Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time-B

I Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20: I will raise up a prophet and I will put my words into his mouth.

II Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35: An unmarried woman can devote herself to the Lord’s affairs: all she needs to worry about is being holy.

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28: He taught them with authority.

 

Jesus’ Teaching and Its Impact: Launching a New Ministry (1:21-22)

Jesus is launching a new ministry in the very beginning with his authority which is prophetic, authoritative and creative like God in Genesis very important for the believer as he goes forth serving his Lord.

1.    Jesus began with worship: Immediately-in the Synagogue (v.21)

2.    Jesus seized the opportunity to teach (v.21)

3.    Jesus amazed the crowd (v.22)

a.    His teaching (v.14-15)

b.    His authority

 

Jesus’ Power over Evil Spirits and Its Impact:

Delivering the Most Enslaved (1:23-28)

People can be delivered from all the forces of evil by the power of Jesus and by his creative and authoritative words. Jesus has the power to deliver man (Rom 8:31; 1Jn 4:4; Mt 8:28-34; 17:14-21; Lk 8:26-39)

1.    Picture 1: The need of the possessed man (v.23-24)

a.    He was in the synagogue: nobody helped him or cured him

b.    He raged and cried out, sensed and recoiled from purity

c.     He identified Jesus: The Son of God, the Holy One of God- this is only professing faith  or lips service concession but not practising faith

2.    Picture 2: The Power of Jesus (v.25-26)

Who is the agent or the author of the evil spirit or who created the evil spirit?

The misuse of the freedom, knowledge, wisdom and disobedience to the command of God and the will of God. The first parents disobeyed God’s command and misused human freedom, knowledge and wisdom, as a result, sin and death came into the world, whereas the Blessed Mother Mary, Joseph and Jesus obeyed God’s will or plan with humility and obedience and brought eternal life and salvation to the humankind. The disobedient angels were also thrown down from heaven.

Jesus rebuked the evil spirit: because of Satan’s influence, leading, cheating, tempting, and deceiving the man to take away from God and to influence him to disobey the commandments of God or will of God like Adam and Eve in Genesis deceived by the serpent. Now the seed (Jesus) is crushing the head of evil spirit and its power over man.

Moses talked about this real Prophet Jesus the Messiah and the Son of God, the Saviour who would lead the people of God in the first reading of today. That is what John the Baptist said, “I am not a prophet, Elijah and Christ. But one who comes after me He is the Christ the Messiah.” Thus we need to listen to the voice of Jesus and obey his teaching and commands of loving God and loving neighbours.

Paul is urging us to live a holy life for God rather than living according to our own will or plan or wish but to live according to God’s will and plan which can bring victory over evil spirits.

How can we love Jesus and obey or listen to his command today?

By four ways:

i.                Prayer

ii.              Reading the Word of God and practice them in life

iii.            Sacrament of Reconciliation for conversion or repentance from sin

iv.            The Eucharist and doing good works in life for others and for God.

a.    The evil spirit obeyed

3.    Picture 3: The impact upon people (v.27-28)

a.    The people were amazed

b.    The people questioned: What power, what new revelation (teaching) is this?

c.     The people spread his fame

Thought: knowing that Jesus is the Holy One of God is not enough. A person has to believe in the power of Jesus Christ and love him and live a clean and pure heart.

One of the major purposes of Jesus in confronting evil spirits was to prove his Messiahship (Mt 8:28-34). He is the Messiah, Son of God and the Promised One the Saviour of the world.

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 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time-B

I Reading: Jonah 3:1-5.10: The people of Nineveh renounce their evil behavior.

II Reading: 1Corinthians 7:29-31: The world as we know it is passing away

Gospel: Mark 1:14-20: Repent, and believe the Good News.

 

God wants all people to repent of their sins so that they may be forgiven. God longs to forgive the sins of anyone who repents; we all are His children. Today, Jesus gives us the summary of the whole Gospel. He proclaimed the Good News from God in a single verse: “The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.”

In the first reading, the preaching of Jonah to the people of Nineveh was “Only forty days more, and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.” (Jonah 3:4)

Jonah’s preaching was a bit harsh and merciless because he did not mention God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness; therefore God rebuked Jonah and made him see that the people of Nineveh were his concern; they too were his children (Jonah 4:2).

The preaching of Jesus was different from Jonah. Jesus invites, urges, and pleads with everyone to turn away from sin, and not fear of being punished but for a much higher motive, to enable them to enter into the kingdom of God.

Jesus invites everyone to take two decisive steps:

i. To repent, that is, to break with sin once and for all; that is what the word conversion means ( in Hebrew U=shub= turn to God). The word conversion means to change direction, to retrace one’s own steps. God calls everyone to conversion; no one is excluded. God’s power and love shine in every person who renounces sin. God longs to forgive anyone who repents.

ii. To believe the Good News, that is, to accept his teachings and to follow him.

