Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Saturday, 17 January 2015

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Saturday, 17 January 2015
Meditation - Hebrews 4:12 What God has said isn’t only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. 13 Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth.
Jesus Is the Great High Priest
14 We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. 15 Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.
Saint Anthony, Abbot
Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help. (Hebrews 4:16)
Have you ever seen an interrogation scene in a movie or TV show? There is a bright spotlight, and the prisoner sits, squinting, unable to get a good look at his questioners. He is alone, isolated, vulnerable.
Today’s reading from Hebrews talks about this kind of exposure; it says that “everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account” (Hebrews 4:13). That sounds pretty scary. Actually, though, it is very different from the threatening spotlight interrogation of movie thrillers. We are laid bare by Jesus, the living Word of God. He doesn’t hold himself back behind the bright light; he is joined to us in our humanity. He has experienced all the trials and temptations to which we are subject. He sympathizes with us.
The passage speaks about Jesus as a high priest. The Latin word for priest literally means “bridge builder”; a priest bridges the divide between people and God. But our great high priest is absolutely unique: he builds the bridge in his own person, as both man and God. So he’s not just representing one party to another; he is both parties! This is why the writer of Hebrews emphasizes that Christ is a sympathetic high priest.
So, amazingly, though the Word of God does expose us, we can nevertheless have confidence as we come to him. We don’t take confidence because we think we can withstand his scrutiny. We don’t need to plead our case or try to explain the way we are. Rather, we are bold because we trust in our high priest. We believe him when he offers us mercy and “grace for timely help” (Hebrews 4:16).
Are you inclined to try to cover yourself under the Lord’s scrutiny? Do you shy away from bringing yourself fully into his presence? Remind yourself that your exposure before God brings only healing and life. He understands your condition, he shares your humanity, and he calls you to come to his throne of grace. Accept his invitation today.
“Lord, thank you for being my great high priest, for bringing me to the throne of grace.” Amen!
Psalms 19:8 The Lord’s instruction is right;
    it makes our hearts glad.
His commands shine brightly,
    and they give us light.
9 Worshiping the Lord is sacred;
    he will always be worshiped.
All of his decisions
    are correct and fair.
10 They are worth more
    than the finest gold
    and are sweeter than honey
    from a honeycomb.
15 Let the words of my mouth be acceptable,
the thoughts of my heart before you,
LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Mark 2: Jesus Chooses Levi
13 Once again, Jesus went to the shore of Lake Galilee. A large crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at the place for paying taxes, and Jesus said to him, “Come with me!” So he got up and went with Jesus.
15 Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Levi’s house.[a] Many tax collectors[b] and other sinners had become followers of Jesus, and they were also guests at the dinner.
16 Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees, and they saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.”[Footnotes:
2.15 Levi’s house: Or “Jesus' house.”
2.15 tax collectors: These were usually Jewish people who paid the Romans for the right to collect taxes. They were hated by other Jews who thought of them as traitors to their country and to their religion.] 

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