Sunday January 10th. to Saturday January 16th.
Sunday January 10th. to Saturday January 16th. Reflections on the Readings at Daily Mass.
Sunday January 10th. The Feast of
the Baptism of the Lord.
As we noted when we were reflecting on the
Solemnity of the Epiphany, the Baptism of Jesus was originally celebrated on that
Feast. In the Churches of the East the Epiphany is still, above all, a
celebration of the Lord’s Baptism by John.
Before the reform of the Roman calendar for the
Western Church after the Second Vatican Council, the celebration of the
Epiphany, though is focussed largely on the visit of the Wise Men to the infant
Christ, still contained many references to the Baptism of Christ as well as the
Marriage Feast at Cana. This was particularly true in the Services of the
Vigils and Morning and Evening Prayer though not so much at the Mass.
The reformers of the Calendar decided to
rectify this by instituting a Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on the Sunday
after the Solemnity of the Epiphany which is today. The Wedding Feast at Cana
was relegated to the following Sunday and only in Year Three.
An added complication is that, though the
Gospel reading changes according to whether it is Year One, Two or Three, the
other readings and psalm may be those of Year One though optional readings are
given for Years Two and Three. This is Year Two but the readings for Year One
are given here with a note at the end for the alternative readings which may be
used.
Readings
Isaiah 40/1-5, 9-11 :
Paul’s Letter to Titus 2/11-14, 3/4-7
: Mark 1/7-11
The Gospels see this event as the beginning of
Jesus’ ministry and, indeed, when in the Acts of the Apostles someone is sought
to replace Judas, it is stipulated by the Eleven that it should be someone who
had been with them since the Baptism of Jesus by John. In fact, of course,
Mark’s Gospel which we read this year, is the first of the Gospels to have been
written and it actually begins with the Baptism of Jesus by John though we only
read from verse seven of chapter one today.
What is important about the event as described
in the Gospels is that it serves to establish the identity of Jesus before he
begins his public ministry. The heavenly voice in all three Gospels makes clear
who Jesus is and why he is important. Looking back to Isaac and to Jacob in the
Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus is seen as the One who is anointed with the Spirit and
who is the Beloved of God. Having identified Jesus so clearly Mark can now
begin his account of Jesus’ ministry and teaching.
The reading from the prophet Isaiah, which is
the one appointed for Year One but which may be used this year, forms part of
what are known as the ‘servant songs’ and this extract in particular is a
programme for Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus will himself say the same thing
when in the Synagogue at Nazareth he quotes another passage from Isaiah (Luke
4/16-20) declaring that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him. Isaiah foretells
the One who will come will be beloved of God, endowed with his Spirit, bringing
justice with compassion, opening the eyes of the blind and bringing freedom to
captives. It is for this that Jesus has come and for this he is anointed with
the Spirit, having identified himself with the whole of humanity when he goes
down into the Jordan river with all those who were coming to John to repent of
their sins and to be converted.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles,
Peter in his early proclamation of the Gospel, after telling Cornelius and his
family that God is the God of people of every race, goes on to tell them of
Jesus. Jesus, he says, was anointed with the Spirit at his Baptism and then
went about doing good for everyone, rescuing them from the power of evil.
Finally, in Mark’s short account of the Baptism
of Jesus by John we are given the bald facts of John’s preparation for Jesus’
coming and the moment of his Baptism by John when the heavens are torn open, the
Spirit is seen like a dove, descending upon him and the heavenly voice is heard
declaring ‘You are my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on you’.
The way in which people of Jesus’ time
understood the world and the cosmos would make the tearing open of the heavens
symbolic of a divine intervention as we read in the prophet Isaiah ‘O that you
would tear the heavens open and come down’ (Is.64/1) and it may also foreshadow
the ‘tearing open’ of the Temple veil at Jesus’ death (Mark 15/38) which
precedes the description of Jesus as the ‘Son of God’ (Mark 15/39) as it does
here (Mark 1/9-11).
