5th Week in Ordinary Time
06th February 2024 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30
In those days: Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands towards heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day towards this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers towards this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray towards this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
Psalm 84:3, 4, 5, and 10, 11 (R. 2)
R/. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/.Bend my heart, O God, to your decrees, grant me mercy by your law..
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Mark 7:1-13
At that time: When the Pharisees gathered to Jesus, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the market–place, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: One who believes, overcomes!
Guidelines: God is life and He shares this life with us at our creation. He continues to give us His life by re-creating us through the mission and paschal mystery of His Son
1. God gives us eternal life and this life is in His Son. Whoever believes and abides in the Son will obtain this life. To give us this life, the Son shares our human life becoming one of us. The eternal God takes upon himself the temporary human flesh.
2. The incarnation of His only Son is an authentic indicative of God’s condescending love for us and His eternal plan of salvation. This is an essential tenet of faith to believe in: the Son of God has incarnated himself as Jesus of Nazareth in the human womb of the virgin Mary.
3. As John attests in the first reading, God Himself bears testimony to this truth. Wherever God steps in, it gets transformed. His sharing in our humanity is not a limitation or restriction on the infinitude of his divinity.
4. The very fact that he subjects himself to time and space is not an imperfection. Rather, it shows his perfection to make himself part of the imperfection without losing his intrinsic perfection. Therefore, humanity does not limit or take away the identity, power and sanctity of Jesus.
5. This is what is attested by both John the Baptist and the Father Himself in the gospel. John the Baptist declares that the power of Jesus is far-surpassing his because he is the eternal God. He pre-existed even before his earthly appearance.
6. Further, just because Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus is not inferior to him. John the Baptist baptizes with water but Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Still further, the Father bears testimony to Jesus at his baptism, confirming, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”.
7. This then is the whole content of our faith and testimony: God gives us eternal life through His only Son Jesus Christ. We can receive this through our faith in Jesus and faithfulness to this faith through bearing testimony to him.
Practice: We are destined for life in eternity. We have access to this through the incarnation of the Son of God. And we will possess this life when we believe him and live in him
