Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 17th January, 2024
Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Memorial of St Anthony, abbot, ‘Father of Monasticism’
FIRST READING
A reading from the first book of Samuel. 17: 32-33, 37, 40-51
David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone.
David said to Saul,
‘Let no one lose heart on his account; your servant will go and fight this Philistine’.
But Saul answered David,
‘You cannot go and fight the Philistine, you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth’.
The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear‘. David said ‘will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.’
Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’
He took his staff in his hand, picked five smooth stones from the river bed, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and with his sling in his hand he went to meet the Philistine. The Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came nearer and nearer to David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion and pleasant bearing.
The Philistine said to him,
‘Am I a dog for you to come against me with sticks?’
And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David,
‘Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field’.
But David answered the Philistine,
‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.’
No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David left the line of battle and ran to meet the Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine down and killed him. David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran and, standing over the Philistine, seized his sword and drew it from the scabbard, and with this he killed him, cutting off his head. The Philistines saw that their champion was dead and took to flight.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 143
Response Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
1. Blessed be the Lord, my rock who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war. Response
2. He is my love, my fortress; he is my stronghold, my saviour,
my shield, my place of refuge. He brings peoples under my rule. Response
3. To you, 0 God, will I sing a new song; I will play on the ten-stringed lute
to you who give kings their victory, who set David your servant free. 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 Mt 4: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 3:1-6 Glory to you, O Lord
Is it against the law on the sabbath day to save life?
Jesus went again into a synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him. He said to the man with the withered hand,
‘Stand up out in the middle!’
Then he said to them,
‘Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’
But they said nothing. Then, grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them, and said to the man,
‘Stretch out your hand’. He stretched it out and his hand was better.
The Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
*****************************
Gospel Reflection Wednesday Second Week in Ordinary Time Mark 3:1-6
In the gospel reading, when Jesus walked into a synagogue, he seems to have walked into a trap. It was the Sabbath day. A man with a withered hand was there and the Pharisees were waiting to see if Jesus would cure him, thereby breaking the Sabbath law. There is a suggestion that he was placed there by those who wanted to catch Jesus out. Using a vulnerable person to catch out and bring down someone perceived as a threat has to be one of the darker arts in human relationships. The human tendency to use others for our own personal gain is always with us. On this occasion, it evoked two strong emotions in Jesus. ‘He grieves with anger’ at the hardness of heart of these religious leaders. The presence of such strong emotions as anger and grief within us are often a sign that something is not right with the world. Jesus directed his strong feelings into the healing of the man’s hand. We can sometimes struggle to use our strong emotions in the service of the well-being of others. All of our emotions, even the most potentially destructive, can empower us ‘to do good’ and ‘to save life’, in the words of the gospel reading. If that is to happen, we may need to call upon the Spirit of the Lord to help us harness these emotions in the service of the coming of God’s kingdom. There was no aspect of Jesus’ humanity that did not serve God’s life-giving purpose. He shows us what a fully human life looks like.
________________________________
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd
