Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 311
Lectionary: 311
Brothers and
sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my Son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place,
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.
In the days when he was in the Flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my Son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place,
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.
In the days when he was in the Flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Responsorial PsalmPS 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
AlleluiaHEB 4:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 2:18-22
The disciples of
John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
Meditation: "Fasting
or feasting?"
Which comes first,
fasting or feasting? The disciples of John the Baptist were upset with Jesus'
disciples because they did not fast. Fasting was one of the three most
important religious duties, along with prayer and almsgiving. Jesus gave a
simple explanation. There's a time for fasting and a time for feasting (or
celebrating). To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience a whole new joy
of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party in celebrating with the
groom and bride their wedding bliss. But there also comes a time when the
Lord's disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple
there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his
goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for
mourning over sin. Do you take joy in the Lord's presence with you and do you
express sorrow and contrition for your sins?
Jesus goes on to warn
his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to
learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to his audience - new and old
wine skins. In Jesus' times, wine was stored in wine skins, not bottles. New
wine poured into skins was still fermenting. The gases exerted gave pressure.
New wine skins were elastic enough to take the pressure, but old wine skins
easily burst because they were hard. What did Jesus mean by this comparison?
Are we to reject the old in place of the new? Just as there is a right place
and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for
the old as well as the new.
Jesus says the
kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is
new and what is old (Matthew 13:52). How impoverished we would be if
we only had the Old Testament or the New Testament, rather than both. The Lord
gives us wisdom so we can make the best use of both the old and the new. He
doesn't want us to hold rigidly to the past and to be resistant to the new work
of his Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants our minds and hearts to be like new
wine skins - open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Are you
eager to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God's word and plan for
your life?
"Lord Jesus, fill
me with your Holy Spirit, that I may grow in the knowledge of your great love
and truth. Help me to seek you earnestly in prayer and fasting that I may turn
away from sin and wilfulness and conform my life more fully to your will. May I
always find joy in knowing, loving, and serving you."
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The New Joy of the Bridegroom |
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January 19, 2015.
Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
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Mark 2:18-22
The disciples of
John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to him and
objected, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the
Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them,
"Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long
as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will
come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on
that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he
does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will
burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine
is poured into fresh wineskins."
Introductory
Prayer: Jesus, what a joy and
what a gift to have this time to be alone with you! I want to know you more
deeply. I want to hope in you more firmly. I want to love you with greater
constancy in my daily life. Only you can give me these gifts. Only you can
make me a bold and joyful apostle of your Kingdom.
Petition: Lord, help me to experience the new joy that comes from
carrying the cross alongside you.
1. The
Joy of the Bridegroom: The
Old Testament prophets, especially Hosea and Isaiah, describe the
relationship between Israel and Yahweh as a marriage covenant. Israel is the
bride, often an unfaithful one, and Yahweh is the bridegroom. When Christ
refers to himself as the bridegroom, he is appropriating a title that had
been reserved to God alone. Clearly, Jesus is much more than an ordinary
rabbi. What experience do we most associate with a bridegroom and the wedding
feast? Joy! “Although it is true that the cross is never absent from an
authentically Christian life, it is equally true that the God who meets us on
that cross is the same God who created the heavens and the earth, the oceans
and the mountains, laughter, sunlight, and every earthly delight” (John
Bartunek, LC, The Better Part, p. 365). Christ came to bring us joy, a joy
that would last into eternity.
2. Should
Christians Fast?Christ says that
when the bridegroom is taken away, then his disciples will fast. This is his
first reference in the Gospel of Mark to his coming passion. Fasting is a way
of sharing in Christ’s sufferings. Fasting, sacrifices, and acts of
self-denial are also means to detach ourselves from earthly goods in order to
cling more firmly to Christ himself. They make us aware of how much we need
God. But these ways of sharing Christ’s cross should not make us glum
followers. “Some Christians give the impression that following Christ is a
somber affair, or that the Christian life consists above all of dour
sacrifices and boring obligations. Joyless, dreary, dull. No wonder their
friends want to stay as far away from Christianity as possible!... If our
friendship with Christ does not fill us with contagious enthusiasm, we’re
probably being a half-hearted friend” (John Bartunek, LC, The Better Part, p.
365).
3. “Behold,
I Make All Things New”: The
movie The Passion of the Christ puts this phrase from Revelation on Christ’s
lips when he meets his mother Mary as he carries the cross to Calvary.
Christ’s “narrow gate” of the cross leads to a radically new way of life. It
brings an abundance of joy, a new vigor, interior peace. The new wine of the
life of grace that Christ pours out on his followers must change not only
their way of life, but even their internal attitudes and consciousness.
As St. Teresa of Avila once put it, “A sad saint is a bad saint.”
