January
27, 2016
Wednesday
of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Saint
of the Day: Saint Angela Merici, Virgin (c. 1470-1540)
Reading 1
4That
night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: 5“Go,
tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Should
you build Me a house to dwell in? 6I
have not dwelt in a house from
the day on which I led the children of Israel out
of Egypt to the present, but
I have been going about in a tent under cloth.
7In
all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel, did
I ever utter a word to any one of the judges whom
I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:
Why
have you not built me a house of cedar?’
8“Now
then, speak thus to my servant David, ‘The
LORD of hosts has this to say:
It
was I who took you from the pasture and
from the care of the flock to
be commander of my people Israel.[1]
9I
have been with you wherever you went, and
I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And
I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. 10I
will fix a place for my people Israel; I
will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without
further disturbance. Neither
shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, 11since
the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I
will give you rest from all your enemies. The
LORD also reveals to you that He will establish a house for you.
12And
when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I
will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and
I will make his Kingdom firm. 13It
is he who shall build a house for my name. And
I will make his royal throne firm forever.
14I
will be a father to him, and
he shall be a son to me. And
if he does wrong, I
will correct him with the rod of men and
with human chastisements; 15but
I will not withdraw my favor from him as
I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul, whom
I removed from my presence. 16Your
house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your
throne shall stand firm forever.” 17Nathan
reported all these words and this entire vision to David.
Responsorial Psalm
4“I
have made a covenant with my chosen one; I
have sworn to David my servant:
5I
will make your dynasty stand forever and
establish your throne through all ages.”
R.
For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
27“He
shall cry to me, ‘You are my father, my
God, the Rock that brings me victory!’
28I
myself make him firstborn, Most
High over the kings of the earth.”
R.
For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
29“Forever
I will maintain my love for him; my
covenant with him stands firm. 30I
will establish his dynasty forever, his
throne as the days of the heavens.”
R.
For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
Alleluia
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
The
seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all
who come to him will live for ever.
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
1On
another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A
very large crowd gathered around Him so
that He got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And
the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.[2][3]
2And He taught them at length in parables, and
in the course of His instruction He said to them, 3“Hear
this! A sower went out to sow.[4] 4And
as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and
the birds came and ate it up.
5Other
seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It
sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 6And
when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
7Some
seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and
it produced no grain.
8And
some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It
came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9He
added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
10And
when He was alone, those
present along with the Twelve questioned Him about the parables. 11He
answered them, “The
mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But
to those outside everything comes in parables, [5]12so that they
may look and see but not perceive, and
hear and listen but not understand, in
order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”
13Jesus
said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then
how will you understand any of the parables?[6]
14The
sower sows the word. 15These
are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As
soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and
takes away the word sown in them. 16And
these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when
they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. 17But
they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then
when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they
quickly fall away.
18Those
sown among thorns are another sort. They
are the people who hear the word,[8] 19but
worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and
the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and
it bears no fruit.
20But
those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a
hundredfold.”
Notes on readings:
[1] 2 Samuel 7:8-16 - The prophecy to David contained in these
verses is cited again, in poetic form, in Psalm 89:20-38, and alluded to in Psalm 132. The promise regarding the people of Israel, 2 Samuel 7:10-11, is a part of the promise to David at least as old as
the composition of this chapter of Samuel, where it is anticipated in 2 Samuel 7:6-7, and alluded to in David's thanksgiving, 2 Samuel 7:23-24; it applies to the people an expression used of David in
Psalm 89:23.The prophecy to David is the basis for Jewish
expectation of a Messiah, son of David, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in a
transcendent way; compare with Acts 2:30; Hebrews 1:5.
[2] Mark 4:1-34 - In parables (2): see the footnote on Matthew 13:3. The use of parables is typical of Jesus' enigmatic
method of teaching the crowds (Mark 4:2-9, 12) as compared with the interpretation of the parables He
gives to His disciples (Mark 4:10-25, 33-34) to each group according to its capacity to understand (Mark 4:9-11). The key feature of the parable at hand is the sowing of
the seed (3), representing the breakthrough of the kingdom of God into the
world. The various types of soil refer to the diversity of response accorded
the word of God (Mark 4:4-7). The climax of the parable is the harvest of thirty,
sixty, and a hundredfold, indicating the consummation of the kingdom (Mark 4:8). Thus both the present and the future action of God,
from the initiation to the fulfillment of the kingdom, is presented through
this and other parables (Mark 4:26-29, 30-32).
[3] Mark 4:1 - By the sea: the shore of the Sea of Galilee or
a boat near the shore (⇒
Mark 2:13 h(Mark 2:13; 3:7-8) is the place where Mark depicts Jesus teaching the
crowds. By contrast the mountain is the scene of Jesus at prayer (Mark 6:46) or in the process of
forming His disciples (Mark 3:13; 9:2).
[5] Mark
4:11-12 - These verses are to be viewed against their background in Mark 3:6, 22 concerning the unbelief and opposition Jesus encountered
in His ministry. It is against this background that the distinction in Jesus'
method becomes clear of presenting the kingdom to the disbelieving crowd in one
manner and to the disciples in another. To the former it is presented in
parables and the truth remains hidden; for the latter the parable is
interpreted and the mystery is partially revealed because of their faith; see
the footnotes on Matthew 13:11 and Matthew 13:13.
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.