Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary: 326
Lectionary: 326
When the time of David's death drew near,
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:
"I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
'If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.'"
David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David's reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:
"I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
'If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.'"
David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David's reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.
Responsorial
Psalm1 CHRONICLES 29:10, 11AB,
11D-12A, 12BCD
R. (12b) Lord,
you are exalted over all.
"Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"LORD, you are exalted over all.
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"LORD, you are exalted over all.
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
Alleluia MK 1:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Meditation: Jesus gave them authority over sickness
and unclean spirits
What kind of authority and power does the Lord want
you to exercise on his behalf? Jesus gave his apostles both the power and the
authority to speak and to act in his name. He commanded them to do the works
which he did - to heal the sick. to cast out evil spirits, and to speak the
word of God - the good news of the gospel which they received from Jesus. When
Jesus spoke of power and authority he did something unheard of. He wedded power
and authority with self-sacrificing love and humility. The "world" and
the "flesh" seek power for selfish gain. Jesus teaches us to use it
for the good of our neighbor.
The Lord Jesus wants to work in and through each of us
for his glory
Why does Jesus tell the apostles to "travel light" with little or no provision? "Poverty of spirit" frees us from greed and preoccupation with our possessions and makes ample room for God's provision. The Lord wants his disciples to be dependent on him and not on themselves. He wills to work in and through each of us for his glory. Are you ready to use the spiritual authority and power which God wishes you to exercise on his behalf? The Lord entrusts us with his gifts and talents. Are you eager to place yourself at his service, to do whatever he bids you, and to witness his truth and saving power to whomever he sends you?
Why does Jesus tell the apostles to "travel light" with little or no provision? "Poverty of spirit" frees us from greed and preoccupation with our possessions and makes ample room for God's provision. The Lord wants his disciples to be dependent on him and not on themselves. He wills to work in and through each of us for his glory. Are you ready to use the spiritual authority and power which God wishes you to exercise on his behalf? The Lord entrusts us with his gifts and talents. Are you eager to place yourself at his service, to do whatever he bids you, and to witness his truth and saving power to whomever he sends you?
"Lord Jesus, make me a channel of your healing
power and merciful love that others may find abundant life and freedom in you.
Free me from all other attachments that I may joyfully pursue the treasure of
your heavenly kingdom. May I witness the joy of the Gospel both in word and
deed."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus gives them power to heal and cast out evil
spirits, by Cyril of
Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"The grace bestowed upon the
holy apostles is worthy of all admiration. But the bountifulness of the Giver
surpasses all praise and admiration. He gives them, as I said, his own glory.
They receive authority over the evil spirits. They reduce to nothing the pride
of the devil that was so highly exalted and arrogant. They render ineffectual
the demon’s wickedness. By the might and efficacy of the Holy Spirit, burning
them as if they were on fire, they make the devil come forth with groans and
weeping from those whom he had possessed...
"He glorified his disciples, therefore, by giving them authority and power over the evil spirits and over sicknesses. Did he honor them without reason and make them famous without any logical cause? How can this be true? It was necessary, most necessary, that they should be able to work miracles, having been publicly appointed ministers of sacred proclamations. By means of their works, they then could convince men that they were the ministers of God and mediators of all beneath the heaven. The apostles then could invite them all to reconciliation and justification by faith and point out the way of salvation and of life that is this justification." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 47)
"He glorified his disciples, therefore, by giving them authority and power over the evil spirits and over sicknesses. Did he honor them without reason and make them famous without any logical cause? How can this be true? It was necessary, most necessary, that they should be able to work miracles, having been publicly appointed ministers of sacred proclamations. By means of their works, they then could convince men that they were the ministers of God and mediators of all beneath the heaven. The apostles then could invite them all to reconciliation and justification by faith and point out the way of salvation and of life that is this justification." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 47)
FEBRUARY, BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Carter G. Woodson, (1875-1950) noted Black scholar and historian and son of former slaves, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915, which was later renamed the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He initiated Black History Week, February 12, 1926. For many years the 2nd week of February (chosen so as to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln) was celebrated by Black people in the United States. In 1976, as part of the nation's Bicentennial, it was expanded and became established as Black History Month, and is now celebrated all over North America.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, MARK 6:7-13
Weekday
(1 Kings 2:1-4,10-12; Psalm:1 Chronicles 29)
Weekday
(1 Kings 2:1-4,10-12; Psalm:1 Chronicles 29)
KEY VERSE: "Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them" (v 11).
