Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 9th February, 2024
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
FIRST READING
A reading from the first book of Kings 11: 29-32; 12:19
Israel has been separated from the House of David.
One day when Jeroboam had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh accosted him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak; the two of them were in the open country by themselves. Ahijah took the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve strips, saying to Jeroboam,
‘Take ten strips for yourself, for thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel,
“I am going to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and give ten tribes to you. He shall keep one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel”’
And Israel has been separated from the House of David until the present day.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 80
Response I am the Lord your God; listen to my warning.
1. Let there be no foreign god among you, no worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt. Response
2. But my people did not heed my voice and Israel would not obey, Response
3. O that my people would heed me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
At once I would subdue their foes, turn my hand against their enemies. Response
Gospel Acclamation Jn 6: 63
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit and they are life: you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 7: 31-37 Glory to you, O Lord
He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.
Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him,
‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened‘.
And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly.
And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it.
Their admiration was unbounded.
‘He has done all things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Friday Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 7:31-37
According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve hid from the Lord among the trees of the garden. Having eaten from the one tree in the garden that God said was out of bounds, they couldn’t face God. In the gospel reading, in contrast, far from hiding from the Lord, the people of the Decapolis sought him out, bringing to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech. The Decapolis was a region that was occupied mostly by pagans rather than Jews. These people recognized that God was working in a healing, life-giving way, through Jesus. There was no reason to hide from such a person. Indeed, Jesus went looking for those who were considered religious outsiders by the religious leaders of the time, sharing table with them. In the setting of a meal, he wanted to convey to them the merciful and unconditional love of God.
We need never hide from the Lord in fear, regardless of what we have done or failed to do. His love for us is perfect and complete, and as Saint John says in one of his letters, ‘perfect love drives out fear’. The Lord is always coming towards us to heal us of our brokenness, just as he healed the deaf man with the speech impediment whom the people brought to him. Sometimes we too need the Lord to open our ears so that we listen more attentively to one another, and to the Lord speaking to us through one another and especially through the Scriptures. The better we hear, the more likely we are to speak well, to speak a word that is helpful to others, just as the man spoke plainly after his deafness was healed. When we allow the Lord we open our ears, then we can proclaim the Lord to others by the way we speak. When the risen Lord joined the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, he listened carefully to their story, to what they had to say, before speaking to them, and, when he did finally speak to them, their hearts began to burn within them. The risen Lord shows us how good listening can bear fruit in good speaking.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
