Daily Reading: Show us, O Lord, your kindness
Today’s Readings for the Holy Mass
Today’s readings in the Holy Mass pull together the readings from Sunday and from yesterday. In today’s first reading, the prophet Micah continues the theme of God shepherding His people, focusing this time on God’s love and forgiveness.
The psalm continues the theme of love and forgiveness, proclaiming,
Restore us, O God our savior,
and abandon your displeasure against us.
Will you be ever angry with us,
prolonging your anger to all generations?
Will you not instead give us life;
and shall not your people rejoice in you?
Show us, O LORD, your kindness,
and grant us your salvation.
In the Gospel, Jesus draws on the theme from yesterday – that those who walk with God and do what He commands are the true members of the Covenant.
Some people see Jesus rejecting His mother here. But we need to keep a few thing sin mind. First, we saw in a previous Gospel that there were those in Jesus’ home town who wanted Him to stop teaching. Jesus probably gave His answer at least in part to send the message that he was not beholden to earthly authority (not even His earthly family). Second, Scripture makes it very clear that Mary not only does the will of the Heavenly Father, but does so par excellence. So Jesus was not rejecting His mother. But He was declaring Himself independent of all human authority, echoing back to His childhood when He told Mary and Joseph in the temple, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Taken together, today’s readings in the Holy Mass call on us to remember that faith is a relationship. God forgives us because He loves us. He calls us to walk personally with Him, and to do His will every day.
Reflection Questions:
1. How has God shown you kindness?
2. How have you sought and performed God’s will today?
Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.