Tuesday January 29, 2019
Introduction
“See, God, I have come to your will.” The old Law was not capable of saving people. It could only point out where and when sin was committed, but not forgive it. That is why it sacrifices were to be repeated. The sacrifice that forgave sin was that of Christ, because it was personal and touched the heart of God. Note how this year the first reading and the gospel have the same message.
Jesus assures us that what brings us close to God and makes us his relatives is doing the will of the Father. This is all that matters, more than ties of blood. This mission was the core and meaning of Jesus’ life and death. Let us pray that his faithfulness may also be ours
Opening Prayer
God Father of all,
you know and you love us;
whatever happens to us,
we are in your hands.
Wherever you lead us,
you know where you want us to go.
We ask you for faith and trust.
Make your will our will,
that you may lead us to your home
under the guidance of him,
who did your will in everything,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reading 1: Heb 10:1-10
Brothers and sisters:
Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,
and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect
those who come to worship by the same sacrifices
that they offer continually each year.
Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered,
since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer
have had any consciousness of sins?
But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins,
for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.
First he says, Sacrifices and offerings,
burnt offerings and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will.
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 10, 11
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Alleluia: See Mt 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mk 3:31-35
The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."
Intercessions:
– That we may be close to Jesus by seeking with him and his mother the will of the Father, we pray:
– That priests and religious may keep trusting in the Lord who has called them notwithstanding their human weakness, and that with Christ, they may care especially for the poor and the weak, we pray:
– That those discouraged and wounded by life may not grow bitter, and that from our presence and friendship, they may draw fresh strength and hope, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
this bread and this wine
are signs that with Jesus, your Son,
we are ready to seek your will.
Allow us to share in his table
as his brothers and sisters
and to follow him on his loyal way
to you, our God for ever.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
you have given us a world
to master and to develop
according to your wise plans
and to join forces
to build up the body of Christ.
May we do so by the strength
of Jesus himself
and make this Church and this world
a communion of faith and hope,
of love and peace,
as a sign and a way
to your joy that lasts for ever.
Blessing
Brothers and sisters of Jesus.… How much are we united with him and like him? We pray very often the Our Father and ask him that his will be done on earth as in heaven. That’s what we pray for, so that’s what we are committed to. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
To do the will of God summarizes the life of Jesus and his followers. Earlier in Mark 3, Jesus’ family had shown their con¬cern for him in claiming that his conduct did not appear normal. Today they stand on the edge of the crowd and ask for him. His response takes an unusual and unexpected direction. Told that his mother and brothers are asking for him, Jesus raises the discussion to a new level. Those who are the mother and brothers of Jesus are those who put God’s will into practice.
This reply will eventually be understood in its full Christian sense. Once the Christian era is fully inaugurated with the Lord’s death and resurrection and the Holy Spirit is conferred, we have access to a new life. That Spirit is shared with the risen Christ, and thus we are able to address the Father with the title “Abba” just as Christ himself does. But even apart from that fuller incor¬poration, discipleship with Jesus during his ministry constituted a new family, made in faith not blood. Thus we are members of Christ’s family first, through discipleship and in addition, through the gift of the Spirit.
Hebrews today refers to Psalm 40 to highlight the superior¬ity of Christ’s offering over any other type of sacrifice. It is not sacrifices and offerings that God wants but rather a will that is in tune with his. That is exactly what Christ gave to the Father and in so doing established the new and better covenant. It is the offering of the “body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Sharing now in Christ’s self-giving and in living in obedience to God, we become God’s dwelling, a holy thing for a holy people.
Points to Ponder
The true family of Jesus
Daily obedience to God’s will
The new and better covenant.
