Neli ML

  Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost John 6:1-21 Rev. Neli Miranda In Spanish, there is a saying, “En donde comen dos, comen tres...” which in English translates to “Where two can eat, so can three”.   I have heard this saying several times in my life, and it usually comes from people willing to share their food with others. Today’s Gospel revisits the well-known passage about the feeding of a large crowd of five thousand people. Just as in last Sunday’s Gospel, we witness   great crowds following Jesus. These people belonged to the most marginalized socioeconomic groups in first-century Jewish society. They lived desperate looking for their daily food and were constantly anguished because of the sick people among them. They followed Jesus because he embodied a compassionate shepherd, attentive to their needs and much suffering. Today, John tells us that Jesus is with his disciples on a mountain where a great multitude reaches them. Multitudes were familiar to...

  Tenth Sunday after Pentecost 2024 Jeremiah 23,1-6; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Rev. Neli Miranda   “T he  Lord  is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters…” (Psalm 23,1-2). In the Old Testament, the endearing image of a shepherd is frequently used to depict God’s relationship with the people of Israel.   The psalmists and the prophets abundantly speak of God as a shepherd, highlighting how God guides, cares for, and protects the people of Israel. The leadership including kings, prophets, priests, judges, and other leaders among the people are also portrayed as shepherds of the people, modeled after God, the Good Shepherd. Today’s first lesson, taken from the prophet Jeremiah, begins with a woe oracle addressed to the leadership, the shepherds of the people of Judah: “ Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the  Lord !” (23,1). Jeremiah prophesi...

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost 2024 Mark 6:1-14 Rev. Neli Miranda   Today’s Gospel comprises two stories. The first speaks about the rejection of Jesus in his hometown, and the second one tells us about the sending out of the twelve. In the preceding verses, we read about Jesus’ liberating actions in favor of many people in need. In gentile territory, Jesus liberated a man - a community - who lived tormented by a legion; that is, the Roman occupation. Upon his return to Galilee, in Capernaum, Jesus healed a woman who had suffered from hemorrhage for twelve years and raised Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter to life. With these precedents, Jesus arrives today at his hometown followed by his disciples. It is the Sabbath; the people are gathered in the synagogue and Jesus begins to teach. However, instead of welcoming him warmly, Jesus’ fellow townspeople begin to question his authority. They are astounded that someone who has grown up among them is now teaching in their synag...

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost 2024 Mark 5, 21- 43 Rev. Neli Miranda Jesus’ ministry was not controlled by the social and religious conventions of his time, which protected and favored the rich and powerful. Rather, it was driven by God’s deep love that helps all humans in need regardless of their social status, gender, or age. Jesus even crossed geographic borders to proclaim the Kingdom of God outside of Israel, to gentile regions, considered outside God’s grace. Last week, Mark told us about Jesus’ first mission trip outside the borders of Israel and how this journey implied risks and threats. Upon arriving on the other side, in gentile territory, Jesus liberated a man with an unclean spirit, whose name was Legion. This man represented the entire community oppressed and tormented by the Roman occupation, a legion consisting of 6000 Roman soldiers. Today’s Gospel narrates Jesus’ healing of a woman and a girl, both of whom belong to the most marginalized social group in history,...

  Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 2024 Mark 4,35-41 Rev. Neli Miranda   Mark presents us today with a perfect image of chaos - a storm at sea. In a storm in the middle of the sea, and I hope none of us have to be in one, there is no stability, everything moves, there is nothing secure to hold onto, nothing is under control! No wonder ancient peoples like the Jews feared the sea. Thus, in Jesus’ time, the Israelites recognized the sea as a symbol of threat and biblical writers used the image of the sea to describe danger and threat. However, they also knew that God ruled over the sea to the point of ordering it to divide so that the people of Israel could walk safely out of Egypt. The Lord is the one who “stilled the storm to a whisper and quieted the waves of the sea ”, we also read in today’s psalm (107,29). Today, Mark tells us of Jesus’ disciples facing a storm at sea. In the preceding verses, Jesus has been on the shores of the Sea of Galilee teaching about the King...

  Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 2024 Mark 4,26-34 Rev. Neli Miranda   Jesus began his ministry in Galilee by proclaiming the good news of God, " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news" (1,15). Jesus did not explain what the Kingdom of God was, but surely his audience knew what he was announcing. For many centuries the people of Israel had suffered domination and oppression at the hands of their own kings and foreign kingdoms. So, the people’s longing for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth arose amid suffering, under perverse human kingdoms. One can only imagine the people’s joyous rejoicing when Jesus made his announcement of the good news. . . the Kingdom of God was among them!! Today’s gospel presents us with two parables that speak of the Kingdom of God. Parables, a traditional method of teaching in Jesus’ time, are not explanations but a way to provoke the listeners’ thinking, so that they ...

Sabbath day - Mark 2:23-3:6 Proper 4 June 3, 2024   God commanded the people of Israel to observe the seventh day called Sabbath and keep it holy. It was and it is a very fundamental practice for the Jewish people and distinguishes them from other nations. The first lesson we read from Deuteronomy speaks about this commandment:   “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.    But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the  Lord  your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns… “(Deuteronomy 5,12-15).   The heart of this commandment is justice and involves the celebration of peace, freedom, and rest for humans, animals, and nature. Resting is a human right given by God and this commandment reminded the people of Israel that they had been slaves living under the domination of the Egyptian empire where...