TO KNOW: Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs to preach repentance and heal by the power and authority of his name. These men had followed Jesus, and now they were sent out ahead of him. Jesus instructed them not to take along excess baggage. They were to trust in God's providence and the hospitality of others. If their message was not received, they were to leave that place, emptying the dust from their shoes as a testimony against those unbelievers (a Jewish custom when returning from a pagan land). Empowered by Jesus, the new missionaries set out to announce God's reign. As Jesus' reputation spread, King Herod wondered who this mighty one was that performed such works.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to hear and act on your words.
TO SERVE: Does my life-style bear witness to the Gospel?
Thursday 1
February 2018
St Henry Morse.
1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12. 1 Chronicles 29:10-12. Mark 6:7-13.
Lord, you are exalted over all – 1 Chronicles 29:10-12.
He sent them out two by two.
Jesus prepared the disciples for their mission. He empowered
them to preach, heal and exorcise. All teaching is a work of empowerment
whereby the pupil acquires the skills of the instructor.
The difference between working for God’s kingdom and merely
blindly pursuing a career becomes apparent in the motivation. Being
career-driven is self-promoting; working for the kingdom is neighbour-oriented,
something whereby one heals, helps, teaches. While careers aim at acquiring,
kingdom work is first and last a service.
It was to stress this difference that the disciples were told to
take nothing for the journey; their needs would be taken care of by God in
whose service they toiled – and they would learn to trust his generosity.
Saint Ansgar
Saint of the Day for February 1
(801 – February 3, 865)
Saint Ansgar’s Story
The “apostle of the north” (Scandinavia) had enough frustrations
to become a saint—and he did. He became a Benedictine at Corbie, France, where
he had been educated. Three years later, when the king of Denmark became a
convert, Ansgar went to that country for three years of missionary work,
without noticeable success. Sweden asked for Christian missionaries, and he
went there, suffering capture by pirates and other hardships on the way. Fewer
than two years later, he was recalled, to become abbot of New Corbie (Corvey)
and bishop of Hamburg. The pope made him legate for the Scandinavian missions.
Funds for the northern apostolate stopped with Emperor Louis’s death. After 13
years’ work in Hamburg, Ansgar saw it burned to the ground by invading
Northmen; Sweden and Denmark returned to paganism.
He directed new apostolic activities in the North, traveling to
Denmark and being instrumental in the conversion of another king. By the
strange device of casting lots, the king of Sweden allowed the Christian
missionaries to return.
Ansgar’s biographers remark that he was an extraordinary
preacher, a humble and ascetical priest. He was devoted to the poor and the
sick, imitating the Lord in washing their feet and waiting on them at table. He
died peacefully at Bremen, Germany, without achieving his wish to be a martyr.
Sweden became pagan again after his death, and remained so until
the coming of missionaries two centuries later.
Reflection
History records what people do, rather than what they are. Yet
the courage and perseverance of men and women like Ansgar can only come from a
solid base of union with the original courageous and persevering Missionary.
Ansgar’s life is another reminder that God writes straight with crooked lines.
Christ takes care of the effects of the apostolate in his own way; he is first
concerned about the purity of the apostles themselves.
Saint Ansgar is the Patron Saint of:
Denmark
LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 6,7-13
Lectio Divina:
Thursday, February 1, 2018
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
help us to love you with all our hearts
and to love all men as you love them.
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.
Lord our God,
help us to love you with all our hearts
and to love all men as you love them.
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 6,7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs, giving them authority over unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, 'Don't take a spare tunic.' And he said to them, 'If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust under your feet as evidence to them.' So they set off to proclaim repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs, giving them authority over unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, 'Don't take a spare tunic.' And he said to them, 'If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust under your feet as evidence to them.' So they set off to proclaim repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel continues what we have already seen in the Gospel yesterday. The passage through Nazareth was painful for Jesus. He was rejected by his own people (Mk 6, 1-5). The community which before had been his community, now, it is no longer such. Something has changed. Beginning at that moment, as today’s Gospel says, Jesus began to go round the villages of Galilee to announce the Good News (Mk 6, 6) and to send the Twelve on mission. In the years 70’s, the time when Mark wrote his Gospel, the Christian communities lived in a difficult situation, without any horizon. Humanly speaking, here was no future for them. In the year 64, Nero began to persecute the Christians. In the year 65, the revolt or uprising of the Jews in Palestine against Rome broke out. In the year 70, Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Romans. This is why the description of the sending out of the disciples, after the conflict in Nazareth, was a source of light and of courage for the Christians.
• Mark 6, 7. The objective of the Mission. The conflict grew and closely affected Jesus. How does he react? In two ways: 1) Before the mental obstinacy of the people of his community, Jesus leaves Nazareth and began to go round the neighbouring villages (Mk 6, 6). 2) He extends the mission and intensifies the announcement of the Good News calling other persons to involve them in the mission. “He summoned the Twelve, and began to send them out in pairs, giving them authority over unclean spirits”. The objective of the mission is simple and profound. The disciples participate in the mission of Jesus. They cannot go alone, they have to go in pairs, two by two, because two persons represent the community better than one alone and they can mutually help one another. They receive authority over unclean spirits, that is, they have to be a help for others in suffering and, through purification, and they have to open the door for direct access to God.