What obstacles in my life do I need to overcome in order to follow Christ
with greater joy and to radiate that joy to others?
Conversation with
Christ: Thank you, Lord, for the
new life you came to bring — your own divine life of grace inside me and each
of your followers who is faithful to you. Help me to share that joy with
others. I long to be a true apostle of your joy.
Resolution: Today I will forget about myself and seek only to help
make those around me joyful.
By Father Walter
Schu, LC
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MONDAY, JANUARY 19, MARK 2:18-22
(Hebrews 5:1-10; Psalm 110)
KEY VERSE: "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?" (v 19).
TO KNOW: The people demanded to know why Jesus' disciples did not fast as was the custom of the Pharisees and the disciples of John. Jesus described his relationship with his followers with the biblical metaphor of marriage (Is 54: 5-7). At a wedding feast, guests were relieved of all obligations that might diminish their joy, including fasting. Jesus was the long-awaited bridegroom whose arrival inaugurated a new era. While Jesus was in their midst, his followers must not mourn; they must celebrate. Jesus said it was impossible to mix the new ways with the old. It was as futile as trying to patch an old garment with new fabric, or putting fresh wine into old worn-out flasks. The time of patchwork faith was over. Just as new fermenting wine could not be contained in aged and unyielding wineskins, the old order could not hold the new life that Jesus brought.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, I long to celebrate with you at the eternal wedding banquet.
TO SERVE: Do I resist the changes God wants of me?
(Hebrews 5:1-10; Psalm 110)
KEY VERSE: "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?" (v 19).
TO KNOW: The people demanded to know why Jesus' disciples did not fast as was the custom of the Pharisees and the disciples of John. Jesus described his relationship with his followers with the biblical metaphor of marriage (Is 54: 5-7). At a wedding feast, guests were relieved of all obligations that might diminish their joy, including fasting. Jesus was the long-awaited bridegroom whose arrival inaugurated a new era. While Jesus was in their midst, his followers must not mourn; they must celebrate. Jesus said it was impossible to mix the new ways with the old. It was as futile as trying to patch an old garment with new fabric, or putting fresh wine into old worn-out flasks. The time of patchwork faith was over. Just as new fermenting wine could not be contained in aged and unyielding wineskins, the old order could not hold the new life that Jesus brought.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, I long to celebrate with you at the eternal wedding banquet.
TO SERVE: Do I resist the changes God wants of me?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Day
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Each year on the third Monday of January we celebrate the birth, the life and the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929, at the family home, Atlanta, Georgia. He entered the Christian ministry and was ordained in 1948 at the age of nineteen at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. From 1960 until his death in 1968, he was co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. King was a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization responsible for the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955 to 1956 (381 days). He was arrested thirty times for his participation in civil rights activities. He was a founder and president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1957 to 1968, and vice president of the Sunday School and Baptist Teaching Union Congress of the National Baptist Convention. Dr. King was a member of several learned societies including the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. King was shot to death while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, April 4, 1968.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Each year on the third Monday of January we celebrate the birth, the life and the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929, at the family home, Atlanta, Georgia. He entered the Christian ministry and was ordained in 1948 at the age of nineteen at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. From 1960 until his death in 1968, he was co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. King was a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization responsible for the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955 to 1956 (381 days). He was arrested thirty times for his participation in civil rights activities. He was a founder and president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1957 to 1968, and vice president of the Sunday School and Baptist Teaching Union Congress of the National Baptist Convention. Dr. King was a member of several learned societies including the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. King was shot to death while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, April 4, 1968.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
Monday 19 January 2015
Hebrews 5:1-10. You are a
priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek—Ps 109(110):1-4. Mark 2:18‑22.
‘New wine—fresh skins!’
Jesus uses some very
striking imagery to make the point that he has ushered in forever a new
age. John the Baptist has done his work of preparing for Jesus and now the
fasting of his disciples and of the Pharisees is not needed. The kingdom of God
has dawned, creating a new reality in divine‑human relations.
However, Mark’s community,
like ours today, waits for the final ushering in of the kingdom with the return
of Jesus. In the meantime we live with the ups and downs of human existence,
strengthened by our personal relationship with God and one another. Let us
speak with Jesus …
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
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Empty Preaching
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No one listens willingly to someone who speaks to them from a
position of self-righteousness and judgment. Again and again in the Gospels,
Jesus reserves his harshest words for those who ignore their own weakness in
order to lord it over others.
January
19
St. Fabian
(c. 250)
St. Fabian
(c. 250)
Fabian was a Roman layman who came into the city from his farm one
day as clergy and people were preparing to elect a new pope. Eusebius, a Church
historian, says a dove flew in and settled on the head of Fabian. This sign
united the votes of clergy and laity, and he was chosen unanimously.
