The Gospel according to Mark (Mark 12:35-37):
As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, “How do the scribes claim that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet.’ David himself calls him ‘lord’; so how is he his son?” The great crowd heard this with delight.
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come before you in prayer. I ask you to increase my faith so that I may hear and understand what you will tell me. May my understanding of your word and your mysteries lead me to a deeper love, and may that love move me to greater obedience to you.
Encountering Christ: Today’s gospel gives us an insight into Jesus’ main mission on earth in the salvation process. Jesus not only came to redeem mankind from sin, but he also came to help sow the seeds of wisdom and understanding of his Father’s love. He demonstrated and spoke about the Father’s love constantly AND he spent much of his life teaching others through his example.
We are called to a much deeper relationship with Jesus and the Father, and the way we can come to that deeper understanding is to read and pray the scriptures. We are called – and instructed – by Jesus to immerse ourselves in the “Word” and then to go out and be the “Living Word” for everyone to see AND to experience.
In the description of “The Great Crowd” we see that Jesus was affirmed in his teaching and those people were happy to learn that there were no contradictions or weaknesses in his teaching. In other words – the crowd learned and rejoiced that Jesus was in fact… The Real Deal….sent by God the Father to teach and redeem.
In our lives today we must delve into the scripture often in order to experience and learn about our own growth, challenges and limitations. We are called to see the opportunity to grow our faith and to not become complacent with the current state of our faith, but rather to constantly seek out a better OR clearer understanding of scripture and the direction it is pointing us in.
Just like the “Great Crowd” – we delight in knowing that Jesus speaks the truth even though we do not necessarily know its complete meaning. We trust in Jesus. That is FAITH! Our journey in life allows us to continually look toward scripture to find answers to our daily lives. Amazingly, the living word speaks to us differently at various points in our lives. We ought to pay close attention to the message!
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, let me realize that your mystery constantly transcends me. Let me accept that your thoughts are not my thoughts, your ways not my ways (Isaiah 55:8). Nevertheless, I ask for the gift of understanding to grasp better the truths of faith, so that in turn I may live more accordingly. I marvel that you stoop to my lowliness so that I may know, love, and serve you. I thank you, Jesus, for such constant signs of love.
Action for the Day: Lord, today by your grace I will try to communicate some aspect of the faith to a friend by way of imagery or comparison.
DEACON5 