FrNikola

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday

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Today’s First Reading shows the difference between how David lived his mission as king of Israel (and succeeded) and how Saul did (and failed): David sought to make the Lord shine in the presence of Israel by building a Temple for him, and Saul tried to make himself shine at the Lord’s expense by disobeying the Lord to score political points with Israel and giving the impression that the Lord approved. David was rewarded, as we saw yesterday, with the Lord’s promise of a house that would endure forever, in contrast the Saul being told by Samuel that his house was to end (and so it did).

David in today’s First Reading shows that he realizes his purpose is to second whatever the Lord asks of him as the key to a successful and happy life for him and for Israel. The Lord sees whether our hearts shine or not; appearances can only go skin deep. David realizes that the Lord took him from being nobody and made him king for the benefit of Israel, in service to the Lord; Saul became enslaved to public opinion and in so doing did not serve the Lord or Israel. In David’s prayer today he acknowledges how blessed Israel is to be the Lord’s people, not how lucky they are to have king David. If David asks that his house endure forever, it is only because the Lord promised it first; he would never have asked for it out of ambition. David didn’t seek for his house to endure forever, but the Lord promised it to him. Saul did a lot of bad things to try and make his house endure, and his house ended.

Let’s learn today from David’s prayer and attitude. Sometimes Our Lord in prayer helps to see what we should pray for and what we should not. That requires not just speaking in prayer, but listening as well. If we ask him to help us do whatever makes him shine in the eyes of men in service to them we know we’re on the right track. Let’s examine our lives today and see if there’s anything in them where we’re making ourselves shine at the Lord’s expense and to the disservice of our brothers and sisters. If we make him shine, if we give glory to him through our life, we will shine as well and serve others.

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:18–19, 24–29; Psalm 132:1–5, 11–14; Mark 4:21–25.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday

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In today’s First Reading David wants to build a Temple for the Lord, the first Jewish Temple, and the Lord in return promises to build a dynasty that will usher in Israel’s peace and security for all eternity. The initiative to build the Temple was David’s alone: as the Lord explains today, he didn’t ask for it or expect it from David. We know we should not displease God, but we should also strive to please him. He has blessed us with freedom so that we can spontaneously please him. We can’t surprise him with our initiative, since he is all-knowing, but we can please him with our initiative.

Jesus, the Messiah descended from David, would be the King whose reign would usher in peace and security for all eternity. The way we build our lives is the way we build our eternity. If we build our lives in a way pleasing to God he will not be outdone in generosity and will build an eternity of happiness for us and for those we love. The Lord did not just reward David for his thoughtful gesture; he blessed Israel forever. We too, when we build our lives in a way that pleases God, don’t just gather blessings for ourselves, but for many. That desire to simply please God and win blessings for others, expecting nothing for ourselves, is the greatest expression of selflessness.

Let’s strive to make our life something we build in appreciation for all God has done for us, and for the sake of others. That’s the best way to please God.

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:4–17; Psalm 89:4–5, 27–30; Mark 4:1–20. See also 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday and Friday, and 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday

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In today’s First Reading David spares no expense or effort to welcome the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem with a liturgy that was not only generous, materially speaking, but from the heart. He danced before the Ark to show his love for the Lord. The Ark represented the Lord’s presence and favor among his people; it was at the center of Jewish worship. David to some seemed to be making a fool of himself, dancing before the Lord, but David had his priorities straight: everything he’d gained in life had come from the Lord, and he owed everything to the Lord as a result.

In the Eucharist we do not just have a representation of the Lord’s presence; we have the Lord himself. We don’t sacrifice animals to him, because he had made himself the perfect sacrifice to offer the Father, but do offer the sacrifices of living a holy life that is pleasing to him and that is also thanks to his sacrifice, which won us the grace to be holy. We don’t dance, but we do “celebrate” the Eucharist with a joy of blessings received and acknowledged and an eager anticipation for receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion to deepen in our love for him.

Make the liturgy today a moment of celebration and eager anticipation.

Readings: 2 Samuel 6:12b–15, 17–19; Psalm 24:7–10; Mark 3:31–35. See also 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday and 25th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

Conversion of St. Paul

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As St. Paul recalls in today’s First Reading, he thought his purpose and mission were as clear as day: to hunt down and imprison those who followed the “Way” as transgressors of the traditions of Israel. He had official support  and was expanding his operation, but on a bright day, at midday, just outside Damascus he realized the “light” he was guiding himself by was nothing in comparison to the light of the revelation he had just received: that Jesus was the Lord and that he was persecuting the very Lord he should be serving. He was not just knocked off his feet and blinded physically, but spiritually as well. After being so certain of the course his life should take he ended up being led by the hand into the very city he was supposed to police in order to await further instructions.

St. Paul is an apostle because he had a direct experience of the Risen Lord. We commemorate that life-changing moment for him today because it defined the rest of his life. God’s will had been revealed to him after years of thinking he knew it all. An experience of Christ changed all that, an experience he had to give witness to, just as the Twelve did. The very passage we read today is the second account of Paul’s conversion in the Acts of the Apostles, from his own lips, giving witness to why he was an apostle to the very crowd that had just tried to tear him apart.

There are many poignant conversion stories in salvation history. Even a baptized and professing Christian can have a moment of spiritual conversion where their understanding of the faith and their role in sharing it pales in the light of what God chooses to reveal. Christ wants to be your light, just as he was St. Paul’s. Let him.

Readings: Acts 22:3–16; Psalm 117:1bc, 2; Mark 16:15–18.  See also Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

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Today’s readings remind us of the importance of the Word of God in our lives. In today’s Gospel Luke explains to Theophilus that he sought to check and compile all concerning Jesus that had been written or handed down by other “ministers of the word.” Ezra in today’s First Reading, as part of a liturgical assembly in honor of the dedication of the newly rebuilt Temple in Israel, reads the law for hours to the people in order to help them to renew the covenant: it was probably the first five books of the Old Testament. The Israelites found their identity in the words of the Law, just as we find it in the Bible today, especially in the Gospel, but without discarding what’s been handed down to us in the Old Testament.

Our Lord too in today’s Gospel reads from the prophets, but presents something new, something that represents his Incarnation and mission and sheds light on all the Word of God: he has come to fulfill everything promised through the prophets, and to give meaning to the history of salvation lived until that moment and passed along through oral and written traditions until being compiled into what we call the Bible today. Without God’s Word we’d soon lose our identity and our way in a world plagued by ignorance, confusion, and evil.

Just like Ezra, Paul, and Jesus himself the Lord blesses us with people who conserve and interpret what God has said to us throughout salvation history. Let’s pray for all ministers of God’s Word today, and for the grace to be faithful witnesses to that Word as well.

Readings: Nehemiah 8:2–4a, 5–6, 8–10; Psalm 19:8–10, 15; 1 Corinthians 12:12–30; Luke 1:1–4, 4:14–21. See also 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B and 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.