Reflections on the Sunday Gospels. Year C: November 2016

Veronica Lawson is an Australian Sister of Mercy. She studied Scripture at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem and at Trinity College, Dublin. For many years, she lectured in Biblical Studies at the Australian Catholic University and its predecessor institutions before spending seven years as leader of her congregation. She regularly presents biblical workshops and lectures within Australia and throughout the world. Sr Veronica writes from an eco-feminist perspective and is the author of the recently published
'The Blessing of Mercy: Bible Perspectives and Ecological Challenges'.

Sr Veronica's weekly one page reflections on the Sunday Gospel Readings have a global circulation. Each month the next four reflections are published here on our mercyworld.org website in reverse chronological order so that the most current reflection is always at the top of the list.

Scroll down to find the one you wish to read.

Messages to: Veronica Lawson rsm

You are welcome to circulate these reflections. Please acknowledge the author, Sr Veronica Lawson rsm

27 November 2016 1st Sunday of Advent Year A (Matthew 24:37-44)

'“Where is the Life we have lost in living?” asks the Chorus in T. S. Eliot's The Rock. The Jesus of Matthew's gospel is implicitly asking much the same question as Eliot’s Chorus...'

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20 November 2016 Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Luke 23:35-43)

'Sadly, there have always been those who scoff at others or make fun of them, generally because they themselves feel threatened in some way. Those who suffer such bullying behaviour often feel powerless and demeaned...'

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13 November 2016 Ordinary Time 33C (Luke 21:5-19)

'Sixty years ago there was no Sydney Opera House. A hundred years ago there was no Harbour Bridge. It is hard to imagine a time when they did not exist or a time when they will cease to be, such is the status these monuments have acquired over a very short span of history...'

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6 November 2016 Ordinary Time 32 C (Luke 20: 27-38)

'Is there life after death? If so, what does that mean? Will we be united in death with those whom we have loved in this life? Do the bonds of love experienced in this life continue beyond the grave? Are our loved ones far from us in death? How do they live on, if indeed they do?...'

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30 October 2016 Ordinary Time 31C (Luke 19:1-10)

'Last week’s gospel story featured an unnamed toll collector, someone who found devious ways to make a living, yet faced his shortcomings and came before God in openness and humility...'

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23 October 2016 Ordinary Time 30C (Luke 18:9-14)

'The parable of the Pharisee and the toll collector follows that of the persistent widow and the unjust judge...'

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16 October 2016 Ordinary Time 29C (Luke 18:1-8)

 'Today’s gospel begins with a reference to prayer, a favourite theme in Luke, and ends with a question about faith...'

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 9 October 2016 Ordinary Time 28C (Luke 17:11-19)

'Every day we hear news of race riots, ethnic violence and discrimination somewhere in our world, often quite close to us...'

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2 October 2016 Ordinary Time 27C (Luke 17:5-10)

'Today’s gospel seems to be telling us that faith is somehow linked with doing what we ought to do without looking for accolades...'

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25 September 2016 Ordinary Time 26C (Luke 16: 19-31)

Social Justice Sunday 2016 invites us to make “a place at the table” for all and, in particular, to consider what that means in an ageing society.

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18 September 2016 Ordinary Time 25C (Luke 16:1-13)

'In her insightful and engaging 2005 work, Dancing with Strangers, Melbourne-based historian Inga Clenninden offered a new perspective on the famous incident of the spearing of Governor Arthur Phillip at Manly Cove on September 7, 1790...'

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11 September 2016 Ordinary Time 24C (Luke 15: 1-32)
'Those who take the gospel seriously sometimes forget that joy is a gospel value, a value repeatedly affirmed in the Gospel of Luke...'

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4 September 2016 Ordinary Time 23C (Luke14:25-33)

'For many centuries the northern Syrian city of Aleppo pulsated with life. That life was fuelled by culture and commerce and pride in a long and colourful history. Five years of civil war has more than decimated the population and virtually reduced the city to rubble...'

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28 August 2016 Ordinary Time 22C (Luke 14:1, 7-14)

'One of the most disturbing features of life in our times is the forced displacement of peoples. Some displaced people receive the hospitality they seek. Others find themselves locked out and abandoned...'

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21 August 2016 Ordinary Time 21C (Luke 13:22-30)

'We all know people or groups who seem to have an ingrained sense of entitlement or privilege, people who put themselves first without regard for the sensitivities or rights of others...'

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14 August 2016 Ordinary Time 20C (Luke 12:49-53)

'Prophets can get a hard time, as today’s first reading demonstrates (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10)...'

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7 August 2016 Ordinary Time 19C (Luke 12:32-48; shorter form 12:35-40)

'The longer form of today’s gospel brings together a number of loosely connected sayings of Jesus about trust and vigilance....'

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31 July 2016 Ordinary Time 18C (Luke 12:13-21)

 'Every faithful Jew and every faithful Christian knows that “the earth belongs to God and all that is in it” (Psalm 24)...'

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24 July 2016 Ordinary Time 17C (Luke 11:1-13)

'This Sunday’s gospel offers three little cameos about praying: two teachings on prayer sandwiching a strange parable...'

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17 July 2016 Ordinary Time 16C (Luke 10:38-42)

'The story of Martha and Mary has been interpreted fairly consistently over the centuries...'

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10 July 2016 Ordinary Time 15C (Luke 10:25-37)

'The present ecological crisis calls us to new ways of being neighbour...'

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3 July 2016 Ordinary Time 14C (Luke 10:1-12, 17-20)

'A crisis can function as the catalyst for restoring right order and relationship and for the development of new initiatives...'

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26 June 2016 Ordinary Time 13C (Luke 9:51-62)

'Gary Cohen’s film, Judah & Mohammad, depicts the separate lives and education of two teenage school boys, one a Jewish Israeli and the other a Palestinian Arab...'

