2nd Week in Ordinary Time
17th January 2024 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
In those days: David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
Psalm 144:1, 2, 9-10 (R. 1a)
R/. Blest be the Lord, my rock.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Jesus was proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Mark 3:1-6
At that time: Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked round at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: A withered life is a worthless life!
Guidlines: Human strength and capacities can never overpower the all-surpassing power of God. For a while, they may appear to be overwhelming and overpowering, but their success and gain are short-lived and shallow
1. Goliath, the huge and great Philistine warrior trusted in his own human capacities. But David, the inexperienced youth, totally trusted in God. That is why even the small staff and five stones from David’s sling could kill the mighty opponent. Goliath depended on his sword and spear but David, on God’s power.
2. A heart that does not vibrate to the voice and grace of God, a heart that does not vibrate in sensitivity to the need of the other, a hand that does not extend itself to help the other, are truly withered.
3. In the gospel, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath day. As a result, the Pharisees and the scribes accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath law and begin to plot to kill him. This is truly absurd. They blame him because he did good. They want to kill him because he gave new life to the sick man. He receives only evil in return for his good.
4. And this is the irony: the man with a withered hand was only physically sick. But the Pharisees and the scribes were physically healthy; still, actually, they were the really withered people. They had withered hands because they did not stretch forth to help others.
5. They had withered hearts because they did not feel sensitive and concerned toward the needy and suffering. Thus, while the man with a withered hand got completely healed, the Pharisees and scribes who were healthy became sick and withered.
Practice: We need not feel so happy that we are physically so healthy. It is important to check and see whether we are sick of mind, heart, and soul. Withered hearts and hands are more dreadful than a withered hand!
