5th Sunday Ordinary Time - Year B

GOSPEL FREE OF CHARGE

Paul was not a full-time missionary and preacher. He is proud of the fact that he supports himself with a day job. He is a tent maker and also worked with leather. He was therefore a skilled craftsman. There was always a demand for such work. He could make and mend boots, shoes, tents and ship's sails. Paul is able to earn so much as a tailor that he could even support his companions and co-workers.
He does not see Christian service as a job. It is a privilege in return for God's love. His attitude is a model for Christian ministry opened to both clergy and laity alike. We all share God's love and thus all have the duty to serve.
One cannot help but wonder why the Church puts copyrights on its Bibles and teachings. Shouldn't they be free?

WHAT I CAME TO DO

Jesus is exhausted. His power to cure illness made him a free doctor. At the time physicians were primitive and usually in effective. The sick were thought to be "possessed" by evil spirits, rather than germs. The devil has successfully side-tracked Christ's true ministry. This explains his somewhat strange response when Peter announces that "...everyone is looking for you." Jesus proclaims that it is time to move on to other areas. In effect, he is abandoning his home base in Caphernaum.
Our Lord reveals the real focus of his career. He is a teacher with the most important lessons that will ever be shared. He does not want to be a healer, but a educator. He came to teach the way to eternal life in God.

Related: Resources on Sunday Readings - Clipart, homelies, articles, coloring pages, music: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

© 2000 by Father Richard Lonsdale. You may freely copy this document. It may be freely reproduced in any non-profit publication.Thie clipart and commentatires above were originally on a web site maintained by Fr. Lonsdale. To copy the clipart images, click with your right mouse button and use "save picture (or image) as…"To view a complete list of clipart images and commentaries: Lonsdale Commentaries and Clipart

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