Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 3 : 31-35
At that time, the mother and brothers of Jesus came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call Him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.” He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”
And looking around at those who sat there, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to Me.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 23 : 7, 8, 9, 10
Lift up, o gateways, your lintels, open up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may enter!
Who is the King of glory? YHVH, the Strong, the Mighty, YHVH, valiant in battle.
Lift up Your lintels, o gateways, open up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may enter!
Who is the King of glory? YHVH of Hosts, He is the King of glory!
Liturgical Colour : Green
2 Samuel 6 : 12b-15, 17-19
King David went to bring up the Ark of God from the house of Obededom to the city of David, rejoicing. After those who carried the Ark of YHVH had walked six paces, they sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf. David whirled round dancing with all his heart before YHVH, wearing a linen ephod, for he and all the Israelites brought up the Ark of YHVH, shouting joyfully and sounding the horn.
They brought in the Ark of YHVH and laid it in its place, in the tent which David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt and peace offerings before YHVH. Once the offerings had been made, David blessed the people in the Name of YHVH of hosts, and distributed to each man and woman of the entire assembly of Israel, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake. With this, all the people left for their homes.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard yet another conflict between Our Lord Jesus and the Pharisees in the Gospel passage. In that occasion, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law criticised Jesus and His disciples as they picked up grains of wheat from the wheat field and ate them during the day of the Sabbath. According to the former, and their interpretation of the laws of Moses, no one could do any work on the Sabbath.
This set them up against the Lord, Who rebuked them for their stubbornness to believe in Him and their persistence in insisting that their way and interpretation of the Law was the correct one, to the point of criticising and rejecting all those who did not agree with them. They believed in a very strict observance of the tenets and practices of the Law, to the point that they failed to understand the purpose and intention of God’s laws.
To them, the laws of God ended up becoming a source of pride and hubris, as they liked to show off their observances and supposed obedience to the Law, which to them was unlike what the others had done, those whom they deemed to be less worthy than they were for the Lord and for His kingdom. In the same manner, they looked down on the Lord Jesus and His disciples, because to them, all those who did not follow the Law as they did, were inferior, or even blasphemers.
In the first reading today, we listened to the account of the prophet Samuel’s actions, as God withdrew His favour and grace from king Saul, the first king He chose as ruler over Israel, and gave the favour and grace to David, the one whom God chose to replace Saul as His king over the people. Samuel came to the household of David, and went on to examine each of the sons of Jesse, David’s father, for the signs of God’s chosen one.
At that occasion, at first Samuel thought that the oldest son of Jesse, a man of great stature and worldly appearances, handsome and mighty, would be the one whom God chose to be king over Israel. Yet, God spoke to Samuel and reminded him about the truth, that He sees the good in His people and judges them not based on their appearances or external matters, but instead, their interior situation, the heart, mind and the soul.
Thus, none of Jesse’s sons were chosen, and the choice of God was revealed in the youngest among his sons, David, the simple and humble shepherd of his father’s flock, still very young and by any standards of the world, untrained and unfit to be a king to lead and to rule over Israel. Yet, God does not think in the same way as man thinks, and in His all-knowing sight, He knew how much David loved Him and how great was his faith for Him.
And that is the kind of love and dedication which God wants from each and every one of us mankind. It is not the dedication by performing external observances and obedience, by what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done, a blind obedience, and worse still, one that was aimed at personal self-aggrandisement and ambition. Instead, God wants each and every one of us to have a genuine love and commitment for Him, as king David himself once had.
The law of the Sabbath itself had been given to the people of Israel by the Lord, because if we read what happened during their Exodus from Egypt more carefully, we will notice that they have been unfaithful and rebellious throughout their journey. They committed many things which were wicked, and God was not the first priority in their lives. Thus, one day in each week was set aside as a day of the Lord, made sacred and sanctified as the time reserved for the Lord, and not for other worldly purposes. That is the true purpose of the law, that is to bring mankind to love God and to realise the love which God has for them.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all rediscover the true faith and love for God in each and every one of us. Let us all spend more quality time with the Lord if we have not done so thus far. Surely if we reflect on our own lives, and remember all that we have done in life thus far, many of us will remember that in many occasions, we put God aside and we treat Him as of second importance or less.
Let us all put aside all the distractions and all that has kept us separated from the love of God. We cannot survive without His love, and all that He has done for us. That is why it is only right that we do our best to love Him in the same way that He has loved us. Let us spend good and quality time with Him, through prayer that comes from our hearts, and at the same time, listening to Him speaking with us.
With that, hopefully we will grow ever closer to Him, and as our relationship with God deepens, we will draw ever closer to His salvation and grace. May the Lord help us in our faith journey in this life, that we may reach out to Him and attain the glorious promise of His eternal grace. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 2 : 23-28
At that time, on one Sabbath Jesus was walking through grain fields. As His disciples walked along with Him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!”
And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need; when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the House of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate; the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.”
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 88 : 20, 21-22, 27-28
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 be ever with him; and My arm will sustain him.
He will call on Me, “You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.” I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Samuel 16 : 1-13
YHVH asked Samuel, “How long will you be grieving over Saul whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen My king from among his sons.”
