6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)
Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 & 22-23
From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
1st Reading: Gen 9:1-13
God blessed Noah and his sons and he said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Fear and dread of you will be in all the animals of the earth and in all the birds of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. They are given to you. Everything that moves and lives shall be food for you; as I gave you the green plants, I have now given you everything. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is its blood.
But I will also demand a reckoning for your lifeblood. I will demand it from every animal; and from man, too, I will demand a reckoning for the life of his fellow man.
He who sheds the blood of man shall have his blood shed by man; for in the image of God has God made man.
As for you, be fruitful and increase. Abound on the earth and be master of it.“
God spoke to Noah and his sons, “See I am making a Covenant with you and with your descendants after you; also with every living animal with you: birds, cattle, that is, with every living creature of the earth that came out of the ark. I establish my Covenant with you. Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.“
God said, “This is the sign of the Covenant I make between me and you, and every animal living with you for all future generations. I set my bow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth.
Gospel: Mk 8:27-33
Jesus set out with his disciples for the villages around Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?“ And they told him, “Some say, you are John the Baptist; others say, you are Elijah or one of the prophets.“
Then Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?“ Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.“ And he ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus then began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. He would be killed, and after three days rise again. Jesus said all this quite openly, so that Peter took him aside and began to protest strongly. But Jesus, turning around, and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.“
REFLECTION:
God gives us our food
After the flood, God renews the blessing for man and creation and issues a “new food law.“ Whereas before the fall of man God had ordained a “vegetarian diet“ for man, after the fall of man, God now allows even a “meat diet“ for man!
But there is a caveat to God’s new food law. Man could not eat the meat with its blood! God gives a reason, namely: inasmuch as life is in the blood and all life is sacred, God ordained abstinence from blood so that man may be reminded to respect all life! In the New Testament this food law will cease to have its binding legal force, like other similar ritual laws of the Jews (purification laws and dietary laws–see Mark 7).
Whether we follow a vegetarian diet or we prefer a meat diet, however, is not the issue. At the core of this food law we see that we have a God who provides our food. In our prayer before and after meals we recognize that we receive all from the bountiful goodness of God. Yes, we give thanks to the Lord for his providence of food for us!
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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