Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, February 20, 2017.
1st Reading: Sirach 1:1-10
All wisdom comes from the LORD and with him it remains forever, and is before all time The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain, the days of eternity: who can number these? Heaven’s height, earth’s breadth, the depths of the abyss: who can explore these? Before all things else wisdom was created; and prudent understanding, from eternity. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom and her ways are everlasting. To whom has wisdom’s root been revealed? Who knows her subtleties?
To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed? And who has understood the multiplicity of her ways? There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring, seated upon his throne: There is but one, Most High all-powerful creator-king and truly awe-inspiring one, seated upon his throne and he is the God of dominion. It is the LORD; he created her through the Holy Spirit, has seen her and taken note of her.
He has poured her forth upon all his works, upon every living thing according to his bounty; he has lavished her upon his friends. The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R/.The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Gospel: Mark 9:14-29
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John and approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”Someone from the crowd answered him,”Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.
Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” He said to them in reply,
“O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him,”‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,
rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!” Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.” The gospel of the Lord.
MONDAY REFLECTIONS:
It’s important to note that the father came to Jesus in a somewhat desperate state of mind. It is good that he came to Jesus, but ideally he would come to Jesus regardless of his desperation. This teaches us a lesson regarding how we often come to our Lord.
Very often, when life is good, we allow our faith and trust in God to slip. It’s easy, when things are good, to forget that God is God and that we must daily love Him and surrender all to Him, trusting Him even with the good things of life. Conversely, when a sudden hardship comes our way, we suddenly turn to God in our need. We come to Him as we would a doctor when we become sick. We avoid going to the doctor when we are healthy, waiting until we are in dire need. Even though it is a good thing to turn to Jesus in our need, when things are suddenly out of control, it is far better to come to Him when life is good and when we do not have any immediate hardship.
The fact that this man came to Jesus out of pure desperation, and the fact that he wasn’t even convinced that Jesus could do anything to help, reveals a lack of faith on his part. So it is with us. When we wait until we are in the midst of some crisis to come to our Lord, hoping but unsure of His ability to intervene, we are manifesting a certain lack of faith. But the good news is that Jesus worked with the little faith this man had and He will do the same with us. He cured his son and He will cure us when we come to Him with even a little faith. But the ideal is to then make sure that the little faith we have manifested grows. It must grow so that we then come to Jesus every day, even when there is no obvious crisis or imminent need. Coming to Him, out of love, is a true sign of a deep and authentic faith.
Pray with me: Lord, may I come to You in all things. May I love and serve You when life is good, and may I trust You with an unwavering trust when life is challenging. Increase my faith and help me to manifest that faith every day of my life. Jesus, I trust in You. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.
Sourced by Wiezman Eleanya