Jesus invites us to believe in the Good News which means I believe in Jesus and follow his teachings and to put ourselves under God’s loving rule, giving him a free hand to lead us.

The Gospel calls this total surrender “entering the kingdom of God” Like Andrew and Peter, John and James followed Jesus immediately.

Paul puts the Christians of Corinth on their guard against becoming engrossed in material things as Pagans do. Christians should have their eyes always fixed on their final goal, i.e., Christ. What really matters to us Christians is Jesus Christ and the eternal life he brings along. We must strive to wait for his coming with a clear conscience at all times.

 

Jesus Christ and His Message: The Good News of God (Mk 1:14-15)

 

The Good News of the Gospel includes three emphatic points.

1.    Jesus preached the Good News of God (v.14)

a.    In Galilee

b.    After John was put in prison

2.    The time has come (v.15)

3.    The kingdom of God is near (v.15)

 

4.    Repent and believe

Good News- see for deeper study in 2Cor 15:1-11; Rom1:1-4

 

Jesus Christ and His Disciples: The Kind of Persons called (Mk 1:16-20)

 

Jesus called very simple ordinary men who were engaged in the affairs of life just like all the laymen of their day. Note that they were not........

·       Religious leaders

·       Powerful men, not the political leaders of the nation’s ruling body, the Sanhedrin (Mt 26: 59)

·       Of the priestly or ministerial profession

·       Students in the school of higher learning

 

Having said this, a question needs to be asked. Why did Jesus call them instead of calling them the more gifted? The answer lies in some very special qualities that the disciples possessed. This passage gives a picture of these qualities, a picture of the kind of person Jesus calls (see for more points Mt 4:18-22).

 

1.    They were industrious, hard-working men (v.16)

2.    They were visionary men: looking for the Messiah and ready to follow Him (v.17-18)

a.    Their call

b.    Their response: Immediate and costly-gave up their business

3.    They were cooperative men (v.19): working together with their father & brothers as they grew. Today all want to work individually and separately.

Jesus wanted unity and community spirit to build up his Church and the kingdom of God.

4.    They were successful but sacrificial, considerate men (v.20): they were considerate men because they did not leave their families alone but with “hired men” to look after their parents and family members.

 

Thought: Jesus calls a person to a life of work, not to a life of ease and comfort. He calls a person to invest his/her life not waste his/her life.  Few people have a strong vision and mission that they are willing to pay any price to follow Jesus. It is too costly because they give up their business, family and land.

How many would sacrifice their inheritance to follow Jesus Christ today?

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 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time-B

I Reading: 1 Samuel 3:3-10.19: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.

II Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:13-15.17-20: Your bodies are members making up the body of Christ.

Gospel: John 1:35-42: They saw where he lived, and stayed with him.

Jesus the Messiah, the Christ: The Witness of Andrew

 

Today, the church wants us to turn our eyes to ourselves and to discover our own calling:

We too have been called by God for a task.

We have been called to follow Jesus Christ, to be holy like him and to bring people to faith in him like Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus.

In the first reading, we heard about the call of Samuel which points to Samuel’s obedience to Eli the priest and to the Lord and Samuel’s readiness to grasp well and to carry out God’s instructions. Eventually, Samuel became the leader of the people of Israel, a faithful prophet who conveyed God’s message to the people and their leader.

The gospel of today narrates how two disciples of John the Baptist met Jesus for the first time. John stared at Jesus and said, “Look, there is the Lamb of God.”

The first words of Jesus in John’s gospel are “What do you want? or what are you looking for or searching?” They answered, “Rabbi,”-which means Teacher-“Where do you live?” “Come and see”, he replied. Jesus invited the two disciples (Andrew and John) to a deeper knowledge of himself.

Andrew met his brother and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John; you are to be called Cephas”, meaning Rock. This was Andrew’s discovery of Jesus. He discovered Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ (Mk 3:18).

John wanted us to recall the way Jesus had led them to faith in himself: first there had been a calling of Jesus, then they started learning about Jesus and finally, they became Jesus’ disciples.

There a great obstacles in our following Jesus; they can be reduced into three: Pride, Greed and Impurity.

In the second reading, Paul admonishes us on our guard against a sin that causes havoc in Christian life: impurity. There had been serious scandals among the Christians of Corinth. Paul points out the various reasons why Christians should lead pure lives:

i. We are not our own masters. God has created us in his image and likeness and we belong to God.

ii. We ought to lead a pure life because each one of us is a member of a larger body, the Body of Christ which is the Church.

iii. Our body is the temple of the Spirit; the temple should not be profaned.

iv. We must lead pure lives since our body is destined to rise on the last day.