• Mark 6, 8-11. The attitudes which they should have in the Mission. The recommendations are simple: “And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff; no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses; they were to wear sandals and not to take a spare tunic. And he told them: If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away, shake off the dust under your feet, as evidence to them”. So they set off. It is the beginning of a new stage. Now, not only Jesus, but the whole group will announce the Good News of God to the people. If the preaching of Jesus caused conflict, much more now, there will be conflict with the preaching of the whole group. If the mystery was already great, now it will be greater since the mission has been intensified.
• Mark 6, 12-13. The result of the mission. “So they set off to proclaim repentance, and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.” To announce the Good News, produces conversion or a change in persons, it alleviates persons in their suffering; it cures illnesses and casts out devils.
• The sending out of the disciples on Mission. At the time of Jesus there were several other movements of renewal. For example, the Essens and the Pharisees. They also sought a new way of living in community and they had their own missionaries (cf. Mt 23, 15). But these, when they went on mission, they had prejudices. They took with them a haversack and money to take care of their own meals, because they did not trust the food that people would give them, which was not always ritually “pure”. On the contrary to other missionaries, the disciples of Jesus received diverse recommendations which helped to understand the fundamental points of the mission of announcing the Good News, which they received from Jesus and which is also our mission:
a) They should go without taking anything. They should take nothing, no haversack, no money, no staff, no bread, no sandals, not two tunics. That meant that Jesus obliged them to trust in hospitality. Because one who goes without taking anything, goes because he trusts people and thinks that he will be well received. With this attitude they criticized the laws of exclusion, taught by the official religion, and showed, by means of the new practice, that they in the community had other criteria.
b) They should eat what people ate or what the people gave them. They could not live separated providing their own food, but they should accept to sit at the same table (Lk 10, 8). This means that in contact with the people, they should not be afraid of losing the purity as it was taught at that time. With this attitude they criticized the laws of purity which were in force and showed, by means of the new practice, that they had another type of access to purity, that is, intimacy with God.
c) They should remain in the first house that welcomed them. They should live together in a stable way and not go from house to house. They should work like everybody else and live from what they received in exchange, “because the labourer deserves his wages” (Lk 10, 7). In other words, they should participate in the life and in the work of the people, and the people would have accepted them in the community and would have shared the food with them. This means that they had to have trust in sharing.
d) They should take care of the sick, cure the lepers and cast out devils (Lk 10, 9; Mc 6, 7.13; Mt 10, 8). They had to carry out the function of “Defender” (goêl) and accept within the clan, in the community, those who were excluded. With this attitude they criticized the situation of disintegration of the community life of the clan and they aimed at concrete ways of getting out. These were the four fundamental points which had to give impulse to the attitude of the missionaries who announced the Good News of God, in the name of Jesus: hospitality, communion, sharing and acceptance of the excluded (defender, goêl). If these four requirements were respected, they could and should cry out to the four ends of the world: “The Kingdom of God has come!” (cf. Lk 10, 1-12; 9, 1-6; Mk 6, 7-13; Mt 10, 6-16). Because the Kingdom of God revealed by Jesus is not a doctrine, nor a catechism, nor a law. The Kingdom of God comes and becomes present when persons, motivated by their faith in Jesus, decide to live in community to give witness and to manifest to all that God is Father and Mother and that, therefore, we human beings are brothers and sisters among us. Jesus wanted that the local community would again be an expression of the Covenant, of the Kingdom, of the love of God the Father, who makes all of us brothers and sisters.
• Today’s Gospel continues what we have already seen in the Gospel yesterday. The passage through Nazareth was painful for Jesus. He was rejected by his own people (Mk 6, 1-5). The community which before had been his community, now, it is no longer such. Something has changed. Beginning at that moment, as today’s Gospel says, Jesus began to go round the villages of Galilee to announce the Good News (Mk 6, 6) and to send the Twelve on mission. In the years 70’s, the time when Mark wrote his Gospel, the Christian communities lived in a difficult situation, without any horizon. Humanly speaking, here was no future for them. In the year 64, Nero began to persecute the Christians. In the year 65, the revolt or uprising of the Jews in Palestine against Rome broke out. In the year 70, Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Romans. This is why the description of the sending out of the disciples, after the conflict in Nazareth, was a source of light and of courage for the Christians.
