Bible Diary for January 26th – February 1st

domingo
January 26th

3er domingo en tiempo ordinario

1st Reading: Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10:
Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men, women and all the children who could understand what was being read. It was the first day of the seventh month. So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon, before the men, women and those children who could understand.

All the people were eager to hear the book of the law. Ezra, the teacher of the law, stood on a wooden platform built for that occasion. [He] opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was in a higher place; and when he opened it, all the people stood. Ezra praised Yahweh the great God; and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, “Amen! Amen!”

And they bowed their heads to the ground. They read from the book of the law of God, clarifying and interpreting the meaning, so that everyone might understand what they were hearing. Then Ezra, the teacher of the law, said to the people, “This day is dedicated to Yahweh, your God, so do not be sad or weep.” He said this because all wept when they heard the reading of the law.

Then he said to them, “Go and eat rich foods, drink sweet wine and share with him who has nothing prepared. This day is dedicated to the Lord, so do not be sad. The joy of Yahweh is our strength.”

2nd Reading: 1 Cor 12:12-30:
As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptized in one Spirit, to form one body, and all of us have been given, to drink from the one Spirit. The body has not just one member, but many. If the foot should say, “I do not belong to the body for I am not a hand,” it would be wrong: it is part of the body! Even though the ear says, “I do not belong to the body for I am not an eye,” it is part of the body. If all the body were eye, how would we hear? And if all the body were ear, how would we smell? God has arranged all the members, placing each part of the body as he pleased.

If all were the same part where would the body be? But there are many members and one body. The eye cannot tell the hand, “I do not need you,” nor the head tell the feet, “I do not need you.” Still more, the parts of our body that we most need are those that seem to be the weakest; the parts that we consider lower are treated with much care, and we cover them with more modesty because they are less presentable, whereas the others do not need such attention. God, himself, arranged the body in this way, giving more honor to those parts that need it, so that the body may not be divided, but, rather, each member may care for the others.

When one suffers, all of them suffer, and when one receives honor, all rejoice together. Now, you are the body of Christ, and each of you, individually, is a member of it. So God has appointed us in the Church. First apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, administration in the Church and the gift of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Can all perform miracles, or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, or explain what was said in tongues?

Gospel: Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21:
Several people have set themselves to relate the events that have taken place among us, as they were told by the first witnesses, who later became ministers of the word. After I, myself, had carefully gone over the whole story from the beginning, it seemed right for me to give you, Theophilus, an orderly account, so that your Excellency may know the truth of all you have been taught. Jesus acted with the power of the Spirit; and on his return to Galilee, the news about him spread throughout all that territory. He began teaching in the synagogues of the Jews and everyone praised him.

When Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the book of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me, to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives; and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed; and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he said to them, “Today, these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.”

Reflexión:
On Sundays the gospel readings are usually taken from one of the Synoptic Gospels. The Synoptics are the first three gospels–Matthew, Mark, Luke–which give a similar presentation of Jesus. Starting on this January Sunday, we shall read in continuous sequence the Gospel of Luke. This Gospel of Luke is especially precious because it reports many parables (such as the most beautiful parable of all, that of the Prodigal Son) and many incidents (such as the last-minute conversion of the Good Thief) which are not found in the other gospels.

Luke was a doctor by profession (Col 4:14), and a man of compassion. His gospel concentrates on Jesus-the-compassionate-man, compassionate especially towards the poor, sinners, women, outcasts. But he is also scientific-minded and always tries to be precise. For example, he always speaks of the Sea of Galilee as being a lake, not a sea. Today we read the first paragraph of his gospel, and there we see that Luke researched his topic with painstaking care before setting pen to paper.

With him we are on solid historical ground. The gospels are based on facts, on real events—not on fantasy or fiction. Hundreds of people died rather than deny the facts concerning Jesus. Let us ask for the grace of realizing once and for all how solidly historical our Christian faith is. Make an effort to clarify some point of your Christian faith.

lunes
January 27th

1st Reading: Heb 9:15, 24-28:
Christ is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world.

But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

Gospel: Mk 3:22-30:
The teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is in the power of Beelzebul: the chief of the demons helps him to drive out demons.” Jesus called them to him and began teaching them by means of stories or parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan?

