Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
July 2, 2011
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Reading 1
When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him,
he called his older son Esau and said to him, “Son!”
“Yes father!” he replied.
Isaac then said, “As you can see, I am so old
that I may now die at any time.
Take your gear, therefore–your quiver and bow–
and go out into the country to hunt some game for me.
With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like,
and bring it to me to eat,
so that I may give you my special blessing before I die.”
Rebekah had been listening
while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau.
So, when Esau went out into the country
to hunt some game for his father,
Rebekah [then] took the best clothes of her older son Esau
that she had in the house,
and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear;
and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands
and the hairless parts of his neck.
Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish
and the bread she had prepared.
Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, “Father!”
“Yes?” replied Isaac. “Which of my sons are you?”
Jacob answered his father: “I am Esau, your first-born.
I did as you told me.
Please sit up and eat some of my game,
so that you may give me your special blessing.”
But Isaac asked, “How did you succeed so quickly, son?”
He answered,
“The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me.”
Isaac then said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, that I may feel you,
to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
So Jacob moved up closer to his father.
When Isaac felt him, he said,
“Although the voice is Jacob’s, the hands are Esau’s.”
(He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy,
like those of his brother Esau;
so in the end he gave him his blessing.)
Again he asked Jacob, “Are you really my son Esau?”
“Certainly,” Jacob replied.
Then Isaac said, “Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it
and then give you my blessing.”
Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate;
he brought him wine, and he drank.
Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, and kiss me.”
As Jacob went up and kissed him,
Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.
With that, he blessed him saying,
“Ah, the fragrance of my son
is like the fragrance of a field
that the LORD has blessed!
“May God give to you
of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine.
“Let peoples serve you,
and nations pay you homage;
Be master of your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
We may feel like condemning Jacob and Rebecca for their deception. They deceived Isaac, but in the circumstances many would have done the same and do. If it was God’s will and plan that Jacob receive the Messianic blessing would he not have found a peaceful way of fulfilling his desire. Rebecca and Jacob take the matter into their own hands. They get the blessing but at what price. Esau in his anger wants to kill Jacob and the so Jacob has to flee for his life. Rebecca will never see her favourite son again. How much better if Jacob like his grandfather Abraham could have left everything to God. God has promised to work out everything for the good of those who love him. That applies to us also.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3a) Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the name of the LORD;
Praise, you servants of the LORD
Who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the name of the LORD;
Praise, you servants of the LORD
Who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Gospel
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
A true human being Jesus increased in wisdom (2:52). We can see in today’s Gospel how Jesus is growing in the awareness of his vocation. He is aware that he has a very special relationship with God, that God is his Father. He now realizes that he belongs to God. His first responsibility is to God: seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, he will later teach. Who are my mother and my brothers, he will later ask.He will form his own family and the members will be made up of those who hear the Word of God and keep it. He does not reject Mary, but clearly states that he belongs to God. In fact the Gospel proclaims that Mary listened to God’s Word at the Annunciation and acted on it immediately. She went in all haste to serve Elizabeth and she proclaims the Good News to her in the Magnificat. Do you belong to God first ?
July 1, 2011
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Reading 1
Moses said to the people:
"You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;
he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth
to be a people peculiarly his own.
It was not because you are the largest of all nations
that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,
for you are really the smallest of all nations.
It was because the LORD loved you
and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,
that he brought you out with his strong hand
from the place of slavery,
and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed,
the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant
down to the thousandth generation
toward those who love him and keep his commandments,
but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;
he does not dally with such a one,
but makes them personally pay for it.
You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,
the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."
God chose the Israelites not because they were a faithful people, they were mostly unfaithful but because he wanted to show through them his love for the world. God always chooses the least to bring his blessings to the world.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 17) The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
Reading II
Beloved, let us love one another,because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.
If God is love then Jesus is the human form of God’s love and God’s love comes to us in a human way. Likewise if we are the children of God we are the children of love and so should love others, pouring ourselves out for them as Jesus did for us.