Let us follow Jesus with readiness and with full freedom and listen to his voice joyfully and faithfully at all times and be watchful in our faith journey and remain with him forever.

1.    Andrew’s experience (v.35-37)

a.    He stood amid John’s preaching

b.    He heard John's proclaim that Jesus was the Lamb of God

c.     He followed Jesus

2.    Andrew’s critical hour (v.38-39)

a.    Jesus turned: symbol of initiative

b.    Jesus asked the basic question of life: What do you want or what are you looking for?

c.     Jesus extended an invitation: come

3.    Andrew’s great decision: he came and saw Christ and remained (v.39-40)

4.    Andrew’s first concern: his brother, Simon (v.41)

5.    Andrew’s conviction: Jesus was the Messiah (v.41)

6.    Andrew’s fruit: Simon was brought to Jesus and was reaped (v.42)

Samuel, being a child, most probably at the age of twelve, listened and obeyed the Word of God and the instructions of Eli and carried out God’s command. Every Christian must listen to the Word of God and obey God’s command and must respond immediately to the call of Jesus to carry out the mission of Jesus to build up God’s kingdom on earth.

How many of us take initiative or respond quickly like a little lad Samuel and grown-up Andrew listen to the voice of God and obey the call of Jesus immediately?

Thought: A person must stand where the Word, Christ himself is preached. A person must hear the Word, the announcement: the Lamb of God has come to take away the sin of the world. A person must follow Jesus Christ as Saviour.

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 THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

I.               Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6: Above you, the glory of the Lord appears.

II.            Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3.5-6: It has now been revealed that pagans share the same inheritance.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12: We saw his star and have come to do the king homage.

Jesus’ Acknowledgement as King by Wise Men or Magi:

An Unexpected Worship.

The Feast of the Epiphany we are celebrating today is the oldest Feast in the Church after Easter and Pentecost. It has been celebrated long before Christmas was; it took the place of Christmas many years after the birth of Jesus and was one among the various events remembered on this day by the early church. The word “Epiphany” in Greek means “Manifestation” or “revelation”,  that is, the clear appearance of something or of one, unknown to us before.

Today we celebrate the unknown one (JESUS) who has made us known himself to all of us.

The purpose of the Epiphany is: To praise God because Christ has made himself known to people for what he really is: The Son of God and our Saviour.

The wise men (magi) are a picture of those who seek Jesus.  As they sought him, events totally unexpected happened time and again. This is usually the case with those who seek Jesus. But God is faithful.  If a person truly seeking Jesus, God takes the unexpected events and works them out for good (Rom 8:28). God leads the person to Jesus regardless of circumstances and events, expected or unexpected. The magi did three things- first, they looked up to the heavens with faith and trust with their eyes, second, they walked with hope and courage and reached the destination guided by his star,  and third, they knelt down and adored him as their God, the Almighty Father, Wonder-Counsellor, Prince of Peace,  the Lord of the Lords  and the King of the kings. Let us learn from the wise men from the East the above three ways to start our journey of faith and seek God and find Him in our hearts of faith, hope, generosity and charity.

1.    The unexpected Saviour: Jesus was born in Bethlehem (v.1)

a.    In the days of king Herod

b.    Magi came seeking him- in the NT Jn=  the first words of Jesus to Andrew and John, “What are you seeking or looking for or searching?” They replied, where do you live? Jesus said, come and see

2.    Their unexpected question: Where is the newborn king? (v.2)

a.    The unusual journey from the east

b.    Their purpose: to worship

3.    Their unexpected disturbance (v.3-6)

a.    Disturbed all the people in Jerusalem

b.    Disturbed Herod: he misconceived a threat

c.     Disturbed the religionists

i.                Herod quizzed them

ii.              They had ignored the Scripture (until now)

4.    Their unexpected commission: having to search for the newborn king (v.7-8)

a.    Their testimony: the star

b.    Their commission: to go-search-find

5.    Their unexpected sign: the star guided them again (v.9-10)

6.    Their unexpected king: a humbled child in humble surroundings (v.11)

a.    They found him in a house

b.    They gave Jesus worship not to king Herod neither they obey Herod’s command rather they obeyed God’s command

c.     They gave him gifts ( gold for the kingship of Jesus, incense for the divinity of Jesus and myrrh for the humanity of Jesus)

Our whole life is a continuous Epiphany: Jesus goes on manifesting himself to us at all times.

Thought: God’s ways are not man’s way (1 Cor 1:26-31). The newborn king is not a humanistic Saviour. He is God’s Saviour who has come in God’s way (Phil 2:7-8; 2 Cor 8:9).

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