Triumphant Trust In GOD

 "YAHWEH is my light and my salvation

--whom shall I fear?

YAHWEH is the rampart of my life;

I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of YAHWEH, one thing I seek--

that I may dwell in HIS house all the days of my life,

to gaze at HIS jewel and to visit HIS Sanctuary.

I hope, I am sure,

that I will see the goodness of YAHWEH

in the land of the living.

Trust in YAHWEH, be strong and courageous

yes, put your hope in YAHWEH!"

- Psalm 27:1. 4. 13-14

(In the struggles of this life, the believer is not discouraged, but clings to the hope the LORD have in store for us at the end of the conflict.  A trust without limits: Though my father and mother forsake me, yet will the LORD receive me.  To such a GOD, the psalmist can say: One thing I seek... [to] dwell in the house of the LORD.  All the struggles, trials and temptations will not let us forget the house of the LORD at the end of the road.)

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Plea For The Return Of GOD's Favor

 "Listen, O Shepherd of Israel, YOU, who lead Joseph like a flock; YOU, who sit enthroned between the cherubim.

Shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.  Stir up YOUR might and come to save us.

Restore us, O GOD of hosts; make YOUR face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

O YAHWEH of hosts, how long will YOUR anger burn against the prayers of YOUR people?

YOU have fed them with the bread of woe and have given them tears to drink in their sorrow.

YOU have made us the scorn of our neighbors and the laughingstock of our oppressors,"

- Psalm 80:2-7

(Samaria was overrun in the year 721 B.C. and colonized with a mixed population of idolatrous immigrants: so many weeds in the garden of GOD.  What has HE done in HIS vineyard?  Understandably enough, there is no mention of the wild grapes this chosen vine had produced  

[Isaiah 5:1-7].  The psalmist dares to ask 'why'?  The prophet Amos could provide the answer: thirty years before this time, he had scourged the luxury and oppression of the ruling classes [Amos 6:4-7].  But we have to sympathize with the psalmist.  He has learnt the lesson that to brood over sins committed is a worthless exercise.)

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The Twelve Apostles

"Then JESUS went up into the hill country, and called those HE wanted, and they came to HIM.  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, Bartolomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed HIM." - Mark 3:13-19  

(It was in the mountain that Moses and Elijah met GOD: it was there that GOD gave them their mission [Exodus 19; 1 Kings 19].  It is on the mountain that JESUS calls those who will be in a special way associated with HIS own mission: they will be with HIM, they will proclaim the word and drive out demons.

Mark tells us here what the Church is: a community assembled by JESUS close to HIM, where people hear the word of GOD and are freed from the slavery of the demon.

On the other hand, are the countless afflicted who seek relief, and on the other the group of the Twelve whom JESUS asks to be HIS co-builders in the kingdom of GOD.)

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Unshakable Confidence In GOD

 "O GOD, show YOUR mercy to me, for my foes are in hot pursuit; they press their attack on me all the time.

My accusers pursue me all day long; many attack me. 
YOU have a record of my laments; my tears are stored in YOUR wineskin.  Are they not written on YOUR scroll?
My enemies turn back when I call on YOU for help; now I know that GOD is for me.
In GOD, whose word I praise; in GOD I trust, without fear.  What can mortals do against me?
I am bound to you by vows, O GOD; I shall offer my thanksgiving.
For YOU have rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling; that I might walk in GOD'S presence, in the light of the living." - Psalm 56:2-3. 9-10a. 10b-11. 12-13

('YOU have a record of my laments.'  The sentence is more graphic in Hebrew: 'My tears are stored in YOUR wineskin?' This is what professional mourners did.  The tears were shed, as it were, by proxy, and left at the grave, as evidence of grief.  But here the tears are not professional, GOD knows it, and they are really worth keeping.  We can only know what GOD thinks of human suffering from HIS Son, GOD's Word to us.  When JESUS saw Martha weeping, HE started to cry HIMSELF [John 11:33-34].  But in the end, GOD 'will wipe all the tears away' and there will be no more crying [Revelation 21:4].

It is good to pray with this psalm, on the face of so much suffering and so many tears that don't find a human answer.

This is a prayer of the millions of oppressed who live, and no doubt will die crushed.  'YOU, LORD, have gathered our tears!')