The symbolism of the dove is obscure and the
Spirit is said to be ‘dove-like’ but this may allude to God’s Spirit hovering
over the waters of chaos (Genesis1/2) but this seems unlikely and the dove is
also seen in Genesis 8/2 as a sign of peace and order after the Flood. In
Jewish understanding the ‘voice of the turtle-dove’ in the Song of Songs was
interpreted as the Spirit. What matters is not the dove but the descent of the
Sprit and those images of the Holy Spirit as a dove are not helpful.
The ‘voice from heaven’ here is similar to the
Rabbinic expression which translates as’ the daughter of a voice’, that is ‘the
echo of a voice’ which combines the notion of God’s all-otherness and, at the
same time, his presence. These words of divine acceptance echo different texts
from the Hebrew Scriptures ‘You are my Son’ from psalm 2 which is a psalm of
royal adoption. The ‘my favour rests on you’ better translated as ‘in whom my
soul delights’ and quotes Isaiah 42/1-2.
The adjective ‘beloved’ is thought to translate
the Hebrew which means ‘only’ or ‘unique’ and in the context of family
relationships it carries the nuance of
‘beloved’. The heavenly voice also foreshadows the heavenly voice in the
transfiguration episode (Mark 9/7). This proclamation which only Jesus seems to
hear is full of meaning as is clearly seen.
Today then gives us a further opportunity to
reflect on how Jesus is the One who, while being totally one of us and
identifying himself as such at his baptism, is, nevertheless, the One who does
manifest, make known to us, the God who is all compassion and love.
It is, of course also, a day to remember our
own Baptism when we too were anointed with the Spirit and it is our vocation
too, as members of Christ in his Church, to ‘go about doing good and curing all
who have fallen into the power of the devil’. In other words, our anointing
gives us the obligation of following Jesus in his mission of both proclaiming
the Kingdom of God which is among us and building up that Kingdom in our world
with all t who are of good will.
There are readings appointed for this year
which are optional so that they may be used but those for Year One which are
commented on above are more appropriate so may well be used.
The readings that are optional for this year
are :-
Isaiah 55/1-11
in which the prophet speaks of the coming of
the Reign of God and the good things that accompany it. He speaks of the new
covenant that God makes with his people, a covenant we know to be sealed in
Christ and he calls the people to conversion and a new way of life which
reminds us of our own Baptism.
First Letter of John 5/1-9
which again speaks of how we prove ourselves to
be God’s children, by obeying his commandments and how Jesus is the Son of God
in whom we must have faith.
Monday January 11th. Monday in Week One in Year One.
Today, after celebrating feasts of Christmas
and the Epiphany we return to what is wrongly called ‘Ordinary Time’, a poor
translation of ‘tempus per annum’ which means ‘throughout the year’ and is not
part of any of the great seasons of the year. No time is really ‘ordinary’!
We begin to read from the Letter to the Hebrews
today and this needs some introduction. For many centuries this letter was
attributed to Paul but now it is generally agreed that he is not its author and
it is now thought by most scholars that, although the letter may have been
written in the sixties, it is far more likely to have been composed in the
eighties. The author does not identify himself although his greetings are extended
to those ‘in Italy’. Nor is it specified to whom the letter is addressed but,
based on its contents, it would seem that it was intended for some
Christian communities, either, possibly
in Jerusalem or, more likely in Rome, who were attracted by the values of
Jewish worship.
The letter offers us many insights which have
shaped subsequent Christianity but it is still something of a conundrum. In
many ways it is written in the style of a sermon or homily but it ends in the
style of a letter. It seems most likely that it was addressed to the Christians
of Rome and if so we have an insight into the ongoing struggle of a Christian
community which proved to be one of the most important in the history of
Christianity.
In the opening section of the letter which we
read today, the author immediately affirms the superiority of Christ over all
that has gone before in the history of Israel. The contrast is made between the
first revelation of God through the prophets and that which has come through
the Son. He existed from all eternity and through him God has created all that
is and now, in him, God has spoken to us.
The author portrays Christ against the
background of the portrayal of Divine Wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures as a real
person. He then goes on to affirm the superiority of Christ over the angels
with seven quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures which are continued in
tomorrow’s reading.
This reading forms a good transition from what
we have been reflecting upon during the season of Christmas. God has spoken to
us through Jesus, his Son, following that gradual revelation of God that we
have seen in the development of Jewish understanding through the prophets.
We begin also today to read from Marks’ Gospel
and during the weeks throughout the year we shall read next from Matthew’s
Gospel and finally from Luke’s leaving John’s Gospel to be read almost entirely
during Lent and Eastertide.
We have already read about John the Baptist and
how Jesus came to be baptised by him and how subsequent to that the Spirit that
had been poured out upon him ‘drove’ him into the wilderness to spend forty
days alone there, being tried by the tempter.
John the Baptist now leaves the scene and is imprisoned
by Herod and returning from his time of trial in the wilderness, Jesus begins
his ministry along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The shores of the lake were
heavily populated and served as a boundary between the Eastern side which was
greatly Hellenised, that is under Greek influence, the Decapolis and the mainly
Jewish Western towns. In Marks’ Gospel Jesus will journey frequently from one
side to the other, symbolising, perhaps, his mission to both Jews and non-Jews
or Gentiles.
In some ways Jesus picks up where John left
off. He too proclaims that ‘the Kingdom of God is close at hand’ and he invites
the people to ‘Repent and believe the Good News’. The word ‘Kingdom’ is very
familiar but it fails to translate the Greek word ‘Basileia’ very well. A
better translation would be ‘the reigning of God’, a state of affairs or a
situation, as it were. The reality, Jesus says, is very close to those to whom
he is speaking and what they must do is to ‘repent’.
Again the word ‘repent’ does not mean what we
might think. The Greek word ‘metanoia’ means ‘a change of heart’, a ‘turning
round’ or ‘a change of direction’.
Generally in Mark’s Gospel we shall find that
the word ‘faith’ does not imply just intellectual conviction but, much more,
trust and personal commitment.
The Gospel today continues the story of Jesus
with the calling of the fisher brothers, Simon and Andrew, to follow him and he
tells them that he will make of them ‘fishers of people’. The brothers respond
to Jesus’ invitation without delay and, moving on, Jesus calls the brothers
James and John, also fishers, who leave their father and the other workers and
follow him, again with no hesitation.
Mark’s arrangement of the calling of the
brothers is different from that which we find in the other Gospels but it
emphasises the urgency with which Jesus begins his ministry. The way in which
the brothers respond shows how authoritatively Jesus must have spoken and how
magnetic was his call.
Two things to remember from this Gospel reading
today. Firstly that ‘the Kingdom of God’, ‘God’s Reign’ is very close to us. It
is, in fact, wherever we find love. Today then we might well make a special
effort to note where we find the Kingdom of God, where there is love. We can be
‘Kingdom spotters’ and give thanks wherever we realise that the Kingdom of God
is there
The other point we might note is the way in
which the brothers respond to Jesus’ call. Am I ready to hear that call? Maybe
it is when someone needs our shoulder to lean on or when someone needs a ‘phone
call because they are not able to get out during this difficult time. These
moments of realisation are Jesus calling us to follow him in the way of
compassion and love. The calls are innumerable but am I listening out for them?
Tuesday January 13th. Tuesday in Week One in Year one
Readings
Letter to the Hebrews 2/5-12 :
Mark 1/21-28
Today we continue to read from the Letter to
the Hebrews. We have missed out a substantial portion of the letter where the
author uses six more quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures to show Christ’s
superiority over the angels. In the Jewish tradition angels were thought of as
the ‘sons of God’ and so the author points out that, while for a time, God’s
Son was made ‘lower than the angels’ now everything is subject to him.
