Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 1: 29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, 
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons 
throughout the whole of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel describes a full day in the life of Jesus.

We begin mid-morning, where we encounter the Lord casting out an unclean spirit from a man in the synagogue. This is his first public miracle (according to Mark’s Gospel), revealing his definitive power of evil.

“After lunch,” Jesus enters Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill. This second miracle reminds us that, like the synagogue or the local parish church, the home is a sacred place. It’s a “domestic church.”

The Lord continues his ministry of healing until after sunset. I’d imagine by the end of the night, Jesus was exhausted.

But the Gospel tells us that he rose, “very early before dawn,” where he went off on his own to a deserted place to pray. Jesus must’ve began each day that way … up early, in prayer.

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Prayer is essential for growth in our spiritual lives. It sustains us.

The Lord reminds us that the best time to do it is “very early before dawn,” before the stress and weight of other commitments compete for our time.

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So, how much time do I spend in prayer each day? Have I tried praying like the Lord, “very early before dawn?”

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If not, then try it tomorrow. Give the Lord the first few minutes of your day and see what happens. It may bear unexpected fruit over time; God is never outdone in generosity.

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Image credits: (1) The Busy Woman (2) Salt Strong (3) The Word for the Day

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Gospel: Mark 1: 21-28

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, 
and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” 
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet!  Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
“What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When I think of a sacred space, I think of this church. This altar. This pulpit. The Saints and the Stations of the Cross that line our walls.

Sacred spaces are filled with holy things that point us to God.

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In today’s Gospel, there’s a man with an unclean spirit present in the synagogue. The synagogue is a holy place, so why is he there?

Surely, he doesn’t belong.  

Or does he?

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I imagine him to be a conflicted man, both a sinner and a believer – a man who knew he was under the power of something stronger than himself.

Maybe he showed up in the synagogue that day hoping to be set free.

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This becomes the first public miracle that Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel, giving this man an added meaning.

Perhaps Mark uses him as an image for all of us. 

While there are good and holy things about us, like that man in the synagogue, we also struggle with some form of sin, weakness, or imperfection. The Lord has come to set us free.

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Think of the person who gives into a particular temptation over and over again; the person who cannot find the grace to forgive; the person who harbors jealous or judgmental thoughts about others.

Occasionally, we need the healing grace of Jesus.

The best place to find it is either where that man was – in the house of God – or in the grace-filled silence of prayer.

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Image credits: (1) Stethoscope.com (2) Palm Beach Lakes Church of Christ (3) Lord Purify Me, For the Love of God

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Gospel: Matthew 3: 13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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On a sunny afternoon in southern France, Pablo Picasso was found sun tanning on a beach. 

Immediately recognizing the famous artist, a young mother instructed her child to approach Picasso with a pen and paper, asking either for his autograph or a simple sketch. 

It’d be worth millions!

Visibly irritated, Picasso took the paper from the young boy, tore it up, and penned a sketch on the little boy’s chest, instead.

When finished, Picasso said to him, “Now, tell your mother that she can never wash you again!”

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Herein lies the difference between what the little boy received from Picasso and what we receive in baptism. 

While Picasso’s sketch might’ve lasted on that boy’s skin for a few hours, maybe a few days, baptism leaves an indelible mark on our souls.

As the Gospel tells us, the heavens are torn open and the Holy Spirit descends upon us. There is nothing we can do to rid ourselves of God’s divine presence within.

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The invitation is to live our lives accordingly. 

Christians are people who forgive when it’s hard; who love after the feelings disappear; who serve their neighbors in need; and pray for those around them.

In celebration of our baptism, let’s now renew our baptismal promises – and our commitment to living them out.

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(One way to celebrate your baptism is to renew your baptismal promises, which you can do by reading the text below):

Leader: Do you renounce Satan?
All: I do.

Leader: And all his works?
All: I do.

Leader: And all his empty show?
All: I do.

Leader:Do you believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth?
All: I do.

Leader: Do you believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered death and was buried,
rose again from the dead,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father?
All: I do.

Leader: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting?
All: I do.

Leader: And may almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
who has given us new birth
by water and the Holy Spirit,
and bestowed on us forgiveness of our sins,
keep us by his grace,
in Christ Jesus our Lord,
for eternal life.

All: Amen.

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Image credits: (1) Ascension Press Media, Why Was Christ Baptized? (2) Vecteezy (3) Remember Your Baptism, United Methodist Church