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Human Advancement And The Sabbath

"Again, JESUS entered the synagogue.  A man who had a paralyzed hand was there and some people watched JESUS:  Would HE heal the man on the Sabbath? If HE did, they could accuse HIM.

JESUS said to the man with the paralyzed hand, 'Stand here in the center.'  Then HE asked them, 'What does the Law allow us to do on the Sabbath?  To do good or to do harm?  To save life or to kill?'  But they were silent.

Then JESUS looked around at them with anger and deep sadness because they had closed their minds.  And HE said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.'  He stretches it out and his hand was healed.  But as soon as the Pharisees left, they met with Herod's supporters, looking for a way to destroy JESUS." - Mark 3:1-6  

(Here, what Mark wants to emphasize is not the miracle JESUS performs, but HIS attitude vis-à-vis the Sabbath.  This miracle confirms what HE has just said in 2:28.

The Pharisees considered it lawful to work on the Sabbath if it was a question of saving someone in danger of death.  JESUS is about to enlarge this ruling:  for HIM, not to do good is to do evil, not to cure is to kill. 

Some ask if JESUS was interested in the material advancement [well-being] of people or only in their spiritual progress.  Actually, it is impossible to separate one from the other.

JESUS, apparently, did not speak of the economy nor the social order, but HE did denounce our prejudices that prevent us from giving the world a true and just order.

People, then, have the capacity and the means to better their condition, but they use them poorly because they remain prisoners of principles or institutions that are considered sacred, and in order to preserve them they allow half the world to die.)

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"The Sabbath Was Made For Man, Not Man For The Sabbath."

"One Sabbath HE was walking through grain fields.  As HIS disciples walked along with HIM, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands.  'Look!  They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!'

And HE said to them, 'Have you never read what David did in his time of need; when he and his men were very hungry?  He went into the House of GOD, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate; the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.'  Then JESUS said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  So the Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath.'" - Mark 2:23-28  

(It was normal that passersby, when hungry, would pick fruit or wheat.  The Pharisees were scandalized because JESUS' disciples did this on the Sabbath, a day when all work was prohibited.

The Sabbath was made for man.  No law, no matter how holy it is, should be applied in a way that would oppress a person.

The Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath.  For the Jews, the observance of the Sabbath was the pillar of the Law established by GOD.  Who did JESUS think HE was?)

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New Wine, New Skin

"One day, when the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist were fasting, some people asked JESUS, 'Why is it, that both the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast, but YOURS do not?'  JESUS answered, 'How can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  But the day will come, when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

No one saws a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear away from the old cloth, making a worse tear.  And no one puts new wine into old wine skins, for the wine would burst the skins, and then both the wine and the skins would be lost.  But new wine, new skins!'" - Mark 2:18-22  

(Many religious leaders sympathized with JESUS.  How they would have liked that HE rekindles the faith of the nation!  JESUS HIMSELF did not feel that HIS primary task was to reorganize worship and bring people to the synagogues.

The Pharisees were fasting.  Fasting a sign of repentance, supported their prayers that GOD come and liberate HIS people.  GOD comes in the person of JESUS: joy and celebration are more appropriate than fasting.  The prophets had announced the wedding feast of GOD with HIS people when HE would come to visit us [Isaiah 62:4-5].  Because of this, in presenting HIMSELF as the bridegroom, JESUS identifies who HE really is.

What is the new wine?  It is of course the Gospel, and the enthusiasm because of the Holy Spirit that leads the disciples to every kind of madness to manifest the love of the FATHER and the freedom that they have acquired.  In order to understand this, let us read the Acts of the Apostles and the lives of the saints, who have marked Church history.

Old skins.  The Gospel does not fit into the molds of religion and likewise does not enter into those persons who hold onto them at all costs.  Mark wants us to catch the Gospel's novelty.  We have just seen JESUS welcoming sinners, now we wonder that HE doesn't come like religious groups with prayers and fasting.)

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The Parable Of The One Hundred Sheep

"What do you think of this?  If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one?  And I tell you, when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it, than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  It is the same with your FATHER in heaven.  Your FATHER in heaven doesn't want even one of these little ones to perish." - Matthew 18:12-14  

(The parable of the one hundred sheep is also found in the Gospel of Luke [15:1].  It teaches us several things: JESUS' special concern for sinners and those who stray and, therefore, the missionary dimension of HIS apostolate.  In fact, JESUS came "to seek and save the lost" [Luke 19:10], "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" [Matthew 9:13].  This attitude should impel our parishes and Christian communities to constantly reach out to the unchurched and marginalized, instead of just working with those who already are in touch with the Church.)

