SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Mark 4:35-41) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
FIRST READING - 2 Sm 12:1-7a, 10-17
"I have sinned against the Lord."
A reading from the Letter of Samuel
[a] 1 The Lord sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him, he said: “Tell me how you judge this case: In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor. 2 The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers. 3 But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children. Of what little he had she ate; from his own cup she drank; in his bosom she slept; she was like a daughter to him. 4 Now, a visitor came to the rich man, but he spared his own flocks and herds to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him: he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David grew very angry with that man and said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves death! 6 He shall make fourfold restitution[b] for the lamb because he has done this and was unsparing.” 7 Then Nathan said to David: “You are the man!
“Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel. I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
10 Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 11 Thus says the Lord: I will bring evil upon you out of your own house. I will take your wives before your very eyes, and will give them to your neighbor: he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.[a] 12 You have acted in secret, but I will do this in the presence of all Israel, in the presence of the sun itself.”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered David: “For his part, the Lord has removed your sin. You shall not die, 14 but since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you will surely die.” 15 Then Nathan returned to his house.
The Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and it became desperately ill. 16 David pleaded with God on behalf of the child. He kept a total fast, and spent the night lying on the ground clothed in sackcloth. 17 The elders of his house stood beside him to get him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor would he take food with them.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mk 4:35-41
"Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"
✠From the Gospel according to Mark
35 [a]On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, “Let us cross to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. 38 Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”[b] The wind ceased and there was great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” 41 [c]They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Mark 4:35-41)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
Today's Word of God speaks of the power and strength of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came down to earth as a man, and also reflects the weak faith of the apostles while they were with Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He is also the very image of the Most High God, the Almighty, the All-Perfect, the absolutely peerless One; there is nothing He cannot do. He holds sovereignty over this world; all must obey His command.
It was out of love that He came down to earth and stayed with humanity; specifically, He chose the apostles to follow Him, to cooperate with Him in the work of salvation.
The apostles were granted additional faith by God: believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah who must come into the world. Because of this faith, the apostles abandoned everything to follow Him. But when the apostles followed the Lord, they still had human weaknesses, failing to trust absolutely in the Most High God’s Son, the One who has complete authority over all things.
Therefore, when facing difficulties and trials in life, the apostles lost faith, as today's Word of God reveals: the apostles panicked when their boat encountered strong winds and high waves while Jesus was asleep in the stern.
They woke the Lord up, saying, “Teacher, we are perishing!”
Through this narrative, God teaches humanity a lesson: Man must always be modest and humble, aware that he is always weak and fragile, and must therefore be vigilant and run to God, asking Him to grant the grace of faith, asking Him to grant additional strength to fight, only then can he triumph over the three enemies—the world, the devil, and the flesh—otherwise, he will be exhausted and defeated by Satan.
Today, God calls upon humanity to be vigilant, to always have firm faith in the love, power, and providence of the Most High God; do not be afraid of any difficulty or trial; do not retreat before the traps of Satan that tempt people into discouragement, leading them away from God. It is precisely in moments of weak faith, moments of fear and worry, that everyone needs to run and call upon the Most High God.
He will intervene, remove all difficulties, and shatter all trials; He will guide them along the path leading to the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven. He will grant peace to humanity right here on earth. Worry no more, fear no more! because humanity always has God the Father, who is the Almighty, the supremely beautiful, and the absolute.
He can do all things, so why not run and call upon the holy name of God to ask for His intervention?Just like today's Word of God: The disciples were with God on the boat, facing great waves and strong winds, while He was asleep.
The disciples were overly worried! They ran and called out to Jesus, and He Himself intervened, calming the sea. Thus, the disciples found peace and reached the shore of happiness together with God.
Therefore, now, God also calls upon everyone to run and call upon God whenever they encounter fear and weakness, asking Him to intervene and help, and He will help.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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