3rd Week in Ordinary Time
23nd January 2023 (Sunday) Readings and Reflection
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: HEBREWS 9. 15, 24-28
Brethren: Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6 (R. 1ab)
Response: O Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders.
Gospel : MARK 3. 22-30
At that time: The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." And he called them to him and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: A new Blasphemy!
Indicative: God is ever ready and eager to heal us and make us whole. What is needed is openness to His action and submission to His healing touch{alertSuccess}
1. “He is possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, and casts out demons”. This was the accusation of the Pharisees against Jesus as he was healing the possessed men. This shows their prejudice, narrow-mindedness, and jealousy. Consequently, they take away the value of healing. They twist reality. They even misinterpret it as the work of the devil.
2. They stand before us as examples of people who are easily driven by human prejudices but do not realise the gravity of the evil consequences. They want to spit out their venom on Jesus out of jealousy and self-righteousness. They resent him and accuse him.
3. But the pity is they do not realise that in this process of opposing and blaming Jesus, they are putting themselves against God Himself. In denying Jesus’ holiness and divine power, they would deny God’s own power and mercy. They deny that Jesus is the highest high priest. God designed him as the one to establish a new covenant with his own blood once and for all.
4. This is what Jesus warns them of. In their haste to denounce Jesus, they fall into the sin of blasphemy. The irony is they commit the very same sin of which they accuse Jesus often. Often we may be taking away the credit due to God Himself in our evil-mindedness to take away the credit due to others.
Imperative: We must be very careful that our individual differences and prejudices do not make us blind to the working of God’s grace{alertSuccess}