The Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 103; Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Our first reading today from the Prophet Isaiah is a call to the people to rise up and be consoled for their liberation is now at hand. The Lord has now come to them and he will gather them together as a shepherd gathers his sheep. It is an appropriate text for the celebration of the Lord’s baptism because with his baptism Jesus began his public ministry – at his baptism he was revealed to the people and God signalled his approval of him. At the Epiphany we celebrated the revelation of our salvation to the Magi but now we celebrate his revelation to all the people and the preaching of the Good News. Our gospel passage recounts Christ’s baptism by John in the Jordan as told by Luke. In it, the Father witnesses to his own Son and says that he is the Chosen One in fulfilment of the text from Isaiah. In the second reading, St Paul tells us that Christ became a sacrifice for us simply because he had compassion for us – we had done nothing to merit it. Now however, we must live good and religious lives in this present world while we wait for the blessings of the world to come. At our own baptism we became God’s chosen ones in a special way and by living out Paul’s instructions in the second reading we will help to bring Christ’s glory to the whole world.

Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Hebrews 1:1-6; Psalm 96; Mark 1:14-20

Our first reading comes from the letter to the Hebrews which is attributed to St Paul though not written by him. The letter is also written for an unidentified group. Nevertheless, the message of the letter is not to be ignored because of its authorship. In today’s text, the Hebrews are told how God spoke to the people in former times by means of the prophets who delivered his message for him. Now, however, he has spoken to the people through his own Son. The author emphasises the fact that Christ is the Son of God and is God and this highlights the importance of the message we have received. The beginning of Ordinary Time begins with Jesus starting out on his public ministry and calling the people to repentance. In today’s Gospel passage we also see him calling four fishermen (Simon, Andrew, James and John) to follow him and they do so without hesitation. Our readings today call us to repentance and to follow Christ with our whole heart acknowledging the importance of the message and the true identity of Christ.

Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Hebrews 2:5-12; Psalm 8; Mark 1:21-28 

Again the author of the letter to the Hebrews speaks at length about the true identity of Jesus. He is at pains to make sure that we do not see Jesus as just another prophet or holy man but the Son of God who was perfect in everything. In the closing lines he also tells us that the one who sanctified us – Christ – and we who are sanctified are of the same stock, that is to say we are all sons and daughters of God and heaven is our true home. In our Gospel text we see Jesus casting out an unclean spirit. The spirit recognised Jesus as the Son of God and acknowledges this. The people are amazed by how he speaks and they too recognise the authority with which he acts. The readings call on us today to recognise the authority of Christ and of his Gospel and to conform our lives to it, for only then can we receive eternal life.

Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Hebrews 2:14-18; Psalm 104; Mark 1:29-39 

Having told us that Christ is the true Son of God and is God himself, the author of the first reading now tells us that Christ is also human. It was not the angels who needed to be redeemed but men and women and so Christ was born of human flesh and became one like us. Only by being one of us could he plead on our behalf and understand our struggles. There are a number of important points in today’s Gospel. The first is that Jesus cured people of their illnesses no matter what their complaint was. This shows how tremendous his power was. Secondly, he went away from the crowd so that he himself could pray. Even though he too was God he still prayed to the Father, he still spoke to the Father whenever he could and in private. Thirdly, he did not keep the message and his healing powers for those who were his friends but wanted to travel as far as possible to spread the Good News as far as possible. The challenge for us today is to realise that Jesus was human like one of us and being human he knows our weaknesses. When we acknowledge this then we can pray to him knowing that he will listen to us and answer us. We must also realise that we too have a duty to spread the Good News wherever we may go.

Memorial of St Ita, Virgin

Ita (whose name means ‘thirst for holiness’) was born in the sixth century in the Deise near Drum, Co Waterford. She left home and went to Limerick in order to devote her life to God. She gathered a community of maidens around her and also ran a school for boys. Many miracles were said to have been worked by her. She died in 570.

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Hebrews 3:7-14; Psalm 94; Mark 1:40-45

We are reminded today of how the people in the wilderness rebelled against Moses and against God and turned their backs on God. We are also reminded of how he made a new covenant with his people despite all they had done. The writer does not want us to turn from God but to make sure that we help each other to remain faithful and on the path to eternal life as co-heirs with Christ. Jesus cures a leper in today’s Gospel passage, not because he had to but because he wanted to. Despite Jesus’ warning the leper goes and tells others about the cure and the people begin to flock to Jesus. The readings remind us today that God wants us to be with him and will help us when we call to him and are faithful to him. God is not going to force salvation on us but will only grant us the salvation promised to us if we want it and to show that we want it we must be faithful to his Word and to him.

Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Hebrews 4:1-5, 11; Psalm 77; Mark 2:1-12 

The author of the letter to the Hebrews reminds his readers that the promise made by God is still good and there is no time limit on it. But the promise can only be attained by being faithful. The Israelites who rejected Christ were not faithful and therefore have rejected their own salvation. Jesus has his first confrontation with the authorities in today’s Gospel text. A paralytic is brought to him and when Jesus tells him his sins are forgiven the scribes begin to question this. They believed that only God could forgive sins and to prove to them that he was from God and had the authority to forgive, Jesus cures the paralytic who then gets up and walks out in front of them. We are called to believe in Christ and to be faithful to God and to the Gospel. We are also reminded that if we do sin that Christ will forgive us if we ask for forgiveness.

Memorial of St Antony, Abbot

Antony was born to a wealthy family in Upper Egypt in 251 but lived a life of solitude and prayer in the desert. He is regarded as the Father of Christian Monasticism because he was the first hermit to form communities of hermits. He was much sought after by kings, bishops and crowds of people seeking advice. He died in his hermitage on Mount Kolzim near the Red Sea at the age of 105.

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Hebrews 4:12-16; Psalm 18; Mark 2:13-1 

The word of God is something powerful and something from which we cannot hide. No matter what we do or say – in public or in the privacy of our hearts – all is known to God. Therefore we must always be on our guard and remain faithful. If however we do fall, the author of the first reading reminds us that Christ will be there to help us because he knows our weaknesses having been human like us. He will always be there to help and to pick us up when we fall. We see Jesus calling the tax collector, Matthew, in our text today. We also see him admonished by the Pharisees for eating with those they considered sinners. It is worth noting that those who considered themselves virtuous were the very ones who rejected Christ, while those who acknowledged their sinfulness were the ones who embraced him. We are called to follow Christ as readily as St Matthew did and to remain faithful to him always. We are also told not to be like the Pharisees who coldly judged people without mercy, but to live a life of mercy and love.