Samuel asked, “How can I go? If Saul hears of this, he will kill me!” YHVH replied, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to YHVH.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will let you know what to do next. You shall anoint for Me the one I point out to you.”
Samuel did what YHVH commanded and left for Bethlehem. When he appeared, the elders of the city came to him asking, fearfully, “Do you bring us peace?” Samuel replied, “I come in peace; I am here to sacrifice to YHVH. Cleanse yourselves and join me in the sacrifice.” He also had Jesse and his sons cleansed and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, Samuel looked at Eliab the older and thought, “This must be YHVH’s anointed.” But YHVH told Samuel, “Do not judge by his looks or his stature for I have rejected him. YHVH does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; YHVH sees the heart.”
Jesse called his son Abinadab and presented him to Samuel who said, “YHVH has not chosen this one either.” Jesse presented Shammah and Samuel said, “Nor has YHVH chosen this one.” Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel who said, “YHVH has chosen none of them. But are all your sons here?”
Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, tending the flock just now.” Samuel said to him, “Send for him and bring him to me; we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.” So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him to Samuel. He was a handsome lad with a ruddy complexion and beautiful eyes. And YHVH spoke, “Go, anoint him for he is the one.”
Samuel then took the horn of oil and anointed him in his brothers’ presence. From that day onwards, YHVH’s Spirit took hold of David. Then Samuel left for Ramah.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the moment when Hannah, the mother of the judge and prophet Samuel, prayed to the Lord and asked Him to grant her wish to have a child. As some background information, Hannah was one of the two wives of Elkanah, as mentioned in the Book of the prophet Samuel. While Penninah, the other wife had many children with Elkanah, but Hannah had none, and Penninah often ridiculed Hannah and bullied her.
In order to understand the full gravity of what had happened at that time, we have to understand that for the Jewish people, marriage and family is considered a blessing from God. And having children through marriage is an obligation, as according to the Book of Genesis, God Himself commanded mankind to go forth and multiply, through marriage and by giving birth to their children.
Therefore, there was a great prejudice against those who were barren and without children, as a kind of social stigma, which partly explained why Penninah gloated over Hannah, and why Hannah was so upset that she was not able to bear a child to Elkanah, while Penninah bore many children in return. And Hannah prayed sincerely to God, begging Him to listen to her pleas, and God, Who knew all that He would do through her, answered Hannah’s prayer and gave her a son, Samuel.
Then, in the Gospel today, we heard of how Jesus Our Lord cast out demons and evil spirits from a man who was possessed by them. He commanded with great authority and power, and the evil spirits had no choice but to obey Him. They went out from the man and the possessed man was thus healed completely from his troubles. God showed His loving and tender care through the power and authority of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
In each of the stories that we heard today, both regarding Hannah and the man who was possessed by the evil spirits, we heard of people who were downtrodden and suffering. One of them suffered from humiliation and constant bullying, while the other one suffered from possession by the evil spirits, and God rescued all of them by His mighty deeds, bringing them into His saving grace.
We can see through what we have witnessed in the Sacred Scriptures, that God is always loving and faithful to the Covenant which He had made with us mankind. He will protect the weak, the lowly and the downtrodden, while bringing down and destroying the plans of the proud, the wicked, the haughty and all those who had no concern for their fellow brothers and sisters.
He has released us mankind from the chains of sin which prevented us from truly being able to reunite with Him, just as He has released Hannah from the chains of her humiliation and barrenness, and how He has released the possessed man from the chains imposed on him by the evil spirits. He has given us a new hope and light, where there was once darkness and despair. He has given us a new love, where there was once bitter hatred and anger.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, today each and every one of us are called to follow the Lord, and to learn to put our complete trust in Him. For it is in Him alone that we will receive true satisfaction and perfect fulfilment of all that we will ever need in life. Let us pray fervently to the Lord, like what Hannah had done, and give all of our heart to Him, opening ourselves to receive His love and grace.
May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to love us as He has always done, and guide us on our journey of faith towards Him. May He give us the strength and courage that we need, in order to persevere through the difficult moments and challenges we will surely encounter on our way. May God bless us always and be with all of our endeavours. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 1 : 21b-28
At that time, Jesus taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The people were astonished at the way He taught, for He spoke as One having authority, and not like the teachers of the Law. It happened that, a man with an evil spirit was in their synagogue, and he shouted, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are : You are the Holy One of God.”
Then Jesus faced him and said with authority, “Be silent, and come out of this man!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and, with a loud shriek, came out of him. All the people were astonished, and they wondered, “What is this? With what authority He preaches! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him!”
And Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the country of Galilee.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Samuel 2 : 1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd
My heart exults in YHVH, I feel strong in my God. I rejoice and laugh at my enemies for You came with power to save me.
The bow of the mighty is broken, but the weak are girded with strength. The well-fed must labour for bread, but the hungry need work no more. The childless wife has borne seven children, but the proud mother is left alone.
YHVH is Lord of life and death. He brings down to the grave and raises up. YHVH makes poor and makes rich, He brings low and He exalts.
He lifts up the lowly from the dust, and raises the poor from the ash heap; they will be called to the company of princes, and inherit a seat of honour.
