Sunday, February 12, 2006
MONDAY 6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
FEBRUARY 13, 2006
MONDAY 6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR II
JAMES 1:1-11
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve
tribes in the dispersion, greetings. Consider it all joy, my
brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you
know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let
perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask
God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be
given it. But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who
doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by
the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive
anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds, unstable in
all his ways. The brother in lowly circumstances should take pride
in high standing, and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will
pass away "like the flower of the field." For the sun comes up with
its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and
the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade
away in the midst of his pursuits.
MARK 8:11-13
The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking
from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of
his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I
say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." Then he left
them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.
REFLECTION
In Jesus' day in Palestine there was a noticeable tendency among the
people to look for God in the extraordinary. The people believed
that the advent of the Messiah would be accompanied by startling
happenings in the heavens and on the earth. When false messiahs
arose, they lured the people by promising astonishing signs.
This was the sort of sign that the Pharisees were demanding of
Jesus. Jesus clearly and forcefully refused to give such a sign to
the Pharisees: "I assure you, no such sign shall be given to this
generation!"
Why did Jesus refuse to give a sign? The Gospel doesn't provide a
clear answer. However, there does seem to be a note of annoyance
and even anger in Jesus' refusal. His immediate departure from the
place can also be interpreted as an expression of his disgust with
the Pharisees. Furthermore, this line of reasoning is supported by
Jesus' conviction that the Pharisees were blinding themselves to the
truth that he spoke, and that their self-imposed blindness was the
cause of their lack of faith.
Undoubtedly, Jesus saw the demand for a sign as an expression of
their lack of faith, a refusal to see the hand of God at work in the
ordinariness of the world and in the less startling signs that he
had been offering them through the power of his preaching and of his
miracles.
Today, we too suffer from this same lack of faith. We fail to see
the hand of the Lord in the ordinary. We fail to listen to the
voice within us, the voice of God who dwells within us. If only we
could teach ourselves to listen clearly as the Lord within us speaks
to us! Hearing him would be the daily miracle that all of us now
long for, the only sign we would ever need.
We need not look for God in the extraordinary, in dancing suns and
days of darkness. His footsteps are all about us. We have only to
open our eyes and see.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the spiritual and physical healing of Janina Alberto.
- for the spiritual and physical healing of Beth.
- Birthday: Celso Lu
- for the continuous healing of Raymond Alexander from brain cancer.
- for Marissa that she will pass the NCLEX exam for nurses on March 1,
2006.
- for an increase of faith for Corie.
- for the spiritual healing of Jonathan Salting.
- In Memoriam (+): Artur Ang (Jul 23, 1966 - Feb 13, 1994)
- In Memoriam (+): Tan Ai Le Tong
- In Memoriam (+): Catalino Ngochua
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- for all the prayer intentions of St. Joseph's Parish - living and
seceased.
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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