Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Hungry for the Message
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
A messenger comes to announce to David that King Saul and his Son Jonathan have died in battle, and David mourns them deeply, even though Saul had sought David’s life.
The few verses of today’s Gospel tell us no more than that the crowd was so eager to hear Jesus’ message that they left him and the disciples not even the time to eat.
Opening Prayer
Our saving God,
you have shown your people mercy
in your Son, Jesus Christ.
May we belong to him,
that we may come to love him deeply
and in this way, know him as he is,
and also know you as our Father.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
First Reading
2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
David returned from his defeat of the Amalekites
and spent two days in Ziklag.
On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp,
with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.
David asked him, “Where do you come from?”
He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of the children of Israel.”
“Tell me what happened,” David bade him.
He answered that many of the soldiers had fled the battle
and that many of them had fallen and were dead,
among them Saul and his son Jonathan.
David seized his garments and rent them,
and all the men who were with him did likewise.
They mourned and wept and fasted until evening
for Saul and his son Jonathan,
and for the soldiers of the LORD of the clans of Israel,
because they had fallen by the sword.
“Alas! the glory of Israel, Saul,
slain upon your heights;
how can the warriors have fallen!
“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished,
separated neither in life nor in death,
swifter than eagles, stronger than lions!
Women of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and in finery,
who decked your attire with ornaments of gold.
“How can the warriors have fallen–
in the thick of the battle,
slain upon your heights!
“I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother!
most dear have you been to me;
more precious have I held love for you than love for women.
“How can the warriors have fallen,
the weapons of war have perished!”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (4b) Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
O guide of the flock of Joseph!
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
O LORD of hosts, how long will you burn with anger
while your people pray?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in ample measure.
You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For ourselves and our communities, that all of us may be less demanding but more attentive to one another and serve one another’s needs and more, we pray:
– For the many who serve us in various needs, servants, repairmen, drivers, nurses, and all the others, too many to name, that we may be grateful to them, we pray:
– For those wounded and belittled by our words and conduct, that they may forgive us and inspire us to respect others more, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the disciples of Emmaus recognized your Son
in the breaking of bread.
Allow us to know him too,
when here he breaks for us
the life-giving bread of the Eucharist.
May knowing him mean for us
loving him too
and by loving him may we know him better.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
in this Eucharist we have begun
to know Jesus a bit better
because he has spoken to us
and shared himself with us at his table.
May we lead others to know him
as the saving Lord of all,
who has brought forgiveness and life,
and may we praise you through him
as our living God, for ever and ever.
Blessing
The people left Jesus and his disciples no time to eat. How eager are we to know Jesus and his Good News? May we come to know him well; then we will also know well what our life is all about. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTION:
Mark 3:20-21
Jealousy kills
Friends, in today’s Gospel, relatives of Jesus claim that he has gone out of his mind. A line from the Indian movie Three Idiots explains the situation very well here: “When our friends fail, we feel bad; when they succeed, we feel worse.” The relatives of Jesus could not bear his growing uniqueness and popularity and, hence, had to label him “out of mind.”
People's responses to their feelings of jealousy are obvious: they attack, put down, insult, and undermine their targets. This is the method of the bully. However, the religious version is much more subtle and, therefore, more dangerous. It takes the law itself—especially the moral law—and uses it to accuse and oppress. "You are not living up to what the Church expects of you; I know what is right and wrong."
Jesus reminded his people that “no prophet is honoured among his own people.” In cases like this, the basic problem is always the fearful ego. The result is that I accuse you; I gossip about you; I remind you of your shortcomings. I do not intend to condemn the legitimate exercise of fraternal correction. This is a reminder to avoid becoming sucked into the slavery of ego addiction. We must stay alert to this and avoid it at all costs.
How do we treat people who are smarter than us in our families, religious communities, our little worlds?
Outliers
Today, we have the shortest gospel reading of the entire year, but one that speaks volumes about who we are! We all long to be special and extraordinary but cannot risk our securities and step beyond ourselves; and for the same reason, we simply cannot bear someone else doing so! Thus, we love to normalize everything and everyone around us, so as to feel good about ourselves. In other words, we hate outliers and cut them to size. A line from the movie Three Idiots captures this dynamic: “When our friends fail, we feel bad; when they succeed, we feel worse.” Jesus himself reminded his people that “no prophet is honoured among his own people.” No wonder the relatives of Jesus could not bear his growing uniqueness and popularity and, hence, had to label him “out of mind.” How do we treat the outliers in our families, religious communities, our little worlds?
Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022; written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF
Coffee with God : Criticisms and Crosses indicate whether your life in faith is true or not.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
DAY 7
God’s gift given in baptism
Verse for the day
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift (Eph 4:7).
Additional Scripture passages
Jeremiah 1:4-9; Psalm 131; Matthew 25:14-18
Reflection
The churches and all local communities are diverse in their God-given unity, with grace given according to the gift of Christ, building up God’s kingdom. These spiritual gifts are granted by one Lord, in one baptism, for one purpose. Diversity in unity: this is the unique Christ-centred richness and power of the Church in the movement of the Holy Spirit.
A question to consider:
How will our relations change if we accept that the diversity of gifts is not a reason for opposition and competition but for mutual strengthening and sharing?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, by the action of the Holy Spirit in the one baptism, you have bestowed wonderful graces and multiple gifts upon us for the sake of building up your Body, the Church. Grant us now the willingness to fully appreciate the richness of their diversity and use them fully to further the spread of the Gospel. In your name we pray. Amen.