• Mark 6, 7. The objective of the Mission. The conflict grew and closely affected Jesus. How does he react? In two ways: 1) Before the mental obstinacy of the people of his community, Jesus leaves Nazareth and began to go round the neighbouring villages (Mk 6, 6). 2) He extends the mission and intensifies the announcement of the Good News calling other persons to involve them in the mission. “He summoned the Twelve, and began to send them out in pairs, giving them authority over unclean spirits”. The objective of the mission is simple and profound. The disciples participate in the mission of Jesus. They cannot go alone, they have to go in pairs, two by two, because two persons represent the community better than one alone and they can mutually help one another. They receive authority over unclean spirits, that is, they have to be a help for others in suffering and, through purification, and they have to open the door for direct access to God.
• Mark 6, 8-11. The attitudes which they should have in the Mission. The recommendations are simple: “And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff; no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses; they were to wear sandals and not to take a spare tunic. And he told them: If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away, shake off the dust under your feet, as evidence to them”. So they set off. It is the beginning of a new stage. Now, not only Jesus, but the whole group will announce the Good News of God to the people. If the preaching of Jesus caused conflict, much more now, there will be conflict with the preaching of the whole group. If the mystery was already great, now it will be greater since the mission has been intensified.
• Mark 6, 12-13. The result of the mission. “So they set off to proclaim repentance, and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.” To announce the Good News, produces conversion or a change in persons, it alleviates persons in their suffering; it cures illnesses and casts out devils.
• The sending out of the disciples on Mission. At the time of Jesus there were several other movements of renewal. For example, the Essens and the Pharisees. They also sought a new way of living in community and they had their own missionaries (cf. Mt 23, 15). But these, when they went on mission, they had prejudices. They took with them a haversack and money to take care of their own meals, because they did not trust the food that people would give them, which was not always ritually “pure”. On the contrary to other missionaries, the disciples of Jesus received diverse recommendations which helped to understand the fundamental points of the mission of announcing the Good News, which they received from Jesus and which is also our mission:
a) They should go without taking anything. They should take nothing, no haversack, no money, no staff, no bread, no sandals, not two tunics. That meant that Jesus obliged them to trust in hospitality. Because one who goes without taking anything, goes because he trusts people and thinks that he will be well received. With this attitude they criticized the laws of exclusion, taught by the official religion, and showed, by means of the new practice, that they in the community had other criteria.
b) They should eat what people ate or what the people gave them. They could not live separated providing their own food, but they should accept to sit at the same table (Lk 10, 8). This means that in contact with the people, they should not be afraid of losing the purity as it was taught at that time. With this attitude they criticized the laws of purity which were in force and showed, by means of the new practice, that they had another type of access to purity, that is, intimacy with God.
c) They should remain in the first house that welcomed them. They should live together in a stable way and not go from house to house. They should work like everybody else and live from what they received in exchange, “because the labourer deserves his wages” (Lk 10, 7). In other words, they should participate in the life and in the work of the people, and the people would have accepted them in the community and would have shared the food with them. This means that they had to have trust in sharing.
d) They should take care of the sick, cure the lepers and cast out devils (Lk 10, 9; Mc 6, 7.13; Mt 10, 8). They had to carry out the function of “Defender” (goêl) and accept within the clan, in the community, those who were excluded. With this attitude they criticized the situation of disintegration of the community life of the clan and they aimed at concrete ways of getting out. These were the four fundamental points which had to give impulse to the attitude of the missionaries who announced the Good News of God, in the name of Jesus: hospitality, communion, sharing and acceptance of the excluded (defender, goêl). If these four requirements were respected, they could and should cry out to the four ends of the world: “The Kingdom of God has come!” (cf. Lk 10, 1-12; 9, 1-6; Mk 6, 7-13; Mt 10, 6-16). Because the Kingdom of God revealed by Jesus is not a doctrine, nor a catechism, nor a law. The Kingdom of God comes and becomes present when persons, motivated by their faith in Jesus, decide to live in community to give witness and to manifest to all that God is Father and Mother and that, therefore, we human beings are brothers and sisters among us. Jesus wanted that the local community would again be an expression of the Covenant, of the Kingdom, of the love of God the Father, who makes all of us brothers and sisters.
4) Personal questions
• Do you participate in the mission as a disciple of Jesus?
• Which point of the mission of the apostles is more important for us today? Why?
• Do you participate in the mission as a disciple of Jesus?
• Which point of the mission of the apostles is more important for us today? Why?
5) Concluding prayer
Great is Yahweh and most worthy of praise in the city of our God,
the holy mountain,
towering in beauty,
the joy of the whole world. (Ps 48,1-2)
Great is Yahweh and most worthy of praise in the city of our God,
the holy mountain,
towering in beauty,
the joy of the whole world. (Ps 48,1-2)
