Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week of Ordinary Time
Today we get a bit of a glimpse as to how Jesus’ day-to-day ministry worked. We can see three things in particular that characterize how things happened. First, he journeyed to proclaim the Good News. He met people where they were, and even sought them out. This shows us God’s relentless pursuit of the people he loves.
Second, he brought people with him. He travelled with the Twelve Apostles, some of the women he had cured of evil spirits and of illnesses, some particular women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna), and “many others.” All of these were drawn to Jesus for various reasons. We can assume they had all been given some gift: healing, a call to ministry, recognition of their worth – and all of them had responded by wanting to be near him. This models for us our response to God’s work in our lives.
And finally, those travelling with him provided for his ministry out of their resources. Some of the women were well-connected, especially Joanna, whose husband was a high official in the court of Herod Agrippa. So she would have had resources to help with the ministry as well as leisure to follow Jesus.
We can hardly visit this gospel reading, though, and not notice the meticulous mention of the women that were among his followers. In a day where a woman’s participation in anything of a public nature would be totally frowned upon, Jesus reached out to women, and brought them into his ministry. Certainly the Evangelist would never have mentioned it if it weren’t important to the Gospel itself.
We come here today for Mass, aware that our God seeks us out in little and big ways every single day. We too want to be close to him, and respond as did the Twelve, the women, and the “many others.” Our desire for God and our yearning for forgiveness are themselves God’s gift to us. Blessed are those who journey with Christ on the way.
Sphere: Related ContentTuesday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time
Today we have readings urging us to pay attention. Paul tells the Thessalonians in our first reading today not to freak out if they hear about the second coming of Christ. Rather, they should be in the moment and live as they have been taught and formed in the Gospel which Paul preached to them. They need to pay attention to what is going on in front of them, to be attentive to what the Gospel calls them to do, and trust that if the Lord comes in glory, he will find them doing his will and gather them to himself. No need to scramble around in fear of what is to come.
Jesus today scolds the scribes and Pharisees, as he often does, about paying more attention to the minute bits of the law than they do to really doing God’s will. They are so caught up in the ritual cleansing of bowls and cups that they cannot attend to the purification of their own hearts. And that, Jesus tells them, is a complete disaster. Their blindness will eventually leave them out of salvation’s reach.
And so we too are called today to pay attention. We need to be attentive to the needs of those around us, to reach out to the oppressed and forgotten, to always be mindful of the poor – in short, we are to live the Gospel faithfully. We shouldn’t be caught up in details, nor should we be overly concerned about the Lord’s return. We can’t have our head in the clouds nor in the sand. We must be attentive to what’s in front of us, the opportunity to live the Gospel faithfully.
Sphere: Related ContentTuesday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time
One of the things I sometimes struggle with, and maybe some of you do too, is that I am often tempted to eat the wrong things. Somehow, if I’m watching TV or something, I get an urge to eat some kind of snack that is not only not very nutritious but also not all that satisfying. In the vast scheme of culinary delights, Doritos or potato chips of course don’t rank very high, yet somehow I find myself tempted by them all the time!
I think there’s a parallel to that in today’s Liturgy of the Word. Jesus knew the disciples could easily be tempted by the “leaven” of the Pharisees and of Herod. He meant the paltry doctrine they taught and the less-than-satisfying way of life they offered. They wanted people to take on a legalistic view of Scripture, living the Torah very literally but not very deeply. Instead, Jesus offered a much more satisfying bread: a life lived deeply rooted in the Gospel, a life that went beyond legalism in favor of diving head first into compassion, concern for the poor and vulnerable, and love for every person that crosses their paths.
The leaven Jesus was talking about had nothing to do with the bread for the journey that they forgot to bring. Instead, he offered a bread for the journey that was his very body and blood, his own self, giving his life for our salvation. That kind of bread is the only thing that is ultimately satisfying. It trumps the bread they forgot to bring, it trumps the so-called leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, it even trumps my Doritos and potato chips. Don’t settle for junk food that won’t give any nourishment when you can have the Bread of Life.
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St. Mark, Evangelist
Today's readings | Today's saint
We aren’t completely sure who St. Mark was. He might have been the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Some scholars say he might have been the one described in chapter 14 of Mark’s Gospel, at the arrest of Jesus: “Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.” But others question whether he ever saw Jesus in person at all. We know that he was a companion of Peter and Paul in the missionary journeys, and that he was the first to write about Jesus’ life. It is estimated that the Gospel of Mark was written around 60 or 70 AD, after the death of both Peter and Paul. As you might expect since this was the first Gospel written, it is used as a source for both Matthew and Luke’s Gospels.
Whoever Mark really was, I think the key idea for this feast today is that he was one who willingly embodied the command of Jesus that we have in today’s Gospel reading: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” His missionary work, and his work as the Evangelist testify to his passion for the Gospel and his efforts to see that the whole world came to believe in Jesus.
What we celebrate on his feast day, though, is that the work of that command is far from complete. There is so much of the world that has yet to hear of Jesus. Some of them are in far off lands, others are in our workplaces, schools, and communities. Because of that, it is imperative that we all continue the work of Mark and the other Evangelists. We are the ones who have to testify to the Gospel in word and in deed, witnessing to what we believe in everything that we say and do. Our life’s work is not complete until we are sure that those who know us also know the Lord in and through us.
“The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;” the Psalmist says today, “through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.” May we, like St. Mark, sing of the Lord’s goodness in every moment of our lives.
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