Gospel Reading | Friday 20th January

+ A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted
and they came to him.
He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles,
that they might be with him
and he might send them forth to preach
and to have authority to drive out demons:
He appointed the Twelve:
Simon, whom he named Peter;
James, son of Zebedee,
and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges,
that is, sons of thunder;
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus;
Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,
and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

+ The Gospel of the Lord

Gospel Reading | Thursday 19th January

+ A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known.

+ The Gospel of the Lord

Gospel Reading | Wednesday 18th January

+ A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
"Come up here before us."
Then he said to the Pharisees,
"Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?"
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.


+ The Gospel of the Lord

Gospel Reflection | Tuesday

In today's Gospel Jesus is still being challenged by the Pharisees, but this time it is about the law and the place it has within the lives of the people.

Jesus solves the issue by appealing to the Hebrew Testament, which, of course, the Pharisees recognised as the word of God. He reminded them how King David and his followers, because they were hungry, went into the house of God and took the loaves of offering, even though only the priests were allowed to eat them. Jesus then enunciates the principle that “the sabbath was made for people and not people for the Sabbath” and secondly that Jesus is master of the sabbath.

The first principle is a very important one, namely, that all laws are for people and not vice versa. They are not ends in themselves and moral perfection is not in their literal observance. The hunger of David and his men transcended a religious regulation(that only the priests could eat the bread of offering). For the Jews of Jesus’ time, virtue was in perfect observance of the Law. For Jesus, observance of the Law was only perfect when it was for the good of others and oneself.

The second principle was that Jesus, as the Son of God, was not bound by human laws, however lofty their motive. We would do well to remember those principles in the living out of our Christian faith.  It is possible to lead rule-centred Christian lives rather than love- and people-centred.

There is only one law in our faith: Love one another as I have loved you. Even God will not violate that law because God IS love. Any law which, in a particular situation, does not serve this primary law can be set aside and should be set aside. Positive laws are necessary for smooth functioning in society but they are never absolute.

As today begins reflect on how you will uphold the one law in our faith to love one another and then act on it!

Gospel Reading | Tuesday 17th January

+ A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
"Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?"
He said to them,
"Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?"
Then he said to them,
"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

+ The Gospel of the Lord

Gospel Reflection | Monday

In today's Gospel brothers and sisters,

The Controversy over who Jesus is continues.
Jesus in today's reading paints two different pictures for those who were listening.

Firstly, In a discussion about fasting Jesus calls himself the bridegroom.

When one is in the presence of the bridegroom things can be different; it is a time for feasting and not a time of fasting right?

Have you ever been to a wedding and people there are fasting? No - right?!
So in the same way when we come before Christ, it is a time for feasting a time for celebration for all the fasting that took place in the lead up to meeting our Savior.

The second image about wineskins would have easily been recognizable by those that were listening. The teachings of Jesus cannot be understood with formerly held patterns of thinking. The old way will not be good enough! Just as new wine needs new wineskins so his teachings will require a new way of understanding.

So brothers and sisters let us not cling on to the old ways, instead let us move forward with a fresh way of thinking this new year! Let us continue to look with eyes of faith so that we may apply Christ's teachings to our everyday lives.

Gospel Reading | Monday16th January

+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
"Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?"
Jesus answered them,
"Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins."

+ The Gospel of the Lord