“If a nation is divided by civil war, that nation cannot stand. If a family divides itself into groups, that family will not survive. In the same way, if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he will not stand; he is finished. No one can break into the house of the Strong one in order to plunder his goods, unless he first ties up the Strong one. Then indeed, he can plunder his house.

“Truly, I say to you, every sin will be forgiven humankind, even insults to God, however numerous. But whoever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven: he carries the guilt of his sin forever. This was their sin when they said, ‘He has an evil spirit in him.’”

Reflexión:
Many scholars have pondered what it means to “slander the Holy Spirit”— a sin, according to Jesus, that “will never be forgiven.” Perhaps such a sin renders us impervious to remorse or conversion, and thus puts us beyond the scope of forgiveness. In this context, however, the meaning seems clear enough. It is Jesus’ response to the shocking accusation of his enemies that he is only able to drive out demons because he is in league with Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.

Over and over, Jesus has offered signs of healing power. Where the sick are made whole, where the poor receive the good news, where the oppressed are set free—these are the signs of the Holy Spirit, the in-breaking of God’s kingdom. But because these signs do not come in some officially “church-sponsored” package, there are religious people who fail to recognize them, even dismissing them as being from the devil.

This, according to Jesus, is slander against the Holy Spirit, worse even than an “insult to God.” God forbid that we should fail to perceive the presence of the Spirit in our midst. All the worse if we abuse and slander its witnesses, and thus carry the guilt of that sin forever.

martes
January 28th

Santo Tomás de Aquino

1st Reading: Heb 10:1-10:
Hermanos y hermanas:
Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year. Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer have had any consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins, for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.

First he says, Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in. These are offered according to the law. Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Gospel: Mk 3:31-35:
Then his mother and his brothers came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those who sat there he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.”

Reflexión:
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus confronts a society divided by an intricate code separating the clean from the unclean, the righteous and the sinner, insider and outsider. He turns that society upside down, breaking down the codes that divide God’s family, restoring the broken and excluded to wholeness and community, inviting those outside to a place of special honor in the feast that God has prepared.

This tension is displayed in the contrast between Jesus’ old family—constituted by blood kinship–and his “new family,” constituted by shared discipleship. Jesus’ relatives assume that their kinship gives them a particular claim on Jesus: he belongs to them, not to this crowd. His response could upends the traditional code of “family values”: that “blood is thicker than water.”

That challenge applies equally to the new Christian family. Do we cling to Jesus, trying to keep him to ourselves, jealous of his love for the crowd? Instead of claiming family privilege on the basis of race or blood we define the family of Jesus on the basis of doctrine. But do we believe that God’s family consists only of Christians?

Heed his words: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother.”

miércoles
January 29th

1st Reading: 2 Tim 1:1–8:
From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of his promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy. May grace, mercy and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I give thanks to God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. I recall your tears and I long to see you that I may be filled with joy.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, so like the faith of your grandmother Lois and of your mother Eunice, which I am sure you have inherited. For this reason I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you received through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of bashfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in laboring for the Gospel with the strength of God.

Gospel: Mk 4:1-20:
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them,

“Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.

“As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

“Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Reflexión:
The parable of the sower has been read by people throughout the ages. Certainly there are nuances of meaning in different contexts but the meaning remains: THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF RECEIVING THE WORD OF GOD. In our times, who could be the Satan that plucks the word of God out of our hearts — would it be the love of money, prestige, power? What are our roots — good family life, religious education, fidelity in prayer? What are the thorns that choke up the life of the seed — worries about our loss of power, loss of material things? Then there is the good soil.

What makes soil good? Could it be radical openness to what the word demands from us? Could it be fidelity to this word amid temptations, challenges, difficulties, suffering and misery? Could it be nourishment through prayer, sacrifice and service to people? Lord, please give me first of all the gift of listening with the ear of my heart. Help me to understand what your word is telling me at the moment. Give me the courage to do what you are asking from me in spite of obstacles and difficulties. And finally, grant that when the seed grows in me and bears fruit, help me to share it with others in compassion and love. Amen.

jueves
January 30th

1st Reading: Heb 10: 19-25:
Hermanos y hermanas: 
Since through the Blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Gospel: Mk 4:21-25:
Jesus also said to them, “When the light comes, is it put under a basket or a bed? Surely it is put on a lamp stand. Whatever is hidden will be disclosed, and whatever is kept secret will be brought to light. Listen then, if you have ears!”

