Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to share with You the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, no one excepted,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day.
Considerations
Samuel engineered the transition from chaos in the Right Age to monarchy. He appointed first Saul, then David. That transition to monarchy should not be idealised. There was a clear backlash against kingship. Already in the book of Judges, we have the fable of the trees seeking a king, until only the thorn bush was willing. Here we have an equally stinging warning against kingship. No one is king over Israel but God alone. Yet the tendency towards monarchy would make it. (It is presented here as a whim of the people: We want a king like other nations. In fact, the threat and Philistine danger might have also played a part.)
FIRST READING I Sam. 8, 4-7. 10-22a
Thou shalt complain to the Lord thy distress
concerning the king whom thou thyself hast willed,
but the Lord will not answer.
From the first book of Samuel
In those days the elders of Israel gathered together,
went to Samuel in Ramah and said to him :
“Thou art grown old
and thy sons follow not thy example.
“Therefore appoint a king to be judge over us ,
a king like all other nations have.”
but Samuel thought it inappropriate that they suggested :
“Give us a king to be judge over us.”
so he prayed to the Lord.
But the Lord said to Samuel :
“Give ear to the people, whatever they ask of you ,
for they do not reject you, but Me;
Me they no longer want as king.”
Then Samuel brought the people
who had asked him for a king,
informed of what the Lord had said.
He said :
“The king who rules over you
will assert the following rights :
“Your sons he will claim for his chariots ,
for his horses and to escort his chariot,
to appoint them
as leader of a thousand and leader of fifty,
to plough his fields,
to bring in his harvest,
to make weapons for war
and equip his chariots.
“Your daughters he will claim to prepare ointment,
to cook and bake.
“Your best fields, vineyards and olive gardens
he will take from you and give them to his servants.
“From your harvests and the proceeds of your vineyards
he shall levy tithes
and give them to his courtiers and servants.
“Your slaves and bondwomen, your strongest young men and your donkeys
he will make them work for himself.
“Of your sheep and goats he will levy tithes.
“Thus you will become his slaves.
“When the time comes,
thou shalt complain to the Lord of thy distress about the king
whom thou thyself hast willed,
but then the Lord will not answer.”
But the people would not listen to Samuel and said :
“Yet we must have a king!
“Then we will be equal to all other nations.
“Our king will be judge over us
and go out before us to fight our wars.”
Samuel heard the desires of the people
and conveyed them to the Lord.
The Lord said to Samuel :
“Comply with their request
and appoint a king over them.”
INTERLUDIUM
Your favours, Lord, I want to sing,
proclaim your faithfulness to every generation.
Happy is the people who know what joy is,
because it lives, Lord, in the light of your countenance.
From day to day it trusts in your Name,
finds its strength in Your righteousness.
For Thou art our glory and our strength,
thy favour maketh us a great and mighty people.
For from the Lord we received our shield,
the Holy One of Israel gave us a king.
ALLELUIA Ps. 27(26), 11
Alleluia.
Show me your way, Lord, in the face of opposition,
lead me along smooth paths.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 2, 1-12
The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
When Jesus had returned to Capernaum
and it was heard that He was at home,
the people flocked together in such numbers,
that even the space in front of the door could no longer accommodate them
when He proclaimed His teaching to them.
One came and brought to Him a paralytic
who was carried by four men.
Because of the crowd they saw no possibility
to bring him close to Jesus,
they uncovered the roof over the place where Jesus was,
made an opening in it
and lowered the bed on which the paralytic lay stretched out.
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic :
“My son, your sins are forgiven you.”
There were some scribes among them.
They said to themselves :
“What is that man saying there?
“He is speaking blasphemously!
“Who else can forgive sins but God alone?”
Of Himself, Jesus knew at once that they were reasoning in this way
and He said to them :
“What are ye reasoning with yourselves?
“What is easier, to say to the paralytic :
Thy sins are forgiven thee ,
or :
Get up, take your bed and walk ?
“Well, that you may know
that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins ,
– he spoke to the paralytic –
“I say to you,
get up, take your bed and go home.”
The man got up, took his bed
and before all eyes he went out immediately.
Everyone was amazed,
and they glorified God and said :
“We have never seen anything like this before.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On caring for the common home
164. Since the middle of the last century, with the overcoming of many difficulties, the tendency to regard the planet as a homeland and humanity as a people inhabiting a common home has become increasingly prevalent. A world of interdependence means not just understanding that the harmful effects of styles of life, production and consumption affect all, but above all ensuring that solutions are proposed from a global perspective and not just in defence of the interests of a few countries. Interdependence obliges us to think of one world, of a common project. But the same ingenuity used for enormous technical development fails to find effective forms of international management to solve the serious difficulties of environment and society. To address the fundamental problems, which cannot be solved by actions of countries individually, a global consensus becomes indispensable, leading, for example, to programme sustainable and diversified agriculture, to develop renewable and low-polluting forms of energy, to promote greater energy efficiency, to promote more adequate management of forest and marine resources, to ensure access to drinking water for all.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Translation of the Bible,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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