He led
the Church for 14 years and died a martyr’s death during the persecution of
Decius in 250 A.D.. St. Cyprian wrote to his successor that Fabian was an
“incomparable” man whose glory in death matched the holiness and purity of his
life.
In the
catacombs of St. Callistus, the stone that covered Fabian’s grave may still be
seen, broken into four pieces, bearing the Greek words, “Fabian, bishop,
martyr.”
Comment:
We can go confidently into the future and accept the change that growth demands only if we have firm roots in the past, in a living tradition. A few pieces of stone in Rome are a reminder to us that we are bearers of more than 20 centuries of a living tradition of faith and courage in living the life of Christ and showing it to the world. We have brothers and sisters who have “gone before us with the sign of faith,” as the First Eucharistic Prayer puts it, to light the way for us.
We can go confidently into the future and accept the change that growth demands only if we have firm roots in the past, in a living tradition. A few pieces of stone in Rome are a reminder to us that we are bearers of more than 20 centuries of a living tradition of faith and courage in living the life of Christ and showing it to the world. We have brothers and sisters who have “gone before us with the sign of faith,” as the First Eucharistic Prayer puts it, to light the way for us.
Quote:
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church” (Tertullian).
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church” (Tertullian).
LECTIO DIVINA:
MARK 2,18-22
Lectio:
Monday, January 19, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father of heaven and earth,
hear our prayers,
and show us the way to your peace in the
world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 2,18-22
John's disciples and the Pharisees were
keeping a fast, when some people came to him and said to him, 'Why is it that
John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do
not?'
Jesus replied, 'Surely the bridegroom's
attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they
have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the time will come when
the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch
pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody
puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and
the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine into fresh skins!'
3) Reflection
• The five conflicts between Jesus and the
Religious authority. In Mark 2, 1-12 we have seen the first conflict. It was
about the forgiveness of sins. In Mark 2, 13-17, the second conflict is on communion
around the same table, with sinners. Today’s Gospel presents the third conflict
concerning fasting. Tomorrow we have the fourth conflict, concerning the
observance of the Sabbath (Mk 2, 13-28). Day after tomorrow, the last conflict
concerning the cure on the Sabbath (Mk 3, 1-6). The conflict concerning fasting
has a central place. For this reason, the words on sewing a piece of unshrunken
cloth on an old cloak and the new wine into fresh skins (Mk 2, 21-22) should be
understood in the light which radiates clearly also on the other conflicts, two
before and two after.
• Jesus does not insist on the practice of
fasting. Fasting is a very ancient practice, practiced by practically all
religions. Jesus himself practiced it during forty days (Mt 4, 2). But he does
not insist with his disciples so that they do the same thing. He leaves them
free. This is why the disciples of John the Baptist and those of the Pharisees,
who were obliged to fast, want to know why Jesus does not insist on fasting.
• When the bridegroom is with them they do not
have to fast. Jesus responds with a comparison. When the bridegroom is with the
friends of the bridegroom, that is, during the wedding feast, they do not need
to fast. Jesus considers himself as the bridegroom. The disciples are the
friends of the bridegroom During the time in which Jesus is with the disciples,
there is the wedding feast. A day will come in which the bridegroom will be
absent and then, if they wish they can fast. Jesus refers to his death. He
knows and feels that if he wishes to continue on this path of freedom, the
religious authority will want to kill him.
• To sew a new piece of cloth on an old cloak,
new wine in new skins. These two affirmations of Jesus, which Mark places here,
clarify the critical attitude of Jesus before religious authority. One does not
sew a piece of new cloth on an old cloak. When the cloak is washed, the new
piece of cloth tears the cloak and the tear becomes bigger. Nobody puts new
wine in old skins, because the fermentation of the new wine will tear the old
skins. New wine in new skins! The religion defended by the authority was like
an old cloak, like an old skin. It is not necessary to want to change what is
new and brought by Jesus, for old customs. The novelty brought by Jesus cannot
be reduced to fit the measure of Judaism. Either one or the other! The wine
which Jesus brings tears the old skins. It is necessary to know how to separate
things. Jesus is not against what is “old”. What he wants to avoid is that the
old imposes itself on the new and, thus he begins to manifest it. It would be
the same as reducing the message of the Vatican Council II to the catechism of
the time before the Council, as some are wanting to do.
4) Personal questions
• Beginning with the profound experience of
God which encouraged him interiorly, Jesus had great freedom concerning the
relation ship to the norms and religious practices. And today, do we have this
same liberty or do we lack the freedom of the mystics?
• A new piece of cloth on an old cloak, new
wine in old skins. Does this exist in my life?
5) Concluding prayer
We have recognised for ourselves,
and put our faith in, the love God has for us.
(1Jn 4,16)
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