Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)
Psalm 88 : 20, 21-22, 25-26
In the past You spoke in a vision; You said of Your faithful servant : “I have set the crown upon a mighty one; on one chosen from the people.”
I have found David My servant, and with My holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will ever be with him and My arm will sustain him.
My faithfulness and love will be with him, and by My help he will be strong. I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 4 : 12-23
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town by the lake of Galilee, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali.
In this way the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled : ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, crossed by the Road of the Sea, and you who live beyond the Jordan, Galilee, land of pagans : The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone.’
From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim His message, “Change your ways : the kingdom of heaven is near.”
As Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed Him.
He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. At once they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
Jesus went around all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people.
Alternative Reading (shorter version)
Matthew 4 : 12-17
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town by the lake of Galilee, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali.
In this way the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled : ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, crossed by the Road of the Sea, and you who live beyond the Jordan, Galilee, land of pagans : The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone.’
From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim His message, “Change your ways : the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 16 : 15-18
Then He told them, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. Signs like these will accompany those who have believed :
“In My Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 3 : 13-19
Then Jesus went up into the hill country, and called those He wanted, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve to be with Him, and He called them ‘apostles’. He wanted to send them out to preach, and He gave them authority to drive out demons.
These are the Twelve : Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, which means ‘men of thunder’; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Samuel 24 : 3-21
So Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel and went in search of David and his men to the east of the Wild Goat crags. When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he entered a cave to relieve himself.
Now David and his men were far back in the cave. David’s men said to him, “This is the day which YHVH spoke of : look I will deliver your enemy into your hands and you will do with him as you see fit.” So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul’s robe.
But afterward, David regretted having cut off an end of Saul’s robe, and he said to his men, “Let me not lay my hands on my master, for he is YHVH’s anointed.” With these words, David restrained his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way.
Then David himself stepped out of the cave and called after Saul, “My master, the king!” When Saul looked back, David knelt and then bowed to the ground in homage and asked him, “Why do you listen to those who say that I want to harm you? Look, today you have seen that YHVH delivered you into my hands in the cave, and I was told to kill you but I held myself back and I said : ‘I will not lift my hands against my master who is YHVH’s anointed.'”
“My father, look at this end of your robe which I am holding! I cut off the end of your robe but did not kill you. Now you may know that I mean you no harm or treason. I have done you no wrong and yet you are hunting me down to kill me. May YHVH be judge between you and me and may He exact justice from you in my case, but I shall do you no harm.”
“As the saying goes, ‘From the wicked comes wickedness.’; as for me, my hand shall not harm you. But who is it you are after, o king of Israel? Are you pursuing a dead dog? A flea? May YHVH be judge between you and me. May He see and uphold my cause and deliver me from your hands.”
After David had spoken these words, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, my son David?” He wept aloud and said to David, “You are right and I am wrong, for you have repaid with kindness the harm I have inflicted on you. This day you have shown your righteousness to me by not taking my life when YHVH put me into your hands.”
“For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go unharmed? May YHVH reward you for what you have done for me today. Now I know for certain that you shall reign and the kingdom of Israel will be firm in your hand.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Trust in the Lord, and you shall not fail. Believe in the Lord with all of your heart’s strength, and blessing will follow you all the days of your life. Brethren in Christ, today we see in the readings, how Jesus is Lord, and Lord with power and authority as God made Man, to heal the sick and cast out the evil spirits. In God through Jesus, we have the perfect point of reference, the beacon of light which guides our way through the darkness.
Sadly though, we mankind tend to put God aside or make Him number two or worse, and in His place, we put our own human vulnerabilities and weaknesses, which include our feelings, emotions, and our human judgment, especially those pertaining to the negative ones. Mankind tend to put their own feelings and emotions ahead of the laws and precepts of the Lord.
The first reading today taken from the book of the prophet Samuel, on the relationship between King Saul, the first king of Israel, and David can symbolise what I had just mentioned quite clearly. Saul, despite being chosen by the Lord to be king over His people Israel, did not obey the Lord completely, and he gave in to his own sentiments and opinions, which earned him rebuke from the Lord, and his kingdom was to be taken away from him and given instead to David.
Saul however, also succumbed to the same affliction which affects mankind. He suffered from pride, jealousy, and wrath. Seeing and hearing the praises heaped upon David made him jealous and plotted evil in his heart, seeking to destroy David before the latter might have chance to take over his kingdom. He did what is evil in the eyes of God, because he feared losing power and all the privileges he had enjoyed as king, more so than he feared the wrath of God.
This is the same symptom affecting even many of us, even in this age. The popular saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely is truly right in this scenario. Of course, while not everyone may reflect this observation in their lives and actions, quite a few were indeed taken in by the allures of power that the devil had offered them, be it in the form of power itself, or wealth, or privileges and opportunities.