And he also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. In the measure you give, so shall you receive, and still more will be given to you. For to the one who produces something, more will be given; and from him who does not produce anything, even what he has will be taken away from him.

Reflexión:
The Good News is not something we are meant to hoard and keep for ourselves. It must bear fruit; it must be shared with the world. A lamp is not meant to be hidden under our bed; it is put on a stand so that it may illuminate our room.

By the same token, the gospel is not some precious treasure to be celebrated and preserved in the church; it exists to be shared and made visible. It is meant to illuminate the world. For that reason mission is essential to the life and purpose of the church. A mission-driven church is fruitful.

On the other hand, a church that is inward-looking, concerned only with its own preservation and safety, becomes sickly; even what it has will be taken from it. This was the central message that Pope Francis shared with the conclave where he was elected pope. He described self-referentiality as the greatest danger facing the church.

When Jesus knocks on the door, he said, it is not only to be let into the church—but to be let out, to go out to the margins, to pursue his mission of gathering the lost sheep. We must have the faith to open the doors and let him out! And the courage to follow.

viernes
January 31st

San Juan Bosco

1st Reading: Heb 10:32-39:
Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great contest of suffering. At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction; at other times you associated yourselves with those so treated. You even joined in the sufferings of those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you had a better and lasting possession.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

For, after just a brief moment, he who is to come shall come; he shall not delay. But my just one shall live by faith, and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him. We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life.

Gospel: Mk 4:26-34:
Jesus also said, “In the kingdom of God it is like this. A man scatters seed upon the soil. Whether he is asleep or awake, be it day or night, the seed sprouts and grows, he knows not how. The soil produces of itself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when it is ripe for harvesting they take the sickle for the cutting: the time for harvest has come.”

Jesus also said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall we compare it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown, is the smallest of all the seeds scattered upon the soil. But once sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of the plants in the garden and even grows branches so big that the birds of the air can take shelter in its shade.”

Jesus used many such stories or parables, to proclaim the word to them in a way they would be able to understand. He would not teach them without parables; but privately to his disciples he explained everything.

Reflexión:
We often measure our success by grand achievements and quantifiable results. But the gospel applies a different standard.

As Jesus observes, that measure is better taken from nature: the quiet miracle that transforms seeds into a ripened crop; the mystery that produces from the smallest mustard seed the largest plant in the garden.

How do we measure our effectiveness? The results are not in our own control; perhaps another generation will reap. It is given to us to be faithful to our mission, to scatter the seeds. Meanwhile, the power of the gospel operates in secret, whether we are awake or asleep—perhaps to bear fruit in a form we may never foresee or comprehend.

Pope Francis has referred to this strategy for change when he speaks of simply setting processes in motion. As he often likes to say, time is more powerful than spaces: “We must not focus on occupying the spaces where power is exercised, but rather on starting long run historical processes… God manifests himself in time and is present in the processes of history…It requires patience, waiting.”

sábado
February 1st

Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19:
Hermanos y hermanas:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.

By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.

By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age and Sarah herself was sterile for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. All these died in faith.

They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.

Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name. He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Gospel: Mk 4:35-41:
On that same day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” So they left the crowd, and took him along in the boat he had been sitting in, and other boats set out with him. Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat, so that it was soon filled with water.

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up, and said, “Master, don’t you care if we drown?” And rising up, Jesus rebuked the wind, and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!” The wind dropped, and there was a great calm.

Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?” But they were terrified, and they said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

Reflexión:
Having grown up on an island, sea travel was the only way we could go places. This was before low-cost air travel was available.

On one occasion we were caught in a sudden storm. All the lights went off as our boat was being tossed violently to and fro by the raging waves. Children were crying in fear while adults in their quiet dread were trying to calm them. In terror my sister and I were clinging to one another while praying for God’s help. We were relieved when the captain found a cove where we hid to weather the storm.

I can’t help recall this experience as I read this narrative of Jesus calming the storm. In life, there are situations that leave us feeling anxious and fearful, powerless and out of control, almost as if we are in a boat on a stormy sea.

The predicament of the disciples is ours too. We tend to be overwhelmed by many problems and concerns, making us forget that Jesus is already with us if only we call upon him. These are moments when we realize our faith in Jesus is still inadequate. It needs strengthening and deepening through prayer.