5th Week in Ordinary Time
10th February 2024 (Saturday)
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34
In those days: Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.
Psalm 106:6-7ab, 19-20, 21-22
R/. O Lord, remember me with the favour you show to your people..
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Turn to God or Satan?
Guidelines: Human life is always a daily story of two options – either to turn to God and good or turn to Satan and evil. The former leads to true satisfaction and joy while the latter to increased dissatisfaction and frustration
1. In today’s word of God, we have two contrasting figures and situations. In the first reading from 1 Kings, we have Jeroboam, the king of Israel turning to evil and misleading the people also to abandon the true God and turn to idols. But in the gospel, we see Jesus turning to God and leading the people to experience the providential care of God.
2. In the gospel, we have the miracle of the multiplication of 7 loaves and a few fish and feeding four thousand. Jesus feels compassion for the people hungry for three days; he thinks of the good and need of the people.
3. But in contrast, Jeroboam thinks of his own throne. He fears that people would be drawn to the Jerusalem temple and thus defect from their loyalty to him. So, He erects two golden calves, many temples to any gods, and anyone a priest.
4. The consequence of Jeroboam’s evil doing is infidelity to the true God and eventual destruction. But the consequence of Jesus’ compassionate doing is deepened fidelity to God, superabundance, and satisfaction. The hungry people were not only fully satisfied but there were also 7 baskets full of leftovers.
5. This miracle once again confirms that God is ever compassionate to us. He is so sensitive and concerned for us. He will not leave us hungry and struggling in our desert and deprived situations. He will not allow us to faint on the way. He intervenes to feed us and strengthen us. He takes care of us and satisfies us.
6. So, we are invited to turn to Jesus when we are hungry and in need. Confide in him. We need not be worried about the magnitude of the need like four thousand and the smallness of our resources like 7 loaves and a few fish.
7. He would multiply them into superabundance. All that is needed is to find out and pool together our limited resources, place them in the hands of Jesus, trust his power and be satisfied.
Practice: God has compassion for us and He constantly takes steps to give us satisfaction and fulfilment. From our part, what is required is to trust in God’s compassion and providence even in desperate situations and be satisfied and fulfilled
