Ninth Week of Ordinary Time
05th June 2024 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and selfcontrol. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
Psalm 123:1-2ab, 2cdef (R. 1a)
R/. To you, O Lord, have I lifted up my eyes.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Mark 12:18-27
At that time: Sadducees came to Jesus, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Wednesday – Ninth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: To be faithful is to be full of faith, that is, to be filled with the power of the Spirit to remain in faith and trustworthiness
1. Our God is a God of the living and not of the dead. As long as we live in Him, we have life. But when we live in sin, we are dead though physically alive. We as faithful people are called to carry this life within us.
2. It is a call to live by the power of this life, to nurture it and to bear witness to it. How to live and witness this godly life? First of all, it is by being humble, conscious and repentant about our human sinfulness.
3. Then, it is by not being intimidated by the pressures and assaults of evil, as in the case of the faithful ancestors or Paul, who are never dissipated or ashamed of their faith but are convinced of the power of grace. It is also in the case of Jesus whom the Sadducees tried to corner him with the question on resurrection.
4. Then, it is by surrendering all the anguish to God and pleading for His intervention and mercy. Appreciable is the spirit of deep faith and surrender of the faithful of God. Surrender is never in vain.
5. In the light of the gospel, these are like the resurrected people, who are not bound by mere earthly restrictions or attachments. They rise higher and operate in a higher realm, like the angels in heaven. These always do God’s will and obey His commands. Obviously, the criteria of heaven are different from those of the world!
6. St Boniface whom we commemorate today was such an authentic person who dedicated himself to the Germanic mission in the Frankish empire in the 8th century. He is the patron of Germany and is the Apostle of the Germans. He was martyred along with 52 others.
Practice: The life of resurrection can already be anticipated and foretasted here on earth itself, provided that we live like angels. That is, with detachment from all the binding ties of the earth and with singular attachment to God
