January 23, 2010
Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
"I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother! Most dear have you been to me; More precious have I held love for you than love for women. "How can the warriors have fallen, the weapons of war have perished!" 2 Samuel 1:26-27
Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20-21
Piety
Holy Spirit Prayer
Come Holy Spirit.
Replace the tension within us with a holy relaxation.
Replace the turbulence within us with a sacred calm.
Replace the anxiety within me with a quiet confidence.
Replace the fear within me with a strong faith.
Replace the darkness within me with a gentle light.
Replace the coldness within me with a loving warmth.
Replace the night within us with your day.
Replace the winter within us with your spring.
Straighten out our crookedness.
Fill our emptiness.
Dull the edge of our pride.
Sharpen the edge of our humility.
Light the fires of our love.
Quench the flame of our lust.
Let us see ourselves as you see us that we may see you as you have promised and be fortunate according to your word” “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.”
(From Prayers for Today)
Study
In Mark chapter 2, Jesus started out in the confines of a house in Capernaum. So many people wanted to be touched by Him, that they even cut a hole in the roof to lower in the paralyzed man. No house could hold him.
Then, he went out along the sea and the crowds still pressed upon him. Calling Levi, he had dinner in his house. Finally, Jesus and his disciples were out in the fields. Throughout these journeys, everywhere he turned, the Pharisees questioned him. They questioned why he forgave the sins of the paralyzed man, why he ate with sinners and tax collectors and why they picked the grain and ate it on the Sabbath.
Next, they entered the temple and continued to cure people and exorcise demons. Still they accused him of violating the Sabbath. So Jesus and his disciples headed back to the shores of the sea again with a crush of people who wanted to have a close moment with Jesus so much that the theological and legal arguments did not matter to the people coming from all corners of the land.
After a commissioning trip up the mountain, Jesus comes full circle and returns home. Again the crowds gathered making it impossible to eat. Rather than make another miracle to feed everyone, he preaches some key lessons at the end of Mark 3.
Despite the throngs of people who have begun to follow Jesus, as he returns home, he still must deal with a skeptical family. Even though hundreds and maybe even thousands have flocked to him, those closest to Jesus – his family and his church leaders – remain skeptical about what he is doing and why he is doing it. They think he is out of his mind. They may be right because Jesus really is of the Father’s mind.
Action
Overcoming skepticism may be the hardest part of our faith. What are the teachings of the church which give you the hardest time understanding?
Balancing obedience and free will can sometimes be a challenging cause. Look no further than the headlines in today’s newspaper about the intersection of faith and culture. Sometimes it is easy to see the right path. Yet other times, we may be led to do something for good which others do not understand as we try to have a consistent ethic of life for all. We greive and are as perplexed as David mourning the loss of Saul and Jonathan.
Thousands march in D.C. demonstration against abortion
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012203525.html?hpid=artslot
Female priests defy Catholic Church, hope to change it
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012202919.html?hpid=sec-religion
Firm will remove Bible references from gun sights
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012102637.html?hpid=sec-nation
After 'mistakes,' Wyclef Jean group gets new accountants
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012202965.html?hpid=artslot
