Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 4th June, 2024
Tuesday of The Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Memorial of Ss Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs
FIRST READING
A reading from the second letter of St Peter 3:11-15. 17-18
We are waiting for the new heavens and new earth.
You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved: our brother Paul, who is so dear to us, told you this when he wrote to you with the wisdom that is his special gift. You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 89
Response O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
1. Before the mountains were born or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end. Response
2. You turn men back into dust and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. Response
3. Our span is seventy years or eighty for those who are strong.
And most of these are emptiness and pain.
They pass swiftly and we are gone. Response
4. In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Show forth your work to your servants;
let your glory shine on their children. Response
Gospel Acclamation Heb 4: 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
or Eph 1: 17. 18
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Mark 12:13-17 Glory to you, O Lord
Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God
The Chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him,
‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?‘
Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them,
‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.‘
They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’
‘Caesar’s’ they told him.
Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God’.
This reply took them completely by surprise.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 12:13-17
Today’s first reading from the second letter of Peter says, ‘Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved’. The Lord’s patience is our opportunity. When I was young, I used to hear a little jingle, ‘Patience is a virtue, keep it if you can, always in a woman, never in a man’. Perhaps there is some truth in that little saying! Patience is certainly a virtue and one we appreciate when we are shown it. Patience is the ability to wait on people. Jesus once spoke a parable about a barren fig tree that the landowner wanted to cut down. However, the landowner’s gardener was a much more patient man. He persuaded his master to leave the fig tree for another year during which he would tend to it to ensure it bore fruit the following year. Jesus might have seen something of himself in that gardener. He was patient with people, including his own disciples. So many times, they failed to grasp what he was trying to say to them, but he never gave up on them. Even when Peter, the leading disciple, denied him, he didn’t give up on him.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus’ patience is put to the test. The Pharisees and the Herodians asked him what seemed like a serious question, ‘Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ In reality, they were not looking for information but, as the gospel reading says, they were trying to catch Jesus out. They weren’t being sincere and, according to the gospel reading, Jesus saw through their hypocrisy. Yet, he was patient with them, asking them for a coin from their pockets and declaring that Caesar should be given back what belongs to him, but, more importantly, God should be given what belongs to God. What belongs to God according to Jesus?
Just a few verses later in Mark’s gospel, Jesus will answer that question, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength’. It is only God, and God’s Son Jesus, who is worthy of our total loving loyalty, certainly not Caesar. Jesus’ patience towards his opponents on this occasion was their opportunity to learn a vital lesson for life. The Lord’s patience is always our opportunity.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