The writer then reassures his readers or
hearers who were despondent because of the hardships they were having to
endure, that, although they may not be able to recognise it, God’s plan for
humanity is shown in Christ. This plan is not an exaltation without suffering
but rather exaltation through suffering.
Christ has tasted death for every human being,
the author says and God has already brought many to glory through Jesus who is
the pioneer of their salvation made perfect through suffering. In Jesus we have
all become brothers and sisters, we are all of one stock
This reading recalls what we have been
celebrating during Christmastide. God has spoken to us in Jesus his Son and in
Jesus we have a model to follow. Following Jesus and being his disciples will
and must involve suffering. As Jesus will say, we must take up our cross every
day and follow him. This does not mean that suffering is good in itself or that
we should seek suffering as if it pleased God to see us suffer! What it does
mean is that we have to accept that it is not
always easy to follow Jesus and we ought not to
expect that it would be. Loving will always involve suffering.
In the Gospel reading Jesus reaches Capernaum,
a town on the North West side of the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum would be the
centre of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and the place where he had a home after
leaving Nazareth.
With the coming of the Sabbath day Jesus goes
to the Synagogue to teach the people. The Synagogue was the meeting place for
prayer and teaching and the Sabbath services would consist of readings from the
Hebrew Scriptures and teaching. Jesus’ teaching made a deep impression on those
who were listening to him because he taught ‘with authority’ and not like the
Scribes. The Scribes were not a defined group but teachers, those who
interpreted the Scriptures. They were also sometimes lawyers. It was these who
were most opposed to Jesus, an opposition that was to prove fatal. While they
would speak with what we might call ‘book learning’, Jesus, it seems, spoke
with authority, that is, from his innermost convictions.
Jesus then deals with a man ‘possessed by an
unclean spirit’. The word ‘unclean’ denotes something which is not ‘holy’ as
God is holy. ‘Holy’ in this sense, implies ‘wholeness’ or ‘completeness’.
‘Unclean’ then suggests something which is ‘out of place’, something which should
not be. For instance, dirt in the field is productive and so in the right
place, dirt in the house it is ‘unclean’ because it is ‘out of place’.
The unclean spirit defends itself against Jesus
who is behaving as an exorcist and, after addressing him as ‘Jesus of
Nazareth’, goes on to call him ‘the Holy One of God’, a very rare term in the
Scriptures. It would seem by this that Mark wants to imply Jesus’ total
consecration to God, distinguishing him since he is someone who has ‘received
the Spirit’ and who will baptise with the Spirit, from the ‘unclean spirit’.
Jesus orders the unclean spirit to be silent and to leave the man and he does
so though not without some physical trauma.
The people are astounded by this event and
recognise that, not only does Jesus teach with authority but he backs his words
with his actions. The fame of the miracle worker spread rapidly and people
begin to hear about this man whose teaching is new and is backed by his
authoritative behaviour with unclean spirits.
Perhaps the most important lesson to be learnt
from this passage is that Jesus ‘taught with authority’. This authority sprang
from his deepest convictions and not from what he had been told or learnt. It
is important that we, when we have occasion to speak about our faith, speak
with authority. Not the authority that comes from holding a special position in
the Church but the authority that comes from within us, from our own
convictions. People don’t want to hear about what Popes and others have said or
decreed, they want to know what we truly believe. That will have to include our
doubts and our difficulties as well as our convictions but people are more
ready to listen when they know that we are speaking honestly and sincerely.
This is speaking ‘with authority’. So often in sermons and homelies, one has
the impression that the speaker is either just toeing the party line or saying
what they feel they ought to be saying and people very quickly see through this
sort of dishonesty and so lose faith in anything the speaker might say. A very
sound rule which was given to the writer of these reflections was never to say
anything in a sermon or homely that one does
not believe oneself!
Wednesday January 13th. Memory of
Hilary, bishop, Doctor of the Church (c.315-c.368)
Born in Poitiers of wealthy pagan parents,
Hilary became an orator, married and had a daughter Aria. Through many years of
study Hilary gradually came to believe that we are in this world to live good
and loving lives and that there is only one God and his Word was made flesh in
Jesus Christ. As a result of his search Hilary embraced the Christian faith and
in about the year 353 he was chosen to be bishop of Poitiers.
Hilary spent the rest of his life teaching the
orthodox faith and refuting the various errors of his day to such a degree that
he was called by both Augustine of Hippo and Jerome ‘the illustrious teacher of
the churches’.
Under the Emperor Constantius Hilary was exiled
from 356 to 360 but returned, to the delight of his people, to resume his
duties as bishop of the diocese. In
character Hilary was gentle, courteous and friendly though he could be severe
in his writings. His various works, though quite obscure in their style, are
enormously valued as a witness to the orthodox faith. Hilary is regarded as one
of the Doctors or teachers of the Church.
We remember the diocese of Poitiers today, its
bishop and its people and we pray for all bishops that they may be sound and
simple teachers for their people, gentle, courteous and approachable as was
Hilary.
Readings
Letter to the Hebrews 2/14-18 :
Mark 1/29-39
In the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
today the writer explains how Jesus has shared our flesh and blood so that he
is like us in every respect. Because of that he is able to be a compassionate
and faithful High Priest who can atone for the sins of his people. Since he has
suffered and has undergone temptation he is able to help those who are tempted.
This is not just a priest who offers sacrifice for the people, he himself is
the sacrifice. He offers himself to be, as it were, a bridge between God and
the people.
It is necessary to remind ourselves constantly
that Jesus is truly one of us, flesh of our flesh, so that he is able to
understand us and see our point of view from the inside as it were. So there is
no need to fear judgement by God. In Jesus God is on our side no matter what we
may do.
So much teaching in the past has seemed to
emphasise how God judges us but the whole point of the Incarnation, that we
have been celebrating over Christmastide, is that God understands us and is one
of us and so, even when we fail and whatever we may do, God understands and
forgives us.
In the passage that we read today from Mark’s
Gospel the writer begins with ‘on leaving the Synagogue’ followed by ‘and then
went straight to the house’ though the original Greek is better translated by
‘immediately’. Mark uses this word frequently and it gives a sense of urgency and
rapid progress to these first accounts of Jesus’ ministry.
Recent excavations at Capernaum have unearthed
a house which, archeologists think, may have been the house of Peter. It is
typical of a house of this period and consists of a cluster of rooms
surrounding two courtyards, suitable for two families to share, those of Simon
and Andrew and Simon’s mother-in-law with them.
Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever, a
symptom rather than a disease, but Jesus goes to her and taking her by the
hand, he raises her from her bed of sickness. This physical contact is
important because it indicates that Jesus is a spirit-filled man from whom healing
power is transferred by physical contact. The gesture of raising the woman up
denotes setting her on her feet, as it were, so that she is fully healed and
able to serve the whole gathering.
There is meaning in this story for us today
since we make physical contact with Jesus in the Eucharist where he raises us
up from our selfishness and sin so that we may be empowered to serve others.
Not only in the Eucharist in our physical contact with the bread and the wine
but every time we make physical contact with someone else, Jesus makes contact
with us whether it be in an embrace of love or a simple gesture of service. He
is always there to raise us up to a more generous and loving life.
The Gospel reading today continues with what
has been called ‘a typical day in Jesus’ ministry’.
With sunset the Sabbath was ended and so people
were able to move about freely and carry burdens which might include carrying
the sick. By this time Jesus’ fame had begun to spread by word of mouth and so people came crowding
to him , bringing their sick and those who they believed to be possessed by
devils.
Jesus cured many and also cast out many devils.
Many of those afflictions which were ascribed to devils were illnesses which we
would see more as diseases of a psychological nature.
In Jewish thinking the day began at sunset as
it still does for them today. Another thing which we have inherited from them
since we always begin our celebrations of Sundays and Feasts on the night
before with Evening Prayer.
When morning comes Jesus rises early to go to
some isolated place which could have been the end of the garden and not
necessarily some place miles away. His purpose was to find somewhere quiet to
pray. For devout Jews to pray in the morning was normal but here Jesus rises
early to be alone with the Father in prayer.
As soon as the disciples find Jesus they tell
him that everyone is looking for him but he wants to move on immediately. The
same sense of urgency is here and Jesus is anxious to get on with the task for
which he said, at the beginning of this Gospel, he had come and this was to
proclaim the Good News.
From there Jesus went through all the small
commercial centres in Galilee, proclaiming the Good News and backing up his
preaching by casting out devils.
What we might note particularly is that Jesus
found the time to be alone with the Father during such a hectic daily routine.
We know too that, whatever his own practice, Jesus was not impressed by lengthy
prayers. What he would have us do then is to find the time and, it must be
said, early morning is best if we are able to do it, to be alone with God, and
the emphasis is on ‘be’. We do not have to say lots of prayers but just try to
be quiet and still and recognise that we are ‘in God’ who surrounds and enfolds
us in his love. These moments of silence will make a difference to our whole
day as Jesus well knew.
Thursday January 14th. Thursday in Week One in Year One.
Readings
Letter to the Hebrews 3/7-14 :
Mark 1/40-45
In the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
today the writer recognises that he is addressing Christians who are growing
weary through discouragement. He reminds them of the journey of the Israelites
through the wilderness and how they grew weary and became disobedient to God
and so failed to reach the Promised Land. This is a time of testing for them
too, he says, and they must encourage one another to resist the ‘lure of sin’
and remain faithful to Christ because they are destined to share his glory.
These words may be very relevant for us since
we may well be prone to discouragement in view of the Pandemic, the state of
our world and the Church itself. We are surrounded by what Seems like chaos. It
is easy to be discouraged and there are no glib or quick solutions. We must, as
the writer says, ‘keep a firm grasp on our first confidence right to the end’.
We have committed ourselves to Christ but our faith weakens and we are tempted
just to go the way of the world and not bother because it seems so difficult
for us to do anything about things. But the writer says ‘Hang on and trust in
the one to whom you have committed yourselves’. Many of us who have seen the
Church renewed and revivified by the Second Vatican Council and our faith has
been a given a bit of a lift with Pope Francis, it is difficult to hang on as
we see the vision of the Council being forgotten and Francis being ignored and
even abused and condemned by those who ought to be his closest supporters.
Again we must hang on and encourage one another that the One who said that he
would be with us until the end of the ages will be faithful to his word and,
out of all the present confusion we can hope that a renewed and purer Church
may emerge, more faithful to the Gospel and trimmed of all that makes it
difficult to see Christ in and among us. Of course, we do not have to just sit
back and trust, we can also do something about it and with others of the same
mind, we can begin that reform and change among ourselves, forming small groups
of Christians who are trying to live the Gospel and to be involved in making
our world a better place.
In the Gospel reading today a leper approaches
Jesus and falls to his knees, pleading with Jesus to heal him. The way in which
Mark describes this scene suggests that the man attributes divine power to
Jesus who has the ability to heal him if he so wishes. Leprosy was a term which
covered many skin diseases in Jesus’ time but it was always seen as something
which cut the victim off from society and anyone who came into contact with a
leper was also made ritually ‘unclean’. The expression ‘feeling sorry for him’
does not translate the original Greek as forcefully as it should and ‘deeply
moved with compassion’ is a better rendering of the original. Jesus then, moved
with compassion for this poor victim of a disease which made him an outcast
from society, breaks all the rules and touches him and in so doing heals him.
Jesus orders the man to tell nobody what has happened and to go to the priests
who would verify that he was truly healed and could authorise him to mix with
people again. The man, however, cannot keep his good fortune to himself and tells
everyone about it so that Jesus is forced to hide himself from the crowds who would have pestered him
constantly though some still find him.
The purpose of Mark’s including this episode,
after he had told his readers that Jesus was healing many people would seem to
be to confirm Jesus’ power and to emphasise his compassion.
Those for whom Mark was writing his Gospel
would have recognised themselves in this story. They had been ‘touched’ by the
life-giving power of Jesus and they were also to become missionaries like the
healed leper, broadcasting Jesus’ message far and wide. They would also have
identified themselves with the leper since, as followers of Jesus, they were
being excluded from the Synagogues.
Like the leper we too have been ‘touched’ by
Jesus and the sacraments by which we become followers of Jesus and members of
his Church all involve being touched by the ministers of the Church, by the
waters of Baptism, by the Oil of Anointing and by the bread and wine of the Eucharist
which we receive from another’s hand.
We give thanks for our healing from the leprosy
of sin and selfishness which cuts us off from others and we resolve to proclaim
the Good News not so much by our words as by our lives.
Friday January 15th. Friday in Week
one in Year One.
Readings
Letter to the Hebrews 4/1-5, 11 :
Mark 2/1-12
In today’s reading from the Letter to the
Hebrews the author continues to remind his readers or hearers of the
experiences of the Hebrew people in the wilderness. He points out that the
‘place of rest’ promised them by God is still there for them. The Jewish people
have, in many cases, failed to hear the Good News that Jesus proclaimed but it
is not too late, he says, and they must have faith so that they may reach this
place of rest. The author also alludes to the story of Creation in which, at
the end of his work, God rested and he suggests that their and our journey will
end in sharing that same place of rest, so long as we are faithful to God and
do not fall into sinful ways.
It is important to understand that the ‘rest’
of which the author is speaking is not just doing nothing. It is the rest of the eternal Sabbath which
the Scriptures compare to a great banquet where we shall enjoy God’s peace and
find total fulfilment.
We must also remember that we know nothing of
life after death. Paul says that we shall become ‘like God’, enjoying the
eternal Sabbath of rejoicing and fellowship but that is all. If we believe that
God is love, then surely this also means that we shall be transformed by love
but for now we must live this life and trust for the rest to the God who loves
us.
In the Gospel reading the Gospel writer moves
on from the enthusiasm of the crowds which we have seen so far to situations
where Jesus begins to meet opposition. We must remember that Mark is not
writing an historical biography of Jesus and so he arranges his material, as do
all the Gospel writers, to suit his purposes. Here it is to show how opposition
to Jesus from the Scribes, the Pharisees and eventually the Herodians,
gradually increases. Mark is writing probably some forty years after the events
which he is describing and his presentation of his story reflects the growing
estrangement between the Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah together with
the non-Jews or Gentiles who also accepted him and the Jews who refused to
accept him. It is important to remember this because a certain misunderstanding
of this can lead and has led to anti-Semitism. Mark writes from a
post-resurrection point of view and sees that the rejection, death and
resurrection of Jesus were willed by God. Because of this opposition to Jesus
must have been according to God’s will. It should also be remembered that while
certain Jewish leaders were involved in Jesus’ death, the precise nature of
their involvement is not at all clear and it was certainly not ‘all the
people’.
It is also important to remember that there
were already at this time strong opposition between various religious groups
within Judaism, opposition which, occasionally, led to violence.
The actual event described in today’s Gospel
extract is a weaving together of two stories. Jesus Is teaching the people when
the proceedings are interrupted by the flat roof being torn open so that a
paralysed man might be let down in the midst of the people gathered there and set
before Jesus. Jesus praises the faith of the men who had brought their friend
to him and he declares that the man’s sins are forgiven him.
Interwoven into the story is the controversy
between the Scribes and Jesus. Disease was frequently seen as the result of sin
and so Jesus’ words of forgiveness are related to the man’s healing. The
Scribes question Jesus’ power to forgive sins and relate this to blasphemy
since only God can forgive sins. This will be the accusation that will be made
finally against Jesus but in this instance he proves his authority by healing
the sick man and he demonstrates that the authority he has is not one of power
and domination but of service.
