Mass Readings and Meditations “The Word among Us” Wednesday, 29 January
2014
Meditations: 2 Samuel 7: 4 But that same night the word of the
Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are
you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since
the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have
been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about
among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal
leaders[a] of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying,
“Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” 8 Now therefore thus you shall
say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the
pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I
have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from
before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great
ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will
plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more;
and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I
appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your
enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will
raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will
establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and
he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod
such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not
take[b] my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away
from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever
before me;[c] your throne shall be established forever. 17 In accordance with
all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
Footnotes:
a. 2 Samuel 7:7 Or any of the tribes
b. 2 Samuel 7:15 Gk Syr Vg 1 Chr 17.13: Heb shall not depart
c. 2 Samuel 7:16 Gk Heb Mss: MT before you; Compare 2 Sam 7.26,
29
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
He will establish a house for you. (2 Samuel 7:11)
“What have you done for me lately?” This question has a way of
creeping into our relationships, even though we know it shouldn’t. There is a
part of us that wants to tie love and affection to merit or getting what we
deserve. And it goes both ways: we can demand something from someone else in
exchange for our love, but we can also feel that we are worthy of another’s
love only if we earn it.
David showed some of this kind of thinking in today’s first
reading. He had just finished building his palace in Jerusalem when he realized
that he hadn’t built a suitable “palace” for the Lord. Perhaps he worried that
God might be jealous of David’s new palace or that God might forget about his
promises if David didn’t do great things for him.
God was quick to set David straight. He told him that he had
never complained about the tent-like structure that housed the ark of the
covenant. Then he reminded David that his favor wasn’t based on David’s
actions. “It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the
flock” (2 Samuel 7:8). God would always be with David; he didn’t need to earn
God’s favor through lavish building projects.
In fact, God didn’t stop with reaffirming past promises. Rather
than having David build God a house, Nathan told David, “He will establish a
house for you” (2 Samuel 7:11). God wanted to establish a dynasty through David
and a kingdom that would spread God’s light to all the nations.
This story shows that God’s plans aren’t just gracious and
loving; they’re also much greater and more life-giving than we often imagine!
Do you, like David, worry about what you have done for God
lately? Are you afraid that he might forget about you if you don’t get his
attention? Put away your doubts and fear. God’s love for you is constant and
unchanging; it always has been and always will be. And what’s more, he has
things in store for you that you can’t even imagine. Rest in his love, and take
joy in sharing it with others.
“Lord, thank you that you care about my life. Use me in any way
you want to bring glory to your name.” Amen!
Psalm 89: 4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever,
and build your throne
for all generations.’”Selah
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in
the assembly of the holy ones.
27 I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the
kings of the earth.
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with
him will stand firm.
29 I will establish his line forever,
and his throne as long
as the heavens endure.
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk
according to my ordinances,
Mark 4: The Parable of the Sower
1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large
crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there,
while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 He began to teach them
many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! A
sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the
birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not
have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And
when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it
yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain,
growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” 9
And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the
twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been
given the secret[a] of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything
comes in parables; 12 in order that
‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen,
but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan
immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these
are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately
receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root, and endure only for a while;
then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately
they fall away.[b] 18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the
ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth,
and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields
nothing. 20 And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word
and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Footnotes:
a. Mark 4:11 Or mystery
b. Mark 4:17 Or stumble
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