First reading 1 Samuel 18:6-9,19:1-7
Saul’s envy and Jonathan’s loyal friendship
On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang:
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’
Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.
Responsorial Psalm 55(56):2-3,9-14
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.
You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
(are they not written in your book?)
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.
Gospel Mark 3:7-12
He warned them not to make him known as the Son of God
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
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All came to Him
“Great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him.” At this point in the gospel, the news about Jesus and His good works had spread far and wide. Many had come to see Him and also to seek help from Him. Jesus did not reject the people. Instead, He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that He could attend better to them.
Likewise, let us be attracted to come to Jesus. We come with the desire to see Him, listen to Him and seek help from Him. In prayer, we bring to Jesus the worries, problems and difficulties in life. We believe that He would not reject us and that in Jesus, no obstacles or afflictions are too great to handle. We come and put our trust in Jesus, the Son of God. Today, being the start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, let us also pray for unity among all Christians. May we first unite with Jesus and allow Him to bring us into union with others.
Reflective question:
What strikes me in prayer today?
What strikes me in prayer today?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Monika Punan FMVD.
