2nd WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 3:1-6) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Is it lawful to do good of the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” (Mk 3:4)

FIRST READING - 1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

"David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone."

A reading from the Book of Samuel

³² And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

³⁷ And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd’s bag or wallet; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴¹ And the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² And when the Philistine looked, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, ruddy and comely in appearance. ⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” ⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down, and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.”

⁴⁸ When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mk 3:1-6

"Is it lawful on the sabbath to save life or to kill?"

✠From the Gospel according to Mark

3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ² And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³ And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come here.” ⁴ And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵ And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Hero′di-ans against him, how to destroy him.

2nd WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 3:1-6)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear people of God,

In today’s Word of God, God continues to instruct humanity on how to observe the law.

God's laws are intended to save humanity from death and to free us from the captivity of Satan. God is the master of time; He governs all circumstances of human life on this earth. God is the God of love, and He always brings happiness to humanity.

As God’s Word in today's Gospel, God makes this known to everyone: while Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, there was a man with a withered hand came and asked Jesus to heal him on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is the day of God, the day of love.

God brings life to humanity, and He always places love for humanity above all else; nothing can hinder God's love. The power of God, which healed the man with the withered hand, displeased those who opposed Jesus, because He performed the healing on the Sabbath.

The image of those in the Temple watching to accuse Jesus shows that the image of Satan is seeking to oppose Jesus, seeking to prevent God's love from being manifested to humanity.

In today's world, God's love continues to be bestowed upon humanity through various means, including God's choosing and calling of individuals into His plan to continue carrying out the mission of bringing God's love and salvation to humanity.

These people are instruments used by God, but they also cannot escape persecution and surveillance of those who oppose God.

However, love always triumphs over death, hatred, envy, and jealousy.

The image of the Son of God demonstrates His divine authority over the forces of Satan by continuing to heal the sick and infirm who came to Him for healing, despite opposition and hindrance.

He was grieved at the hardness of human hearts, He looked around them with anger and subdued Satan within them with His unwavering resolve to uphold righteousness and defend the Truth of Love.

Through the image of Jesus healing on the Sabbath, He also calls His children: when collaborating in God's plan of salvation, look to and imitate the example of Jesus:

• Be courageous in living and bearing witness to God’s love, and continue to collaborate with God in saving humanity from the captivity of Satan.

• Be faithful to God; follow the example of Jesus who died on the cross, so that we may die with Him, to bring our fellow human beings to God

• Be Courageous in proclaiming and bearing witness to God, so that those who hate and oppose God’s love will be forced to retreat; God reveals that this opposition is Satan himself, who is constantly lurking every second and every minute to destroy God the Father’s plan, seeking to attack His children and destroy the Holy Trinity’s plan in this present age.

Thanks be to God. Amen.