Thursday of
the First Week of Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 308
Lectionary: 308
The Philistines
gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”
They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”
They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 44:10-11, 14-15,
24-25
R. (27b) Redeem
us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
AlleluiaSEE MT 4:23
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 1:40-45
A leper came to
him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Meditation: The
Lord Jesus can make me clean
Do you seek the
Lord Jesus with expectant faith? No one who sought Jesus out was refused his
help. Even the untouchables and the outcasts of Jewish society found help in
him. Unlike the people of Jesus' time who fled at the sight of a leper, Jesus
touched the leper who approached him and he made him whole and clean. Why was
this so remarkable? Lepers were outcasts of society. They were driven from
their homes and communities and left to fend for themselves. Their physical
condition was terrible as they slowly lost the use of their limbs and withered
away. They were not only shunned but regarded as "already dead" even
by their relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone from touching or approaching
a leper, lest ritual defilement occur.
This leper did
something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently and humbly,
expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally a leper would be stoned
or at least warded off if he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants
the man his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion, and
tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge of his day would
have regarded such contact as grave risk for incurring infection. Jesus met the
man's misery with compassion and tender kindness. He communicated the love and
mercy of God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words. He touched the
man and made him clean - not only physically but spiritually as well.
How do you
approach those who are difficult to love, or who are shunned by others because
they are deformed or have some defect? Do you show them kindness and offer them
mercy and help as Jesus did? The Lord is always ready to show us his mercy and
to free us from whatever makes us unclean, unapproachable, or unloving towards
others.
Lord Jesus,
inflame my heart with your love and make me clean and whole in body, mind, and
spirit. May I never doubt your love nor cease to tell others of your mercy and
compassion."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Why did Jesus touch the
leper, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"And why did
[Jesus] touch him, since the law forbade the touching of a leper? He touched
him to show that 'all things are clean to the clean' (Titus 1:15). Because the
filth that is in one person does not adhere to others, nor does external
uncleanness defile the clean of heart. So he touches him in his untouchability,
that he might instruct us in humility; that he might teach us that we should
despise no one, or abhor them, or regard them as pitiable, because of some
wound of their body or some blemish for which they might be called to render an
account... So, stretching forth his hand to touch, the leprosy immediately
departs. The hand of the Lord is found to have touched not a leper, but a body
made clean! Let us consider here, beloved, if there be anyone here that has the
taint of leprosy in his soul, or the contamination of guilt in his heart? If he
has, instantly adoring God, let him say: 'Lord, if you will, you can make me
clean.'" (excerpt from FRAGMENTS ON MATTHEW 2.2–3)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, MARK 1:40-45
Weekday
(1 Samuel 4:1-11; Psalm 44)
Weekday
(1 Samuel 4:1-11; Psalm 44)
KEY VERSE: "Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter" (v 45).
TO KNOW: In Jesus' day, a person afflicted with leprosy was an outcast, forced to live apart from the community. One such leper humbly begged Jesus to heal him. Jesus was filled with compassion as it was always his will that his people be made whole. Even though contact with a leper would render a person ritually unclean, Jesus did not hesitate to touch the man and heal him. Jesus then sent the man to the priest who had the authority to pronounce him cured and ready to return to society (Lv 14:1-32). Jesus admonished the man not to speak of the healing lest it be misinterpreted as mere wonder-working ("the Messianic Secret" is characteristic of Mark's gospel). But the man could not contain his joy and began to publicize his healing to everyone he met. Because so many people kept coming to Jesus, it was impossible for him to enter a town. Now it was Jesus who was forced to live in the deserted places on the town’s outskirts.
TO LOVE: Do I show compassion to those who are afflicted by sickness and disease?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, heal me of all that separates me from God and my community.
Thursday 14 January, 2015
Thu 14th.1 Samuel 4:1-11. Save us, Lord, in your
mercy—Ps 43(44):10-11, 14-15, 24-25. Mark 1:40-45.
Cut off from God and community.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes the place of the leper
as the one who is shunned and excluded. By touching the leper, he is made
ritually unclean and unable to enter the places where people live. People are
drawn to him nevertheless. The leper is an example of great faith and trust in
Jesus’ power and mercy.
Many commentators on the psalms note that they cover
the full range of human emotions. Today’s psalm picks up on the devastation and
despair that the Israelites felt after they were defeated and the Ark of the
Covenant fell into the hands of the Philistines. They cry out to God for help
to restore them as a nation.
Let our prayer for today be the words of the leper
(‘If you want to, you can cure me’), content in the knowledge that the Lord’s
answer will be ‘Of course I want to’.
MINUTE
MEDITATIONS
|
Be Lighthearted
|
Lord, help me not to take myself too seriously but to laugh
readily at myself. Even my worst troubles have a ridiculous side.
