Articles

Monday January 27

Monday of 3rd Week of Ordinary Time

LED BY GOD´S GOOD SPIRIT

Introduction

When Saul was still alive, David had tried to win over the northern tribes to accept him as their king, but they did not dare. Now, after Saul’s death, they come to David and he is crowned king in their presence, to rule over all the tribes.
It is strange and really sounds like ill will when the Scribes ascribe the good that Jesus does, especially that he drives out demons, to the power of Satan, the prince of demons. Should they not have recognized that God’s Spirit was working in Jesus? In messianic times, the Jews expected the Spirit of God to overcome the spirits of evil, and in Jesus, the good Spirit was visibly active. We too have to make our option between God’s Spirit and the spirits of evil that make us sin. If we hear the word of God and act accordingly, we let God’s Spirit overcome evil in and around us.

Opening Prayer

God our Father,
you are the origin of all that is good.
Let our heart not be a house divided
between good and evil.
Send us your good Spirit
to enlighten and guide us,
to give us joy and strength
and to follow your Son wherever he leads us
on the road of goodness and service.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.

Reading 1: 2 Sm 5:1-7, 10

All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said:
"Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the children of Israel out and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.'"
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD,
and they anointed him king of Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king,
and he reigned for forty years:
seven years and six months in Hebron over Judah,
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem
over all Israel and Judah.

Then the king and his men set out for Jerusalem
against the Jebusites who inhabited the region.
David was told, "You cannot enter here:
the blind and the lame will drive you away!"
which was their way of saying, "David cannot enter here."
But David did take the stronghold of Zion, which is the City of David.

David grew steadily more powerful,
for the LORD of hosts was with him.

Responsorial Psalm PS 89:20, 21-22, 25-26

R. (25a) My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.
“My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him,
and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
I will set his hand upon the sea,
his right hand upon the rivers.”
R. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.

Alleluia SEE 2 Tm 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and
"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive 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;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.

Commentary

By either ancient or modern standards, David had a long reign as ruler of an entire country: thirty-three years. As today’s reading states, it was at an early stage that he captured Jerusalem, with the overthrow of the Jebusites, who held Zion, which became known as the city of David.
As disappointing as Saul had been, David began his reign on a very positive note. As we look at the long list of monarchs who followed, we only regret that the note of quality was not maintained. The fact is that, overall, the kingship in Israel and Judah was a monumental failure. Most of the kings were guilty of corruption that wreaked havoc among the Hebrew people.
Was it absolutism that caused the country’s moral disarray? As Lord Acton famously said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The breakdown in faithful Yahwism soon became eminently clear. There was the imitation of foreign courts, the importation of pagan brides, the introduction of pagan cult, and rampant commercialism. The major defeats that Israel experienced during the first millennium were explained in terms of religious infidelity and moral waywardness.
Who can deny that in our times we need to return to our moral compass? Materialism, consumerism, moral indifference are all part of the modem landscape. The responsibilities of family life confront us at every turn. With courage we must put our hand to the plow and not look back.
The Gospel today invites us again to ally ourselves with Christ and not with Satan. And once we grasp the good, let us be agents in bringing it to the world.

Points to Ponder

Civil authority and public morality
Our alliance with Christ
Seeking the common good.

Intercessions

– That all the Churches that believe in Christ may overcome their division and become one in the Lord, who brought them pardon and peace, we pray:
– That all those who are hardened by sin may be touched by the Spirit of the Lord to repent and to change their ways, we pray:
– That our communities may accept those who have erred, defend the weak and the victims of injustice and bear witness to the mercy of God, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Father,
bread and wine are the simple signs
whereby your Son makes himself present
to the people you have chosen.
Fill these offerings with your Spirit,
that they may become your Son.
Fill us with the same Holy Spirit,
that he makes us the people
that belongs to you and serves you.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
through your Holy Spirit,
we have heard the words of your Son.
Let them become, through the same Spirit
words that set us afire
with zeal for your kingdom
and with love for one another.
Let it be a fire that cannot be extinguished.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

A country or a family or a community that is divided cannot stand. We should all be led by the same Spirit. That does not mean that we all have to be the same like clones, for the Spirit is rich enough with his variety of gifts. May God pour out his good Spirit on us and bless us, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.