Friday, January 23, 2015
2nd Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Hebrews 8:6-13
Gospel: Mark 3:13-19
Jesus went up into the hill country and called those he wanted and they came to him. So he appointed twelve to be with him; and he called them apostles. He wanted to send them out to preach, and he gave them authority to drive out demons.
These are the Twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, which means “men of thunder”; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
A Roman Catholic Priest, an Anglican priest and a Baptist preacher were standing near a river while arguing about religion. The Roman Catholic priest said, “We are the authentic Church because we descended directly from the Apostles with Peter as first pope”. He then said, “I can even prove my point by walking on the water”. Then he proceeded to walk on the water to the other side of the river.
The Anglican Priest likewise walked on the water to the other side to prove the authenticity of his church. The Baptist preacher, on the other hand, said that he cared little about their origins and that what really mattered to him was that he studied the word and preached it purely. But when he stepped on the water to prove his point he sank knee deep into the river. The Roman Catholic Priest whispered to the Anglican Priest, “Do you think we should tell him where the rocks are?”
Let’s get to something more serious about rocks now. Jesus built his Church on a rock. He began by choosing core members. The enumeration in today’s Gospel reading begins with Peter and ends with Judas. The placement of their names reminds us of their reputation: Peter was the acknowledged leader while Judas was the known traitor. Both however betrayed Jesus in the end. Judas’ life as a traitor had a tragic ending because he committed suicide. Peter was able to redeem himself.
Peter was in the dark when he betrayed Jesus. This emotional state, however, cannot absolve him because the rooster was there to remind of Jesus’ earlier warning about his betrayal. If a group is as strong as its weakest member, what could be said of Jesus’ group? Even Peter, their leader, turned traitor. Jesus’ choice of weak people to compose the core of a Church designed to last was Jesus’ way of committing his person to the supervision of his Church. True enough he said before he ascended to heaven: “I will be with you until the end of time” (Matthew 28:20). – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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