Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

God Builds A House

Other Celebrations for this Day:

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: I

Introduction

A man of faith, David wants to build a house for God, to house the Ark of the Covenant, as the Ark was the sign of God’s presence and union with his people. But David’s loyalty to the covenant is enough for God. Instead, God will build a house for David: his royal house will be the origin of the coming Saviour; through this Saviour, God will dwell with his people forever. In this Eucharist, we celebrate the joy of having God present among his people.

Why has the kingdom of God not taken deeper roots among us? Why does it grow so slowly? In today’s Gospel, Mark states that this is a mystery of God’s efforts and people’s lack of depth and understanding. The kingdom is here among us, but it meets the slowing down resistance of people. It is hard to respond to the demands of the Gospel, to be converted to God’s plan with us, to form a community that lives according to God’s norms and witnesses to God’s presence. Are we willing to be that community that promotes the growth of God’s kingdom?

Opening Prayer

Lord, God of the covenant,
the houses of worship
that we build for you with our own hands
cannot contain you.
We thank you for building
with our meager help
your own dwelling place among us
where people live for one another
for the sake of him
who is your living presence among us,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever.

First Reading

2 Samuel 7:4-17

That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house
from the day on which I led the children of Israel
out of Egypt to the present,
but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.
In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel,
did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges
whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:
Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'

"Now then, speak thus to my servant David,
'The LORD of hosts has this to say:
It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
And if he does wrong,
I will correct him with the rod of men
and with human chastisements;
but I will not withdraw my favor from him
as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul,
whom I removed from my presence.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.'"
Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30

R. (29a) Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages.”
R. Forever, I will maintain my love for my servant.
“He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock that brings me victory!’
I myself make him firstborn,
Most High over the kings of the earth.”
R. Forever, I will maintain my love for my servant.
“Forever I will maintain my love for him;
my covenant with him stands firm.
I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.”
R. Forever, I will maintain my love for my servant.

Alleluia Verse

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mark 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
"Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."

And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

Prayers of the Faithful

– That our Christian associations and organizations may realize better that all have to cooperate to be truly the Church of Christ, we pray:

– That our community may always be aware that it is not standing alone, but united in faith and love, in hope and service with the universal Church, we pray:

– That the Church may always be hospitable and be a home to strangers and refugees, people without a home or country, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
we bring before you bread and wine,
the fruits of the harvest.
Sow in us the seeds of life
of the body and blood of your Son,
that we may yield
a rich harvest of justice and love
on account of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, loyal God,
in this Eucharist, we have remembered
how you have saved us from our miseries
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Keep journeying with us, your people,
give us rest from evil,
be a father to us
and let us be your sons and daughters
through your loyal Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

The Lord keeps sowing his word in us whenever he speaks to us in the readings from the Scriptures and whenever we see how good Christians practice their faith. May we hear that word and live by it, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

REFLECTION:

If God is good, why does his Kingdom not grow unchallenged?

In the parable of the sower, there is a small detail that immediately draws our attention: lots of seed is wasted in large quantities in a barren land. The insistence on the waste, failure, and disappointing prospects is an important element of the parable of Jesus. It reflects the reality of the world in which evil appears much stronger and more efficient than good. In most cases, the seed does not sprout; that which sprouts does not grow; that which grows is suffocated.

Why does this happen? If God is good, why does his Kingdom not grow unchallenged? These are the questions that Jesus wanted to give an answer. The farmer in the parable appears to be working in vain and wasting seed and his energy. Jesus tells this parable in a difficult moment of his life. In Nazareth, he is rejected, in Capernaum, he is taken as mad, the Pharisees want to kill him, and the disciples abandon him. All his preaching has fallen on deaf ears. The conditions are too unfavourable; his word seems destined to die (cf. Mt 11–12).