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19 June 2016 Ordinary Time 12C (Luke 9:18-24)

'The mention of prayer in Luke is always a signal that something momentous is about to happen...'

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12 June 2016 Ordinary Time 11C (Luke 7:36-8:3)

'A foot massage is a very intimate experience...'

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5 June 2016 Ordinary Time 10C (Luke 7:11-17)

'Liberation or release for the most marginalised is at the heart of the mission of the Lukan Jesus...'

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29 May 2016 The Body and Blood of Christ Year C (Luke 9:11-17)

'The gospel for today brings together elements that have traditionally formed part of Christian worship...'

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22 May 2016 Trinity Sunday Year C (John 16:12-15)

'The opening sentence of today’s gospel touches something very deep in human experience. Jesus tells his disciples: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”...'

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15 May 2016 Pentecost Sunday Year C (John 20:19-23)

'Pentecost Sunday is often called the birthday of the Church...'

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8 May 2016 Feast of the Ascension Year C (Luke 24:46-53)

'Loss is part of the human condition, and the physical death of a loved one is one of the most painful experiences of loss...'

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1 May 2016 Easter 6C (John 14:23-29)

'Keeping one’s word is a mark of honour in any society. To be asked to keep someone else’s word, as in today’s gospel reading, calls for a shift in our usual patterns of thinking and acting...'

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24 April 2016 Easter 5C (John 13:31-35)
'The literary context for today’s gospel reading is Jesus’ final meal with his disciples...'

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17 April 2016 Easter 4C (John 10:27-30)
'One of the blessings of my life has been the opportunity to work in several different cultural contexts...'

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10 April 2016 Easter 3C (John 21:1-19)
'Simon Peter has a higher profile in this final chapter of John’s gospel than in the first twenty chapters..'

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3 April 2016 Easter 2C (John 20:19-31)
'Some of you may remember when we spoke of the Sundays “after Easter”. The terminology has changed and we now speak of the Sundays “of Easter”...'

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27 March 2016 Easter Vigil Year C (Luke 24:1-12)
'It does not always pay to discount someone’s story just because it sounds a bit fantastic...'

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20 March 2016, Passion Sunday ( Luke 22:14-23:56)

'Jesus of Nazareth is executed in Jerusalem when the city is filled with pilgrims who are there to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover...'

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13 March 2016, 5th Sunday of Lent Year C (John 8: 1-11)
'On Ash Wednesday, we were reminded to turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel. Turning away from sin means different things for different people...'

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6 March 2016, 4th Sunday of Lent Year C (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)
'Parent-child conflict is part of life and every parent’s dream is to be able to deal effectively and lovingly with children behaving badly, including adult or adolescent children...'

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28 February 2016, 3rd Sunday of Lent Year C (Luke 13:1-9)
'Today’s gospel begins with two warnings about the need for repentance. It ends with a parable about a non-productive fig tree and a faithful “gardener God”...'

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21 February 2016, 2nd Sunday of Lent Year C (Luke 9:28-36)
'Last week, the wilderness was a character in the gospel reading. This week, we find a mountain and a cloud featuring significantly in the narrative...'

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14 February 2016, 1st Sunday of Lent Year C (Luke 4:1-11)
'Lent is a time for personal as well as group reflection, a time for entering into the “wilderness” or “desert place” and grappling with the mysteries of life...'

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7 February 2016, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (Luke 5:1-11)
'The gospel reading opens with Jesus by the lake shore looking for a little space from the people who are pressing around him to hear “the word of God”...'

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 31 January 2016, 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (Luke 4:21-30)
'This week’s gospel reading continues the story of Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth...'

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24 January 2016, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21)
'The liturgy for today juxtaposes the introductory verses of Luke’s gospel and a passage from the beginning of Jesus Galilean ministry that encapsulates and sets the tone for the whole gospel...'

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17 January 2016, 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (John 2:1-11)
'Today’s liturgy invites us to take a detour into the Fourth Gospel and into a marriage scene that the evangelist John places at the beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry...'

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10 January 2016, Baptism of Jesus Year C (Luke 3:15-16, 21-22)
'Today’s feast marks the end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of Ordinary Time. Over the Christmas season, the liturgy invited us to reflect on and to experience the various comings of Christ in our world and to open ourselves to the action of God’s grace at work in our encounters with the living Christ...'

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3 January 2016, Feast of the Epiphany Year C (Matthew 2:1-12)
'God’s presence is revealed to us in diverse ways: we can read the “story” of God’s universe; we can search out the meaning of our dreams; we can learn from our own and others’ experience; and we can listen to the voice of our sacred scriptures...'

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27 December 2015. Feast of the Holy Family Year C (Luke 2:41-52)
'The time between Christmas and New Year is often family time, a good time to think about what family means...'

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20 December 2015. 4th Sunday of Advent Year C (Luke 1:39-44)
'The final Sunday of Advent draws us closer to the celebration of the Christmas mysteries...'

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13 December 2015. 3rd Sunday of Advent Year C (Luke 3:10-18)
'The third Sunday of Advent used to be called Gaudete (be joyful) Sunday. It provided a mid-term break within a period of austerity or penance in preparation for Christmas...'

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6 December 2015. 2nd Sunday of Advent Year C (Luke 3:1-6)
'Tuesday of this week (8th December, 2015) marks the beginning of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Pope Francis has called us to look into our hearts and to let go of all that is condemnatory and harsh or cruel and to bring the mercy of God to our troubled planetary home and to its inhabitants...'

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29 November 2015. 1st Sunday of Advent Year C (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36)
'Today’s gospel passage, with its vivid description of the end-time signs, may seem a strange choice of reading for Advent and the beginning of the Church year...'

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