We are so often paralysed, as it were, in our
selfish and sinful ways especially if we have become discouraged as we saw in
our reflection on the first reading. Often we need the help and encouragement
of others to help us start again and leave behind sinful ways and this is what
the community of the church is meant to be for us
It was the faith of the man’s friends which
brought him healing. What they did was a mad sort of thing to do and,
sometimes, we need to do something which seems a bit crazy and demands courage
to help someone else who has become paralysed in their old ways. Our faith can
bring healing and wholeness to others as that of the paralysed man’s friends
did.
We must have faith in the One who will always
support us in whatever task it is that we feel urged to do.
Saturday January 16th. Saturday in
Week One in Year One
Readings
Letter to the Hebrews 4/12-16 :
Mark 2/13-17
Today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
begins with one of the most famous passages of the New Testament where it
speaks of the Word of God as ‘alive and active’. It is ‘sharper than any two-edged
sword’ the writer says, ’able to discern the thoughts and reflections of the
heart’. So we must allow the Word of God to pierce us and help us discern the
depths of our hearts and the way in which we may be failing to live the Gospel.
The writer then speaks of the High Priesthood
of Jesus. Jesus is able to sympathise with us in our weaknesses since he was
tested just as we are, though he did not sin. We can be confident then that this
High Priest of ours, Jesus, will understand us and our situation and that he
will be merciful to us since he is truly one of us.
In today’s Gospel reading we meet the second
controversy in which Jesus is involved. Yesterday it was the forgiveness of
sins which drew forth criticism from the Scribes. Today it is Jesus’ calling of
Levi, the Tax-collector. Since, as a tax-collector Levi worked for the pagan
Roman occupier, he was technically a ‘sinner’ and the fact that Jesus shared
meals with both tax-collectors and ‘sinners’ also draws criticism from the
Scribes. In a way, Jesus is also declaring that the sins of his companions at
table are forgiven, since he is willing to call one of them to ‘follow’ him, -Levi,
who is identified with Matthew. Moreover, by eating and drinking with these
sinners, Jesus shows himself ready to break the Jewish Law.
It is significant, surely, that Jesus doesn’t
ask the tax-collectors to change their way of life. He seems to be saying, by
his actions, that God loves them, whatever their lifestyle may be.
When the Scribes criticise Jesus’ actions he
replies famously ‘It is not the healthy that need the doctor but the sick. I
did not come to call the virtuous but sinners’. This episode will be part of
the build-up of opposition that Jesus will gradually encounter since his
behaviour flouts the Jewish Law, obedience to which, it was thought by both the
Scribes and the people generally, made someone ‘virtuous’.
This passage would seem to have something
definite to say to us today about our exclusion of some who are deemed
‘sinners’ from the Lord’s Table. The Eucharist is surely not for the ‘virtuous’
who keep all the rules and regulations but for sinners like ourselves who need
the medicine that the divine healer brings to us at the banquet of his table.
Is it for any of us to judge whether someone may be fit to receive the
Eucharist? The rules and regulations
concerning this are certainly not given us by the Lord. At the Last Supper
there was no hint from Jesus that while we must ‘do this in memory of him’ we
should only do it with those who are judged by the group to be eligible. Over the centuries disciplines about
admission to the Eucharist have grown up but in our own days it seems absurd
that those should be excluded from Communion who are judged, mostly by the
clergy, to be unfit to receive it. For most people the rulings of our church
seem absurd and unchristian and perhaps this is a case of the ‘sensus
fidelium’, that is the belief of the body of the Church, being more in line
with Jesus’ teaching than the rules laid down by church authorities?
Whatever the case, it becomes clear from Jesus’
attitude that the Church is meant to be a place where all are welcome and
wanted, whatever failings they may have, rather than a community of those who
are fully in compliance with all the rules and the regulations. It is up to us
to work towards making our Christian community that sort of place .
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