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"To Enter The Family Of GOD, We Must Change Some Of Our Values."

"When JESUS went out again, beside the lake, a crowd came to HIM, and HE taught them.  As HE walked along, HE saw a tax collector sitting in his office.  This was Levi, the son of Alpheus.  JESUS said to him, 'Follow ME!'  And Levi got up and followed HIM.

And it so happened that, when JESUS eating in Levi's house, tax collectors and sinners sat with HIM and HIS disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow JESUS.

But Pharisees, men educated in the law, when they saw JESUS eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to HIS disciples, 'Why does your master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?'

JESUS heard them, and answered, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" - Mark 2:13-17  

(To enter the family of GOD, we must change some of our values.  This conversion is not as conspicuous as participation in devotional practices but is much more valuable.  First, we must liberate ourselves from prejudices by which we classify people.  Let us stop dividing people into good or bad; those we can greet and those we cannot.  Let us learn that GOD does not hate the rich or the uneducated, those on the left or those on the right, for GOD's merciful plan sees to the salvation of all.

Levi is probably the apostle Matthew [Matthew 9:9].  In this case, like Simon, named Peter by JESUS, Levi would have been given the name of Matthew; in Hebrew Mattai means gift of GOD.)

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JESUS Forgives And Cures A Paralytic

"After some days JESUS returned to Capernaum.  As the news spread that HE was at home, so many people gathered that there was no longer room even outside the door.  While JESUS was preaching the Word to them, some people brought a paralyzed man to HIM. 

The four men who carried him couldn't get near JESUS because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where JESUS was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat.  When JESUS saw the faith of these people, HE said to the paralytic, 'My son, your sins are forgiven.'

Now, some teachers of the Law who were sitting there wondered within themselves, 'How can HE speak like this insulting GOD?  Who can forgive sins except GOD?'

At once JESUS knew through HIS spirit what they were thinking and asked, 'Why do you wonder?  Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man:  'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say:  'Rise, take up your mat and walk?'  But now you shall know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.'

And HE said to the paralytic, 'Stand up, take up your mat and go home.'  The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out.  All of them were astonished and praised GOD saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!" - Mark 2:1-12  

(With this miracle on the paralytic cured and forgiven, JESUS gives three answers at the same time:  to the sick man, to his friends and to the Pharisees.

When JESUS saw the faith of these people.  These are the friends of the paralytic, and JESUS rewards their faith.

Apparently, the paralytic did nothing more than consent to their advice.  At once, JESUS tells him - your sins are forgiven.  What a strange thing to say!  How can JESUS forgive sins if the man is not conscious of any fault and, at the same time, repentant and awaiting forgiveness?  Certainly, during his long infirmity, this man had asked himself why GOD was punishing him [the people of his time believed sickness was a punishment from GOD].  Many texts of the Old Testament emphasize the complex connection between sin and illness.  It is often illness that makes us conscious of our state of sinfulness, and for HIS part JESUS does not want to heal unless there is reconciliation with GOD.

JESUS acts like GOD:  HE looked at the sinner, rectified the complexes of culpability and pardoned before healing.

Later the Pharisees arrive.  When JESUS forgave the paralytic, the simple people did not realize how scandalous HIS words were.  They did not have enough religious formation to realize immediately that only GOD could give absolution.  It was the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were scandalized.  Their indignation is justified because neither they, nor the others, nor the disciples, yet understand that JESUS is the true Son of GOD.  JESUS silences them:  If I restore health in the same way GOD does, should not I also forgive in the way GOD does?

JESUS disconcerts those who ask who HE is.  Better still, HE shows that only HE can save the whole person, body and soul.

Happy this man who was assured of HIS pardon through the glance and the words of JESUS!  GOD is HE who lives and loves and we need to meet HIM so that forgiveness can be authentic - HIS eyes meeting our eyes.  Because of this, GOD had to become human - JESUS forgives sins because HE is a son of man and from HIM, we receive the pardon both of GOD and of people within the Christian community.)  

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