24th January Scripture Reading & Meditation Memorial of St. Francis de Sales Hebrews 7:25-8:6; Psalm 40:7-8, 8-9, 10, 17; Mark 3:7-12 Jesus went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired Gospel : Mark 3:13-19 13 And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. 4 And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons: 16 Simon whom he surnamed Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Bo-anerges, that is, sons of thunder; 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home. Meditation: Mark 3:13-19 Jesus goes up a mountain. It has no name because it is the symbolism that is more important than the location. Mountains in the Scriptures are holy places associated with the presence of God. Jesus goes up mountains at more solemn moments in his public life: here, during the Sermon on the Mount, at the Transfiguration, and after feeding the 5,000… Jesus’ purpose on this occasion is to pick the inner circle of his followers. “They were those whom he wanted.” Later he will say: “I have chosen you; you have not chosen me.” And “they came to him”. There were twelve in this inner circle of disciples. In the New Covenant they would be the “patriarchs”, the foundational pillars of the new community, embracing the new Israel. They are called “apostles”. A word to be clearly distinguished from “disciples”. The ‘disciple’, which comes from a Latin word meaning ‘to learn’, is essentially a follower who imbibes the teaching of the teacher and tries to make it part of his life. The ‘apostle’, however, from a Greek word meaning ‘to go out on a mission’ (like an ambassador), is essentially one who has a mandate from the teacher to pass on to others. In the Pauline letters, where the term appears most often in the Christian Testament, it means primarily one who has been a witness of the Risen Lord and has been commissioned to proclaim the resurrection. Paul himself, because of his experience at Damascus, is regarded as an Apostle. These Twelve were to be Jesus’ companions. They were to preach, that is, proclaim his message of the Kingdom and work with him to make it a reality. They were to cast out demons, to liberate people from all situations which enslaved people to any form of evil. The list is headed – as are all lists of the Apostles – by Simon Peter. For Mark, the name Peter was given on this occasion. In Matthew it is given later, following his confession of Jesus’ identity. A call includes both the invitation and the response. The same is true for each one of us. The call is always there; can we say the same about our response? What is Gods call on your life? In the choice of the twelve, we see a characteristic feature of Gods work: Jesus chose very ordinary people. They were non-professionals, who had no wealth or position. They were chosen from the common people who did ordinary things, had no special education, and no social advantages. Jesus wanted ordinary people who could take an assignment and do it extraordinarily well. He chose these men, not for what they were, but for what they would be capable of becoming under his direction and power. When the Lord calls us to serve, we must not shrug back because we think that we have little or nothing to offer. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us, can offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom Strangely in the list of the Apostless, , the list included one man who would betray (‘hand over’) his Master and Lord. And so today also there are still those, called by Jesus, who betray him. ‘What about me and you? And in what various manner do we betray our Lord and Master? Lord Jesus, fill me with gratitude and generosity for all you have done for me. Take my life and all that I have as an offering of love for you, who are my All. 1st Reading : Hebrews 7:25-8:6 25 Therefore he is able to save completely[a] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (The High Priest of a New Covenant) 8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. 3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”[b] 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. Psalm 57:1-5,10-11 1 Be merdiful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. 2 I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfils his purpose for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample upon me. [Selah] God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness! 4 I lie in the midst of lions that greedily devour the sons of men; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! 10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 23:06:07 +0000
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