DAILY- HOMILY

January 22, 2014 Wednesday 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time

1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51 / Ps 144:1b, 2, 9-10 / Mk 3:1-6  

[St. Vincent, deacon and martyr]

First Reading: 1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

David said to Saul, "Let no one be discouraged on account of this Philistine, for your servant will engage him in battle." Saul told David, "You cannot fight with this Philistine for you are still young, whereas this man has been a warrior from his youth." David continued "Yahweh who delivered me from the paws of lions and bears will deliver me from the hands of the Philistine." Saul then told David "Go and may Yahweh be with you!" David got rid of all this armor, took his staff, picked up five smooth stones from the brook and dropped them inside his shepherd's bag. And with his sling in hand, he drew near to the Philistine. The Philistine moved forward, closing in on David, his shield-bearer in front of him. When he saw that David was only a lad, (he was of fresh complexion and handsome) he despised him and said, "Am I a dog that you should approach me with a stick?" Cursing David by his gods, he continued, "Come and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field!" David answered the Philistine, "You have come against me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come against you with Yahweh, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. Yahweh will deliver you this day into my hands and I will strike you down and cut off your head. I will give the corpses of the Philistine army today to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, and all the earth shall know that there is a God of Israel. All the people gathered here shall know that Yahweh saves not by sword or spear; the battle belongs to Yahweh, and he will deliver you into our hands." No sooner had the Philistine moved to attack him, than David rushed to the battleground. Putting his hand into his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; it penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, felling him without using a sword. He rushed forward, stood over him, took the Philistine's sword and slew him by cutting off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they scattered in all directions.      

Gospel: Mark 3:1-6

Again Jesus entered the synagogue. A man who had a paralyzed hand was there and some people watched Jesus: Would he heal the man on the Sabbath? If he did they could accuse him. Jesus said to the man with the para­lyzed hand, "Stand here in the center." Then he asked them, "What does the Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?" But they were silent. Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness because they had closed their minds. And he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was healed. But as soon as the Pharisees left, they met with He­rod's supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus.

Reflection:

Here we have a choice:  the law of the Sabbath, or the spirit of Love. Jesus knows his priorities. It is MAN. God created the world, the creatures, the wild beasts and the birds of the air – and He said it was good.  But when God created Man, He said it was VERY good. God created the world and all its creatures for man and not the other way around. God put the world under the feet of man, allowing man to dominate and be the ruler of the earth. The center of God was man. Man was the apple of the eye of God And the proof of this is that God even allowed man to stray, gave him free will and later on, was willing to allow His only Son, Jesus Christ to become man, assume human flesh, and to die for all the sins of Man, just in order to save Man. This is called LOVE. Love is higher than the law. While the law condemns, the spirit of love frees us. The law was created for man, and not man created for the law. We should realize that the immensity of God's law is so strong, that God foregoes and turns a blind eye on all the laws to forgive us, spare us from Hell so we can join Him in Heaven. The wages of sin is death, but now our sins have been taken to the cross by His Son, and we have been forgiven. We were sentenced to death, but then Jesus Christ sat on the electric chair on our behalf and now we are free and alive because of this event – which is called LOVE for Man.      

The Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath. And Jesus confirmed this in this Gospel. Let us not be scrupulous and just accept the mercy and love of God for all of us!

Prayer Requests

We pray …

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.

     * for bountiful blessing – Patricia Yuson

… for families who are in need of healing

     * for healing and speedy recovery of Bert Lansigan, Brenda D. Solis

… thanksgiving for the birth of Jennifer Ann D. Lozada

… for eternal repose of Fe V. Domingo and Blanca Lozada

… 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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