With this parable, he wanted to send a message to his discouraged disciples who doubts the usefulness of the apostolic work he was doing. Despite all the contradictions and obstacles, his word would bear abundant fruit because it has in itself an irresistible force of life.Contrary to all expectations, the coming of the Messiah was not sensational. It has not changed anything in the people’s social and political life. The Baptist was more famous than him. Jesus disappeared into the ground like a small, weak, almost invisible seed. However, after a short time, this seed has begun to sprout. The Gospel has raised humanity and we, today, can verify that the fruitfulness of the parable of the sower is taking place.

All of us sometimes wonder if it’s worth proclaiming the Word of God in a corrupt world and society, as those in which we live; if it still makes sense to teach catechism to people who do not listen, whose hearts are hardened, who think only about money, entertainment, and cosy living. Aren't the evangelizers and catechists, perhaps sowing in vain? When these thoughts arise, it is time to profess the faith in the divine power contained in the Word of the Gospel.

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Mark 4: 1-20

Discovering the Kingdom in Everyday Life

Jesus, a humble carpenter from Nazareth, taught the crowds in a way that was both appealing and comforting to the poor of the society. He sat in a boat by the sea and used everyday lifesituations of people to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. His words captivated the people, who were drawn to His authenticity and simplicity.

Through parables, Jesus spoke of seeds, soil, and the challenges of farming—familiar realities to His listeners. These stories were not just illustrations but invitations to deeper reflection. The parable of the sower, for instance, was more than a lesson about agriculture; it was a mirror of the human heart and its receptivity to God’s Word.

The sower faced challenges: rocky soil, thorny bushes, and pathways trampled by travellers. Yet, he sowed with faith, trusting in the power of the seed and the generosity of nature. Similarly, God’s Word is sown in our lives, and its growth depends on the soil of our hearts. Are we hardened pathways, shallow soil, or fertile ground ready to bear fruit?

Jesus’ parables were not ready-made solutions but calls to ponder, seek, and discuss. They revealed the Kingdom to those open to Him but concealed it from those clinging to worldly expectations. As we reflect on this parable, we might ask ourselves: What kind of soil am I? Do I allow God’s Word to take root and transform me? Like the crowd by the sea, let us listen attentively, open our hearts, and discover the Kingdom of God in the simple yet profound truths of life.

“Fix your gaze on Yahweh, and your face will grow bright” (Ps 34:5). May His Word illuminate our hearts.

Discovering the Kingdom in Everyday Life - Youtube

Mark 4:1-20

The Good News is not chained!

In the Gospel today, unlike a diligent and responsible sower who ensures seeds are sown only on fertile and well-prepared soil, the Sower of the parable recklessly scatters seeds everywhere, among thorns and along the paths, as well as on rocky ground. This sower is God Himself.

What appears foolish in the human perspective has greater wisdom in the divine plan. God does not withhold his word – the seed – from any type of human heart, be they fertile, full of thorns, hard, or rocky. The Good News is not withheld from anyone, nor it is preached based on the recipient’s worth.

Why does He do so? The only conclusion that can be drawn is that God is absolutely generous and loving, willing to risk His seeds on every conceivable type of soil that the human heart may be, hoping that at some point they will soften up and respond to his invitation and take root. It is the risk of love and the wisdom of the cross.Being recipients of such a generous act of God, how do we respond to the seeds that God continues to sow in our hearts?

The Good News is not chained! - Youtube

Recklessness of the Sower

Unlike a careful and responsible sower who would ensure that the seeds fell only on the good and well-prepared soil, the parable’s sower recklessly sows the seeds everywhere: not only within the fertile, ploughed soil, but also among thorns, on the path, and on the rocky ground; in other words, he sows them in every conceivable space. However, there is method in the seeming madness of the sower; for, we know that this sower is God Himself. What appears foolish in human perspective has greater wisdom in the Divine plan. God does not withhold his word – the seed – from any type of human hearts, be they fertile, full of thorns, hard, or rocky. The Good News is not withheld from anyone, nor is it preached based on the recipient’s worth. It is up to the human hearts to respond to the seeds of the word, so as to produce thirty or sixty or hundred fold. Let those who have ears, let them hear.