Saul was blinded by his fear and pride, that he plotted evil against David, the Lord’s servant, and committed even more sins against God than he had committed before. Such was his ‘blindness’ that he failed to see how faithful David had been, in the service of himself and the nation. Saul failed to see the good in David, which had been obscured by his jealousy, pride, and anger.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us compare this then, to Jesus our Lord, who is also King over all of us. He is divine and all-powerful, and yet He did not boast His divinity or show off His power to others. He neither made boasts on himself nor took pride in His works and achievements. All these despite the people praising Him and taking note of His miracles and works.
Jesus preferred to hide from the publicity and the glory of all of His works. He often enforced that nothing be told of what He had done, with all the miracles He had done. When Jesus was offered by the devil the entirety of power and the kingdoms of the world, in exchange for worshipping him, He adamantly refused to do so, and remained true to His mission in this world.
Brethren, are we able to be like Jesus? To follow Him and His ways? Are we able to cast aside our pride and our negative emotions such as jealousy and wrath, in exchange of the love and forgiveness that has been given to us by the Lord? Are we able to cast aside our hatred and ill feeling towards our fellow brothers and sisters, children of the same God?
Let us not fall into the same situation as Saul had, that he did not only disobey the Lord but added to that sin by plotting against the one who was to replace him, instead of sincerely asking for God’s forgiveness. Let us all put all our trust in God through Jesus, who had shown us that God had all the power and authority and yet He did not boast of that power. God used His power, to bring us all back up, out of the utter darkness back into the light.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of glory, bring us to His side, and enlighten us, opening our hearts towards His love. May He show us His love and forgiveness, just as we inch closer towards His throne of infinite mercy and love. God be with us all, and protect us from the weaknesses of our hearts, and shield us from the power of evil. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 55 : 2-3, 9-10ab, 10c-11, 12-13
O God, show Your mercy to me, for My foes are in hot pursuit; they press their attack on me all the time. My accusers pursue me all day long, many attack me.
You have a record of my laments; my tears are stored in Your wineskin. Are they not written on Your scroll? My enemies turn back when I call on You for help.
Now I know that God is for me. In God whose word I praise.
In God I trust without fear. What can mortals do against me? I am bound to You by vows, o God; I shall offer my thanksgiving.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
1 Samuel 17 : 32-33, 37, 40-51
David said to Saul, “Let no one be discouraged on account of this Philistine, for your servant will engage him in battle.”
Saul told David, “You cannot fight with this Philistine for you are still young, whereas this man has been a warrior from his youth.”
David continued, “YHVH, who delivered me from the paws of lions and bears, will deliver me from the hands of the Philistine.” Saul then told David, “Go and may YHVH be with you!”
David took his staff, picked up five smooth stones from the brook and dropped them inside his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he drew near to the Philistine.
The Philistine moved forward, closing in on David, his shield-bearer in front of him. When he saw that David was only a lad, and he was of fresh complexion and handsome, he despised him and said, “Am I a dog that you should approach me with a stick?”
Cursing David by his gods, he continued, “Come and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field!”
David answered the Philistine, “You have come against me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come against you with YHVH, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. YHVH will deliver you this day into my hands and I will strike you down and cut off your head.”
“I will give the corpses of the Philistine army today to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, and all the earth shall know that there is a God of Israel. All the people gathered here shall know that YHVH saves not by sword or spear; the battle belongs to YHVH, and He will deliver you into our hands.”
No sooner had the Philistine moved to attack him, than David rushed to the battleground. Putting his hand into his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; it penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground.
David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, felling him without using a sword. He rushed forward, stood over him, took the Philistine’s sword and slew him by cutting off his head.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they scattered in all directions.
Liturgical Colour : Green
John 1 : 29-34
The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! It is He of whom I said : A Man comes after me, who is already ahead of Me, for He was before me. I myself did not know Him, but I came baptising to prepare for Him, so that He might be revealed in Israel.”
And John also gave this testimony, “I saw the Spirit coming down on Him like a dove from heaven, and resting on Him. I myself did not know Him, but God, who sent me to baptise, told me, ‘You will see the Spirit coming down, and resting, on the One who baptises with the Holy Spirit.'”
“Yes, I have seen! And I declare that this is the Chosen One of God!”
Liturgical Colour : White (Priests and Abbots)
Mark 2 : 1-12
After some days Jesus returned to Capernaum. As the news spread that He was in the house, so many people gathered, that there was no longer room even outside the door. While Jesus was preaching the Word to them, some people brought a paralysed man to Him.
The four men who carried him could not get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where Jesus was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, He said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some teachers of the Law, who were sitting there, wondered within themselves, “How can He speak like this, insulting God? Who can forgive sins except God?”
At once Jesus knew in His Spirit what they were thinking, and asked, “Why do you wonder? Is it easier to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk?’ But now you shall know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
And He said to the paralytic, “Stand up, take up your mat and go home.” The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out. All of them were astonished and praised God, saying, “Never have we seen anything like this!”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 