January 14
St. Gregory Nazianzen
(329-390)
St. Gregory Nazianzen
(329-390)
After his
baptism at 30, Gregory gladly accepted his friend Basil’s invitation to join
him in a newly founded monastery. The solitude was broken when Gregory’s
father, a bishop, needed help in his diocese and estate. It seems that Gregory
was ordained a priest practically by force, and only reluctantly accepted the
responsibility. He skillfully avoided a schism that threatened when his own
father made compromises with Arianism. At 41, Gregory was chosen suffragan
bishop of Caesarea and at once came into conflict with Valens, the emperor, who
supported the Arians. An unfortunate by-product of the battle was the cooling
of the friendship of two saints. Basil, his archbishop, sent him to a miserable
and unhealthy town on the border of unjustly created divisions in his diocese.
Basil reproached Gregory for not going to his see.
When protection
for Arianism ended with the death of Valens, Gregory was called to rebuild the
faith in the great see of Constantinople, which had been under Arian teachers
for three decades. Retiring and sensitive, he dreaded being drawn into the
whirlpool of corruption and violence. He first stayed at a friend’s home, which
became the only orthodox church in the city. In such surroundings, he began
giving the great sermons on the Trinity for which he is famous. In time,
Gregory did rebuild the faith in the city, but at the cost of great suffering,
slander, insults and even personal violence. An interloper even tried to take
over his bishopric.
His last days
were spent in solitude and austerity. He wrote religious poetry, some of it
autobiographical, of great depth and beauty. He was acclaimed simply as “the
Theologian.”
Comment:
It may be small comfort, but post-Vatican II turmoil in the Church is a mild storm compared to the devastation caused by the Arian heresy, a trauma the Church has never forgotten. Christ did not promise the kind of peace we would love to have—no problems, no opposition, no pain. In one way or another, holiness is always the way of the cross.
It may be small comfort, but post-Vatican II turmoil in the Church is a mild storm compared to the devastation caused by the Arian heresy, a trauma the Church has never forgotten. Christ did not promise the kind of peace we would love to have—no problems, no opposition, no pain. In one way or another, holiness is always the way of the cross.
Quote:
“God accepts our desires as though they were a great value. He longs ardently for us to desire and love him. He accepts our petitions for benefits as though we were doing him a favor. His joy in giving is greater than ours in receiving. So let us not be apathetic in our asking, nor set too narrow bounds to our requests; nor ask for frivolous things unworthy of God’s greatness.”
“God accepts our desires as though they were a great value. He longs ardently for us to desire and love him. He accepts our petitions for benefits as though we were doing him a favor. His joy in giving is greater than ours in receiving. So let us not be apathetic in our asking, nor set too narrow bounds to our requests; nor ask for frivolous things unworthy of God’s greatness.”
LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 1,40-45
Lectio:
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father of love, hear our prayers.
Help us to know your will
and to do it with courage and faith.
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.
Father of love, hear our prayers.
Help us to know your will
and to do it with courage and faith.
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 1,40-45
A man suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, 'If you are willing, you can cleanse me.'
Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' And at once the skin-disease left him and he was cleansed. And at once Jesus sternly sent him away and said to him, 'Mind you tell no one anything, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your cleansing prescribed by Moses as evidence to them.'
The man went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places. Even so, people from all around kept coming to him.
A man suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, 'If you are willing, you can cleanse me.'
Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' And at once the skin-disease left him and he was cleansed. And at once Jesus sternly sent him away and said to him, 'Mind you tell no one anything, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your cleansing prescribed by Moses as evidence to them.'
The man went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places. Even so, people from all around kept coming to him.
3) Reflection
• Accepting and curing the leper, Jesus reveals a new face of God. A leper came near Jesus. He was an excluded, an impure person. He should be far away. Anybody who touched him, would also become impure! But that leper had great courage. He transgresses the norms of religion in order to be able to get near Jesus. And he calls out: If you want, you can heal me. You need not touch me! It suffices that you want, and I will be healed!. This phrase reveals two evils: a) the evil of leprosy which made him impure; b) the evil of solitude to which he was condemned by society and by religion . It also reveals the great faith of the man in the power of Jesus. And Jesus profoundly moved, cures both evils. In the first place, in order to cure solitude, he touches the leper. It is as if he said: “For me, you are not an excluded one. I accept you as a brother!” And then he cures the leper saying: I want it! Be cured! The leper, in order to enter into contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the Law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded person and therefore, reveal a new face of God, transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of that time.
• He integrated anew the excluded person in the fraternal living together. Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with the others. He once again inserts the person in society to live with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, it was necessary to get a certificate from the priest that he had been cured. It is like today. A sick person leaves the hospital with a document signed by the doctor of the department where he had been hospitalized. Jesus obliges the person to look for that document, in such a way that he will be able to live normally with others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• The leper announces the good that Jesus has done to him and Jesus becomes an excluded person. Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the cure. The Gospel of Mark informs that this prohibition does not serve. The leper, walking away, began to diffuse the fact, to the point that Jesus could no longer enter publicly into a city, but remained outside, in a deserted place (Mk 1, 45). Why? Because Jesus had touched the leper. Because of this, according to the opinion of the religion of that time, now he himself was impure and should live far away from all others. He could no longer enter the city. And Mark says that people did not care about these official norms, in fact, people came to him from everywhere (Mk 1, 45). Total subversion!