Gospel
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
The message of the feast of the Sacred Heart is that God loves us. He has shown this by sending us Jesus his only Son. He gave his life for us so that we may live forever with God as our Father. Jesus attracted do many people to himself. Come to me, he said, all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you rest. Jesus is still with us. This is the secret and the heart of our religion. It is not he organization which we call the Church but Jesus himself ever living with us who is our religion. He tells us today, Come to me and I will give you rest. We come to him through quiet prayer and by reflection on his Word in the Gospels. Our religion is an experience. It is not a book or a system or a simple tradition. It is the experience of Jesus with us today. Do you experience religion like that?
June 30, 2011
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a burnt offering
on a height that I will point out to you.”
Many Canaanites offered human sacrifice and some Israelites followed them. They even thought it pleasing to God. God will reject this idea at the end of the story.
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the burnt offering,
set out for the place of which God had told him.
On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants: “Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you.”
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering
and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
“Father!” he said.
“Yes, son,” he replied.
Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
“Son,” Abraham answered,
“God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.”
Then the two continued going forward.
Christians have seen a type of Jesus Christ in this episode. God the Father allowed his Son to immolated on the Cross for our sake. He put love before his Son. Jesus carries his own Cross to Calvary and he himself is the victim offered.
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger.
“Do not do the least thing to him.
God rejects human sacrifice.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”
God has tested Abraham’s faith in his goodness and against all odds he has believed that God is good. He therefore the father of all who believe.
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, “On the mountain the LORD will see.”
Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
“I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing. All this because you obeyed my command.”
God looks for ways to bless us and make us prosper and that is the reason for any trials that come our way. Like Abraham we must remain steadfast in our trust in God’s love and benevolence towards us.
and they set out together for Beer-sheba,
where Abraham made his home.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is their God?”
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is their God?”
Gospel
After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
:Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
:Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
How wonderful for that man to hear, “my child, your sins are forgiven”. The people thought so too, for ‘they praised God for having given such authority to human beings’. Jesus proved he had authority to forgive sins by telling the paralytic to get up and he did so. This same Jesus on the day of his Resurrection said to the disciples, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven’. He thereby handed on this authority to his Church. How wonderful now for the penitent to kneel before the Church in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and hear, “my child, your sins are forgiven.” We too should praise God for giving such authority to human beings. Freed from the paralysis of sin we are able to run along the path of holiness. Do you experience Jesus speaking to you in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Mass during the Day Readings II
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul’s life can be summed up in his phrase, “For me, life is Christ”. He was a man totally committed to Jesus Christ because as he says “he loved me and gave himself for me” and he encourages us too: if we live then we live for the Lord and if we die then we die for the Lord. Paul is the perfect example of a disciple.
Gospel
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
While Peter was under guard, the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.
From all my terror the Lord set me free.
I have fought the good fight to the end. I have run the race to the finish.
It was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
Made one by him.
Peter and Paul were so different. Peter a fisherman worked with his hands. He was uneducated and a man easily swayed by emotions. He was impetuous and would act first and think later. He was a man of great words but often his deed could not match them. He could step out of a boat and walk on water. Then sink when it dawned on him what he had done. As in today’s Gospel he could be inspired by God to proclaim Jesus as Messiah and receive the praise of Jesus and also be the only person in the Gospel Jesus called Satan. He could boldly ask Jesus, “We have left all things. What will we get?” He had left everything for Jesus, but ‘the everything’ was not very much, a few nets and a boat. At the Last Supper too, Jesus had to reprimand him in front of the others. He would not allow Jesus to wash his feet. He had not learned that with Jesus, the servant is the greatest. He still thought in terms of worldly categories. Jesus had to tell him that he could have no part with him. Typically Peter begged Jesus to wash not only his feet but his hands and his head too. Boasting that all the others may abandon him, but he would not, rather he would die with him, Jesus had to foretell his denial. Forever Peter has to hear his denial proclaimed in the Gospels. He was a slow learner but a comfort and consolation to us. He didn’t become Peter in an instant. Only by the end of his life as he died for Jesus on a cross did his love make him the firm foundation of the Church. His life and even his denial are the Gospel of the Lord. There is hope for us all.
