The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’” John… Continue reading John in the Wilderness

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when… Continue reading Asleep on the Job

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will… Continue reading On the Right Side of Things

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another two; to a third, one–to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with… Continue reading Getting Into the Game

Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five wise. For the foolish ones, in taking the lamps, did not take oil with them. But the wise ones took oil in flasks with… Continue reading Now, Not Later

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples saying, “As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master.’ You have but one master, the Christ. The… Continue reading One-upmanship Put Down

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and… Continue reading Conjoined Twins

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you… Continue reading Entrapment

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people, “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But… Continue reading Dressed to the Nines

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When the vintage time drew near,… Continue reading Outside the Gates