Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34
The apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves into a remote place and have some rest.”  For there were so many people coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves. But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them. As Jesus went ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Reflections
“They were like sheep without a shepherd.”
This text ends where it ought to begin: “And he began to teach them many things.” What did he teach them? But that is for another story. This one is about Jesus’ compassion, which com­peted at times against his own weariness and need for rest. After giving everything to the crowd, Jesus and his disciples had to get into a boat and cast off from shore to find a little seclusion. But then he saw the crowds—so hungry for another word; “They were like sheep without a shepherd.” And so once again, he goes ashore, he starts all over again, “he began to teach them many things.” Those who engage in works of service and mercy know this tension. During the Holocaust, a young man worked for many nights forging false documents for Jewish refugees. “If I sleep for an hour, that will cost thirty lives,” he said.
And yet of course he had to sleep, or else he would be unable to save anyone at all. We all must balance our duty toward others with our own self ­maintenance. The same was true for Jesus. But sometimes his compassion overcame his weariness. He went ashore, and preached again.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Mark 6:14-29
King Herod also heard about Jesus, because his name had become well-­known. Some people said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” Others thought, “He is Elijah,” and others, “He is a prophet like the prophets of times past.” When Herod was told of this, he thought, “I had John beheaded; yet, he has risen from the dead!” For this is what had happened: Herod had ordered John to be arrested; and had had him bound and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.

Herod had married her; and John had told him, “It is not right for you to live with your brother’s wife.” So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him; but she could not, because Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And he liked listening to him; although he became very disturbed whenever he heard him. Herodias had her chance on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a dinner for all the senior government officials, military chiefs, and the leaders of Galilee. On that occasion, the daughter of Herodias came in and danced; and she delighted Herod and his guests.The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.” And he went so far as to say with many oaths, “I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” The mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried to the king and made her request, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist, here and now, on a dish.” The king was very displeased, but he would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths. So he sent one of the bodyguards, with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded John in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and buried it.

Reflections
“He would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths.”
This grotesque story reveals much about the psychology of a tyrant. While holding the lives of others in his hands, he is con­stantly attuned to any threat to his power—wary of displaying signs of weakness that could cast doubt on his potency and thus encourage enemies. John the Baptist poses a different sort of threat. Yet Herod hesitates to move against a man of God. The gospel text assigns blame for John’s death to Herod’s wife— who has her own reason to resent the prophet. Yet there is some­ thing psychologically apt about the “strong man” who is more worried about the consequences of violating a besotted oath than he is about the sin of murder. No wonder he is troubled when he hears reports of Jesus, wondering perhaps whether his victim has not returned to haunt him.This story may seem to apply only to warlords, gang leaders, and crime bosses. But there is a much more common sort of cor­ruption—even in the church—that occurs whenever we are more concerned  with appearances and reputation, or the fear of exposing “scandal” than we are about the truth or about protecting the weak and vulnerable.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Mark 6:7-13
He called the Twelve to him, and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits. And he ordered them to take nothing for the journey, except a staff: no food, no bag, no money in their belts. They were to wear sandals and were not to take an extra tunic. And he added, “In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until you leave the place. If any place doesn’t receive you, and the people refuse to listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet. It will be a testimony against them.” So they set out to proclaim that this was the time to repent. They drove out many demons and healed many sick people by anointing them.

Reflections
“In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until you leave the place.”
Heretofore, as Jesus and his dis­ciples have wandered the country­ side, he has done all the teaching and healing. The disciples watched and learned from his example. Je­sus knows there will come a time when the disciples will have to stand on their own, without him. And so he sends them out on their first trial. Here we see a glimpse of the post­ Easter church. Jesus did not gather followers just to serve as witnesses to his short­ lived ministry. They were to be the seed of a new movement, a new family, that would carry on and extend the message that he embodied. Jesus also offered a model of the ideal missionary, who does not come with wealth or the trappings of power and privilege. The missionary ­disciple does not compel others to listen or accept his teachings; all he offers is the attraction of his message and the authenticity of his witness. Many priests and religious have served the church in sprea­ding the gospel to fields afar. But Pope Francis has reminded us that all Christians are called to be “mis­sionary disciples.” What the disci­ples in this story did, so are we all charged to do—bearing witness to the gospel in our own homes and communities.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Mark 6:1-6
Leaving that place, Jesus returned to his own country, and his disciples followed him. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and most of those who heard him were astonished. But they said, “How did this come to him? What kind of wisdom has been given to him, that he also performs such miracles? Who is he but the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offense at him.And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And he could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying his hands on them. Jesus himself was astounded at their unbelief.

Reflections
“How did this come to him?"
This story is a reminder that Jesus, for most of his life, lived a hidden life among his poor neighbors. He was simply “the carpenter,” the son of Mary, with no apparent gifts or qualities to set him apart from his various kin. Blessed Charles de Foucauld (d. 1916), who spent some years living in the Holy Land, was so impressed with this fact that he conceived of a new form of reli­gious life modeled precisely on this “hidden life” of Jesus, offering a silent witness to God’s love among his poor neighbors. We do not need to join the Little Brothers, nor do we need to move to the Holy Land, to live as Jesus did among his neigh­bors. Nazareth is wherever we are. But we can be a presence of God’s love in the space in which we find ourselves. And what about the children of God we encounter everyday in the form of our neighbors: the carpenter, the auto mechanic, the janitor? How many saints walk among us—unseen, unre­cognized, yet bearing witness to God’s love and mercy? If only we had eyes to see.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019