WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 6:1-6) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“A prophet is not without honor except his native place and among his own kin and his own house.” (Mk 6:4)

FIRST READING - 12:4-7, 11-15

A reading form the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews

Brothers and sisters:

In your struggle against sin

you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:

My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord

or lose heart when reproved by him;

for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;

he scourges every son he acknowledges.

Endure your trials as “discipline”;

God treats you as his sons.

For what "son” is there whom his father does not discipline?

At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,

yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness

to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.

Make straight paths for your feet,

that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

Strive for peace with everyone,

and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God,

that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble,

through which many may become defiled.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mark 6:1-6

From the Gospel according to Mark

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place,

accompanied by his disciples.

When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,

and many who heard him were astonished.

They said, “Where did this man get all this?

What kind of wisdom has been given him?

What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!

Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,

and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?

And are not his sisters here with us?”

And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

and among his own kin and in his own house.”

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,

apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.

He was amazed at their lack of faith.

WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 6:1-6)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God, God the Father calls on all of humanity to believe in the words of the prophets sent to humanity by God the Father.

It is Jesus Christ who is the supreme prophet of God the Father. He is the only prophet who has power and authority over humanity and all creatures. No one is as great as God.

Jesus Christ is the prophet of God the Father, bringing the words of God the Father to convey to humanity so that humanity can enjoy happiness and peace in God's grace, love, and mercy.

But wherever He goes, Satan finds every way to oppose humans, by causing division and jealousy between humankind and God, between humanity and each other, and humans conflicting among humans.

God the Father lets humanity know that even Jesus Christ Himself went out to preach the word of God the Father to all mankind, calling people to repent, abandon the path of sin, and return to the holiness of God.

He performed many miracles to heal the bodies and souls of mankind but was still opposed, even to the prophets, the people sent by God the Father to this world, to spread the words of God the Father to all mankind.

God the Father wants humanity to know that wherever God the Father is, wherever there are prophets sent by God the Father, we must open our hearts and accept His words because the words of God will bring eternal life.

The prophets are just instruments that God uses to convey exactly what God the Father teaches.

God the Father reminds humanity that wherever they do not receive the light of love and mercy of God the Father, which is present in Jesus Christ, present in the prophets of God the Father, then Satan will rage great power over souls and bodies, and there where will only be darkness and sins.

God the Father calls on His children to courageously stand up, step out of the darkness, and enter the light which is Jesus Christ: abandon the path of sin, abandon jealousy, disputes, envy, and hatred to receive God's mercy.

Additionally, God the Father calls on His prophets to be faithful and obedient to the will of God the Father, even if they are banished, condemned, and persecuted. They must believe that there is a God who gives all blessings, a God who protects their bodies and souls.

Therefore, fulfill the mission that God the Father has given us, to convey the Word of God to all humanity, to our brothers and sisters, so that they too may open their hearts to receive the light of Jesus Christ's saving love.

Today, God the Father calls on His prophets to be faithful to God the Father, to go from place to place to spread the Word of God the Father, to fulfill the duty that God the Father has given them, to follow the example of Jesus Christ, because He was faithful and obedient to God the Father until His last breath.

Thanks be to God. Amen.