• Summarizing. In the year 70, when Mark wrote, as well as today, the time in which we live, it was and continues to be important to have before our eyes models of how to live and how to proclaim the Good News of God and of how to evaluate our mission. In verses 16 to 45 of the first chapter of his Gospel, Mark describes the mission of the community and presents eight criteria in order that the communities of his time could evaluate their mission. The following is the outline:
• Accepting and curing the leper, Jesus reveals a new face of God. A leper came near Jesus. He was an excluded, an impure person. He should be far away. Anybody who touched him, would also become impure! But that leper had great courage. He transgresses the norms of religion in order to be able to get near Jesus. And he calls out: If you want, you can heal me. You need not touch me! It suffices that you want, and I will be healed!. This phrase reveals two evils: a) the evil of leprosy which made him impure; b) the evil of solitude to which he was condemned by society and by religion . It also reveals the great faith of the man in the power of Jesus. And Jesus profoundly moved, cures both evils. In the first place, in order to cure solitude, he touches the leper. It is as if he said: “For me, you are not an excluded one. I accept you as a brother!” And then he cures the leper saying: I want it! Be cured! The leper, in order to enter into contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the Law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded person and therefore, reveal a new face of God, transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of that time.
• He integrated anew the excluded person in the fraternal living together. Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with the others. He once again inserts the person in society to live with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, it was necessary to get a certificate from the priest that he had been cured. It is like today. A sick person leaves the hospital with a document signed by the doctor of the department where he had been hospitalized. Jesus obliges the person to look for that document, in such a way that he will be able to live normally with others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• The leper announces the good that Jesus has done to him and Jesus becomes an excluded person. Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the cure. The Gospel of Mark informs that this prohibition does not serve. The leper, walking away, began to diffuse the fact, to the point that Jesus could no longer enter publicly into a city, but remained outside, in a deserted place (Mk 1, 45). Why? Because Jesus had touched the leper. Because of this, according to the opinion of the religion of that time, now he himself was impure and should live far away from all others. He could no longer enter the city. And Mark says that people did not care about these official norms, in fact, people came to him from everywhere (Mk 1, 45). Total subversion!
• Summarizing. In the year 70, when Mark wrote, as well as today, the time in which we live, it was and continues to be important to have before our eyes models of how to live and how to proclaim the Good News of God and of how to evaluate our mission. In verses 16 to 45 of the first chapter of his Gospel, Mark describes the mission of the community and presents eight criteria in order that the communities of his time could evaluate their mission. The following is the outline:
Text Activity of
Jesus Objective of the mission
Mark 1,16-20
Jesus calls his first disciples
To form the community
Mark 1,21-22
The people were admired at his teaching
To create a critical conscience
Mark 1,23-28
Jesus expels a devil
To overcome the force of evil
Mark 1,29-31
He cures Peter’s mother-in-law
To give life back so as to serve
Mark 1,32-34
He cures the sick and the possessed
To accept the marginalized
Mark 1,35
Jesus rises early to pray
To remain united with the Father
Mark 1,36-39
Jesus continues the announcement
Not to stop at the results
Mark 1,40-45
He cures a leper
To integrate anew the excluded
Mark 1,16-20
Jesus calls his first disciples
To form the community
Mark 1,21-22
The people were admired at his teaching
To create a critical conscience
Mark 1,23-28
Jesus expels a devil
To overcome the force of evil
Mark 1,29-31
He cures Peter’s mother-in-law
To give life back so as to serve
Mark 1,32-34
He cures the sick and the possessed
To accept the marginalized
Mark 1,35
Jesus rises early to pray
To remain united with the Father
Mark 1,36-39
Jesus continues the announcement
Not to stop at the results
Mark 1,40-45
He cures a leper
To integrate anew the excluded
4) Personal questions
• To proclaim the Good News means to
give witness of the concrete experience of Jesus that one has. What does the
leper announce? He tells others the good that Jesus has done to him. Only this!
And this witness leads others to accept the Good News of God which Jesus brings
to us. Which is the witness that you give?
• To take the Good News to the people, it is not necessary to be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which make communication, dialogue and the living out of love difficult. Even if this causes difficulty for the people, as it caused difficulty for Jesus. Do I have this courage?
• To take the Good News to the people, it is not necessary to be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which make communication, dialogue and the living out of love difficult. Even if this causes difficulty for the people, as it caused difficulty for Jesus. Do I have this courage?
5) Concluding prayer
Come, let us bow low and do reverence;
kneel before Yahweh who made us!
For he is our God,
and we the people of his sheepfold,
the flock of his hand. (Ps 95,6-7)
kneel before Yahweh who made us!
For he is our God,
and we the people of his sheepfold,
the flock of his hand. (Ps 95,6-7)
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