Gospel: January 19, 2024
(Friday)
2nd Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 57: 2, 3-4, 6, 11
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.
1st Reading: 1 Samuel 24: 3-21
Gospel: Mk 3:13-19Then Jesus went up into the hill country, and called those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed Twelve to be with him, and he called them “apostles.” He wanted to send them out to preach; and he gave them authority to drive out demons.
These are the Twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, which means “men of thunder”; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
Reflection:“The ones who are sent”
Jesus’ mission is to proclaim the kingdom of God. Later on, he would mandate his followers to preach the Gospel to the whole creation. But first, Jesus willed to form a community of disciples. Jesus would call individuals, from different walks of life, to form a community. God’s reign on earth is realized when genuine communities are created. God’s grace is the bond that enables true Christian communities to be formed. Apart from God’s grace, any attempt to create a community is bound to fail. Openness to the grace of God helps us to submit ourselves to greater values. The Gospel narrates that Jesus chose 12 followers whom he called apostles. The word apostles means “the ones who are sent.” Members of the community of disciples, characterized by the chosen 12, are to be sent. What does this imply? The true Christian community is not self-confined. Jesus’ disciples are to reach out to others. Being called by Jesus to be his followers is not to be taken as a special privilege but an occasion to experience grace, to be transformed by such grace and eventually to become instruments of the same grace for the rest of the world.
