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It must have been frustrating for Jesus when people failed to recognize who he was. Some thought he was a prophet who had returned from the dead.

Jesus was making a very direct point: people in the past had responded more positively to the prophets than his own generation was responding to him. Even John the Baptist had to make clear that he was not the Messiah, but that someone greater than himself was to come.

Images of God are important to our spiritual lives, but every image has its limitations. No single image can fully contain the mystery of God. So I invite you to reflect on your own image of God.

What do you expect God to be like? How do you expect God to act? Is there room for growth in your understanding?

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In this Gospel, Jesus is approached by an unnamed Canaanite woman who asks him for help. At first, Jesus responds in a way that seems unusually critical. In biblical times, the Canaanites were regarded as outsiders and rivals, but that alone does not fully explain the sharpness of Jesus’ words. Perhaps Jesus is using a teaching style, or perhaps he is making a deeper point.

What stands out is that the woman is not intimidated. Although she is not Jewish, she appears to understand something important about Jesus and his mission. She does not try to argue or force the issue. Instead, she responds with courage, humility, and insight. She seems to understand that, in Jewish expectation, the Messiah would first come to Israel and then extend salvation to the Gentiles. She does not give up. She remains proactive. Using metaphor, she respectfully reminds Jesus that the promise of God is not either/or, but both/and. In doing so, she shows a remarkable grasp of who Jesus is. That must have been refreshing for him, given how often he had to deal with misunderstanding from the disciples and others.

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Today’s podcast focusses on the Gospel of Matthew 14:22-33. It will be read in churches on August the 9, 2026. This Gospel is unusual. The Gospel focusses on Jesus’ walking on water and when asked by the disciple Peter, Jesus invites Peter to walk on water with him. There is no other Gospel like it. There are two other Gospels that are very unusual too. We have the account of the Transfiguration, from Matthew 17:1–9 and the story about “Paying the Temple Tax” where Jesus is asked to pay a temple tax and he instructs Peter to go out fishing for him and Peter catches a fish with the coin in his mouth, Matthew 17:24–27. I am not sure I could write a homily on that Gospel. It may not mean anything, but I noticed that the disciple Peter is involved in all three of the unusual Gospel experiences.

I would like to focus your attention to the dialogue between Peter and Jesus. Peter asks if he can come to him. Jesus says yes and Peter jumps out but fear gets to him and he starts to sink. Notice that Jesus does not comment on Peter’s fear but rather his lack of faith.

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Today’s Gospel is one of the two stories of Jesus feeding a large crowd. I have spoken about this theme before. I invite my listeners to check out my podcasts released on June 15, 2025, and another on July 21, 2024, for different reflections on this Scripture passage. What is noteworthy is that Jesus uses the meagre contribution of humans to do great things. There are many examples of Jesus using the contribution of humans to do so much more. In Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–15 — the feeding of the 5,000: a boy’s loaves and fish are brought to Jesus, and he multiplies them. In Matthew 15:32–39; Mark 8:1–10 — the feeding of the 4,000: the available bread and fish are used to feed the crowd.

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The Gospel for July 26, 2026 continues with the theme of describing the kingdom of God. Again, the kingdom of God appears to be something we live here on Earth. Jesus is not addressing what Heaven will be like but rather teaching us how to achieve Heaven. It appears the Gospel is a collection of teachings of Jesus linked together by common theme. There are a couple of themes worth noting here. We have an individual finding treasure and sell everything so that he can obtain the treasure. Nothing else is important. The selling off of possessions to purchase the field also has a notion of sacrifice and freeing up the individual to pursue what is valued by them.

This is not a new theme. Jesus requires letting go of possessions, obligations, or burdens — especially Matthew 4:18–22 / Mark 1:16–20 (the first disciples leaving nets), Luke 5:27–28 (Levi/Matthew leaving his tax booth), Luke 9:57–62 (warnings about delaying or returning for family/business), Luke 14:25–33 (the cost of discipleship and renouncing possessions), Mark 10:17–31 / Matthew 19:16–30 (the rich young man told to sell all and follow),

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In this Gospel, Jesus presents three parables that illuminate God’s plan for creation. The first is the parable of wheat and the weeds. A farmer’s field is deliberately sown with weeds by an enemy. When the plants begin to grow, the laborers offer to remove the weeds, but the landowner declines, recognizing that in doing so they may also uproot the wheat.

At a practical level, many who garden will recognize the risk of pulling out healthy plants along with weeds. At a deeper level, Jesus is speaking about the coexistence of good and evil and the necessity of discernment. Human beings are not simply passive actors; we are moral people capable of choice. Without alternatives, there can be no true choosing—only compliance.

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In the Gospel today we hear one of the most famous of parables. Jesus uses a well-known event to describe people’s faith experience. People would be familiar with gardens especially vegetable gardens. Most people did not have the luxury of growing flowers for their beauty. As I have mentioned in a previous podcast the gardener was quite generous in sowing the seed. Likely people took notice. Collecting seeds for next season’s garden was critical if you wanted food in the next season. After some reflection and to put this in a more positive perspective the gardener was indeed very generous with the seeds. He wasn’t being selective. Every space got an opportunity to receive the seed. Later the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable. Its very clear and simple. Jesus is talking about threats to our spirituality and faith. Notice that in no situation did the seed refuse to grow. But something happened, not immediately but something later prevented the seed from growing.

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This passage is distinctive in that Matthew presents Jesus offering a prayer of thanksgiving. Jesus praises the Father because understanding has been revealed to the “little ones”—those without status or power—while remaining hidden from those who might be expected to possess knowledge. The message is clear: true knowledge of God is not achieved solely through human effort or intellectual attainment, but is ultimately received through relationship with Christ.

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