Saturday, January 16, 2016

Jesus comes not for the righteous but the outcast and disgraced of the society


January 16, 2016

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

9:1There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish, who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite. 9:2He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man. There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul; he stood head and shoulders above the people.

9:3Now the asses of Saul’s father, Kish, had wandered off. Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go out and hunt for the asses.”

9:4Accordingly they went through the hill country of Ephraim, and through the land of Shalishah. Not finding them there, they continued through the land of Shaalim without success. They also went through the land of Benjamin, but they failed to find the animals.

9:17When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD assured him, “This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people.” 9:18Saul met Samuel in the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer lives.” 9:19Samuel answered Saul: “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. In the morning, before dismissing you, I will tell you whatever you wish.”

10:1Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head; he also kissed him, saying: “The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the LORD’s people Israel, and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout. “This will be the sign for you that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage.”

Responsorial Psalm

R. (2a) Lord, in your strength the king is glad. 

2O LORD, in your strength the king is glad; in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
3You have granted him his heart’s desire; you refused not the wish of his lips.

R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.

4For you welcomed him with goodly blessings, you placed on his head a crown of pure gold. 5He asked life of you: you gave him length of days forever and ever.

R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.

6Great is his glory in your victory; majesty and splendor you conferred upon him.
7For you made him a blessing forever; you gladdened him with the joy of your face.

R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.

Alleluia Luke 4:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

13Jesus went out along the sea.[1] All the crowd came to Him and He taught them. 14As He passed by, He saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus.[2]

15While He was at table in His house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many who followed Him.[3] 16Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[4]  17Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”[5]





Notes on readings: 

[1] Mark 2:13 - He taught them: see the footnote on Mark 1:21-45.

[2] Mark 2:14 - As he passed by: see the footnote on Mark 1:16-20. Levi, son of Alphaeus: see the footnote on Matthew 9:9. Customs post: such tax collectors paid a fixed sum for the right to collect customs duties within their districts. Since whatever they could collect above this amount constituted their profit, the abuse of extortion was widespread among them. Hence, Jewish customs officials were regarded as sinners (Mark 2:16), outcasts of society, and disgraced along with their families. He got up and followed Him: became a disciple of Jesus,  that is.

[3] Mark 2:15 - In his house: compare with Mark 2:1; Matthew 9:10. Luke 5:29 clearly calls it Levi's house.

[4] Mark 2:16-17 - This and the following conflict stories reflect a similar pattern: a statement of fact, a question of protest, and a reply by Jesus.

[5] Mark 2:17 - Do not need a physician: this maxim of Jesus with its implied irony was uttered to silence His adversaries who objected that He ate with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:16. Because the scribes and Pharisees were self-righteous, they were not capable of responding to Jesus' call to repentance and faith in the gospel.

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Dear Humanity,

I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.

And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.

Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.