination: (Picture Jesus with his disciples.) Context: This parable is about the Kingdom. As the day goes on, the men grow discouraged. They stop seeking work and “sit around idle.” The owner’s constant going to …
(Matthew 19:23-30) Prayer – O Jesus, teach me to set aside everything for love of you. Imagination: (Picture Jesus surrounded by his disciples.) Context: After the rich young man walked away, Jesus commented on the difficulty of the rich entering the Kingdom of God. In today’s text, Peter is a …
(Matthew 19:16-22) Prayer – O Jesus, I will sacrifice everything to follow you. Imagination: (Picture the young man asking Jesus about eternal life.) Context: The man’s “kneeling down” shows great piety and his question is excellent. He wants what Jesus offers, eternal life. In responding to his question, Jesus mentions …
(Luke 12:49-53) Prayer: O Jesus, light your fire in my heart. Imagination: (Picture Jesus teaching his disciples.) Context: This text contains two separate sayings of Jesus. The first shows his greatest desire – to cast the fire of the Holy Spirit upon all believers. The second speaks about the problems …