Paul on the contrary was an urbanised Roman citizen with the best education of his day. He was of supreme intelligence and a man of the utmost determination. No one could stand in his way when he had committed himself to a cause. If Peter, the rock, could rock, Paul was ‘like Mount Sion that stands firm forever’. It only needed him to meet Jesus for a moment on the road to Damascus to realise that he was the Lord and had loved him and given his life for him. In the flash of a moment, Saul became the apostle Paul. His life was now for Jesus and he used his enormous intellect and the gift of his personality for the cause of the One who had died for him.
Two very different personalities but their love for Jesus and their love and respect for each other made them one. May we use our different gifts for the cause of Jesus, to build up his community.
Father, may we keep the faith preached to us by Peter and Paul and come to eternal life in Jesus.
Memorial of Saint Irenaeus,
bishop and martyr
bishop and martyr
Reading 1
Gn 19:15-29
As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “On your way!
Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here,
or you will be swept away in the punishment of Sodom.”
When he hesitated, the men, by the LORD’s mercy,
seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters
and led them to safety outside the city.
As soon as they had been brought outside, he was told:
“Flee for your life!
Don’t look back or stop anywhere on the Plain.
Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away.”
“Oh, no, my lord!” Lot replied,
“You have already thought enough of your servant
to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life.
But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me,
and so I shall die.
Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to.
It’s only a small place.
Let me flee there–it’s a small place, is it not?–
that my life may be saved.”
“Well, then,” he replied,
“I will also grant you the favor you now ask.
I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
Hurry, escape there!
I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”
That is why the town is called Zoar.
As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “On your way!
Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here,
or you will be swept away in the punishment of Sodom.”
When he hesitated, the men, by the LORD’s mercy,
seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters
and led them to safety outside the city.
As soon as they had been brought outside, he was told:
“Flee for your life!
Don’t look back or stop anywhere on the Plain.
Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away.”
“Oh, no, my lord!” Lot replied,
“You have already thought enough of your servant
to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life.
But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me,
and so I shall die.
Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to.
It’s only a small place.
Let me flee there–it’s a small place, is it not?–
that my life may be saved.”
“Well, then,” he replied,
“I will also grant you the favor you now ask.
I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
Hurry, escape there!
I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”
That is why the town is called Zoar.
The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar;
at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire
upon Sodom and Gomorrah
from the LORD out of heaven.
He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain,
together with the inhabitants of the cities
and the produce of the soil.
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.
at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire
upon Sodom and Gomorrah
from the LORD out of heaven.
He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain,
together with the inhabitants of the cities
and the produce of the soil.
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.
Early the next morning Abraham went to the place
where he had stood in the LORD’s presence.
As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah
and the whole region of the Plain,
he saw dense smoke over the land rising like fumes from a furnace.
where he had stood in the LORD’s presence.
As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah
and the whole region of the Plain,
he saw dense smoke over the land rising like fumes from a furnace.
Thus it came to pass: when God destroyed the Cities of the Plain,
he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval
by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living.
he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval
by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living.
It would seem that these cities were destroyed by an earthquake and this is interpreted as the punishment of God. Sin brings its own punishment. It is the nature of sin to bring harm and destruction to the sinner, though this may not be apparent at the time. God’s plans and laws are for man’s welfare and happiness. To observe them in the way God gives them will bring prosperity to man. We notice in this story how God cares for the one who is good even if surrounded by wickedness. God will always save those who are faithful to him.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3a) O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
Search me, O LORD, and try me;
test my soul and my heart.
For your mercy is before my eyes,
and I walk in your truth.
Search me, O LORD, and try me;
test my soul and my heart.
For your mercy is before my eyes,
and I walk in your truth.
Gospel
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
We can understand how the disciples felt they were going to drown even though Jesus was with them. Do we not feel the same when overwhelmed by the tragedies and problems of life? We need to stay close to Jesus. We need to have a real faith in him which knows that he is present with us and is caring for us. Total trust is demanded of us too. This comes through our prayer. At the time we may not realize how Jesus is present and caring for us but as we look back over our lives we may see his footsteps with us very clearly. Have you total trust in Jesus under all circumstances?
