5th Week in Ordinary Time
07th February 2024 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 1 Kings 10:1-10
In those days: When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her. And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40 (R. 30a)
R/. The mouth of the just man utters wisdom.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Your word, O Lord, is truth; sanctify us in the truth
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Mark 7:14-23
At that time: Jesus called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: To be interiorly clean!
Guidelines: Cleanliness is mostly seen and judged in terms of the exterior. A person is regarded as neat and tidy depending on appearance. But what about the interior?
1. Jesus once again draws our attention to the issue of defilement and uncleanness. He teaches in the clearest terms that we must pay more attention to interior defilement. We must check and see how our hearts are getting defiled and contaminated by all sorts of evil, negative, and impure thoughts.
2. In Jesus’ own words, from the heart emerge all evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within. Subsequently, they defile his words and actions. Thus, the whole person is defiled.
3. The interior is the oven of all the evil fire of offensive speech and harmful behaviour. The interior impurity is like the pest at the root that quietly and subtly corrodes and destroys the whole plant. Unfortunately, many think that defilement comes from the externals.
4. That is why we have seen and still see many taboos, many prohibitions, and many discriminations, in cultures, societies, and religions. Some foods and some persons are kept away because they are considered defiling, unclean and untouchable.
5. In the present times, there is an increased concern for environmental and ecological cleanliness. There is a concerted drive against various pollutions. There is also more beauty or appearance-consciousness. All these are good and needed.
6. But we must make sure that this concern with the external purity and cleanliness should not override the concern for the internal cleanliness. We must feel more responsible and committed to an inner drive, to a process of inner cleansing.
7. We must collect and throw away the inner garbage. We must make our hearts, our thoughts, our attitudes, our perspectives, our modes of judging and deciding more clean, guileless, and maliceless.
Practice: The present society will do better if it reduces its obsession with mere externals and appearances and starts giving more importance to the interiority and depth
