DAILY- HOMILY

August 29, 2014
Friday 21st Week in Ordinary Time
[Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist]

1 Cor 1: 17-25/ Ps 33: 1-2, 4-5, 10-11/ Mk 6: 17-29

Reading: 1 Cor 1: 17-25
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim his Gospel. And not with beautiful words! That would be like getting rid of the cross of Christ. The language of the cross remains nonsense for those who are lost. Yet for us who are saved, it is the power of God, as Scripture says: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and make fail the foresight of the foresighted. Masters of human wisdom, educated people, philosophers, you have no reply! And the wisdom of this world? God let it fail. At first God spoke the language of wisdom, and the world did not know God through wisdom. Then God thought of saving the believers through the foolishness that we preach. The Jews ask for miracles and the Greeks for a higher knowledge, while we proclaim a crucified Messiah. For the Jews, what a great scandal! And for the Greeks, what nonsense! But he is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God for those called by God among both Jews and Greeks. In reality, the "foolishness" of God is wiser than humans, and the "weakness" of God is stronger than humans.

Gospel: Mk 6: 17-29
For this is what had happened: Herod had ordered John to be arrested, and had had him bound and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, and John had told him, "It is not right for you to live with your brother's wife." So Herodias held a grudge against John; and wanted to kill him, but she could not, because Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And he liked listening to him, although he became very disturbed, whenever he heard him. Herodias had her chance on Herod's birthday, when he gave a dinner for all the senior government officials, military chiefs, and the leaders of Galilee. On that occasion the daughter of Herodias came in and danced; and she delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you." And he went so far as to say with many oaths, "I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" The mother replied, "The head of John the Baptist." The girl hurried to the king and made her request, "I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist, here and now, on a dish." The king was very displeased, but he would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths. So he sent one of the bodyguards with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded John in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother. When John's disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and buried it.

Reflection:
John the Baptist is a very special figure in God's plan for our salvation. From the gospel accounts about him, what kind of person is he? What kind of role model can he be for us in the in the twenty-first century? If we look deeper into our society now and compare it with that of first century Palestine, we realize that people of the ancient times and those of the present are the same - with the same weaknesses, the same evil tendencies.  And so the challenge of today's gospel is to ask ourselves, in the different situations of our lives, how we respond to the influence of evil in our midst.  Are we like John? Can we respond fearlessly to the injustices around 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 families who are in need of healing
... for world peace and reconciliation
... for the anniversary intentions of Rico & Bel Cabrera

... for Almabelle Abapo, Lisa Claire Branzuela and Dale Robert's Basilla; for Marion & Marian Nuevo, who will all take the Physician Licensure Exams (Aug 23,24, 30, 31) - the grace of wisdom, understanding and clarity of mind during their preparations and exam proper.

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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