Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 29th August, 2024
Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
08-29-The Passion of St John the Baptist, Memorial
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah 1:17-19
Stand up and tell them all I command you; do not be dismayed at their presence.
The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying:
‘Brace yourself for action. Stand up and tell them all I command you.
Do not be dismayed at their presence, or in their presence I will make you dismayed.
I, for my part, today will make you into a fortified city,
a pillar of iron, and a wall of bronze to confront all this land:
the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests and the country people.
They will fight against you but shall not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you.
– it is the Lord who speaks.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 70:1-6.15. 17.
Response My lips will tell of your justice, 0 Lord.
1. In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, free me: pay heed to me and save me. Response
2. Be a rock where I can take refuge, a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold. Free me from the hand of the wicked. Response
3. It is you, O Lord, who are my hope, my trust, O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth, from my mother’s womb you have been my help. Response
4. My lips will tell of your justice and day by day of your help.
O God, you have taught me from my youth and I proclaim your wonders still. Response
Gospel Acclamation Mt 5:10
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 6:17-29 Glory to you, O Lord
I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.
Herod had sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod,
‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’
As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.
An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests;
so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.‘
And he swore an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’
She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’
She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’
The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request,
‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’
The king was deeply distressed, but thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, be was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection, 29 August The Passion of Saint John the Baptist Mark 6:17-29
We know from our own experience that anger can be a difficult emotion to manage. It can lead us to say and do things we might subsequently regret. According to today’s gospel reading, the anger of Herodias, the wife of Herod Antipas, would have led her to kill John the Baptist. He was momentarily saved from her deadly anger by Herod, who, instead, had John imprisoned, knowing John to be a good and holy man. Yet, it was Herod’s rash promise to Herodias’ daughter at his birthday banquet that allowed Herodias to give full expression to her anger. Herod’s promise to her, ‘I will give you anything you ask’, was enough of an opening for Herodias to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Rather than lose face and honour by going back on a promise he had made on oath, Herod now submits to Herodias’ request, made through her daughter. Herod, Herodias and her daughter have been described as an unholy trinity. Because of them, a ‘good and holy man’ was brutally put to death, without even the semblance of a trial. Every generation before and since has witnessed similar callous abuses of power.
Yet, this is the world in which we are asked to live out our faith in the Lord, who himself was a victim of such abuse of power. The greater the darkness, the more the light of our faith needs to shine. In the gospel of John, Jesus refers to John the Baptist as a ‘burning and shining lamp’ (Jn 5:35). His light shone at its brightest in the hour of his execution. Similarly, the light of God’s love shone most brightly through Jesus when he was lifted up on the cross. As people of faith, we don’t get discouraged when evil seems to triumph. Instead, we trustingly turn towards he Lord and ask that the light of his loving presence would shine all the more brightly through our lives.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
