5 June/Wednesday/9th Week in Ordinary Time,

            2Tim 1,1-3.6-12/Psa 123,1-2.2/Mark 12,18-27

First Reading  2 Timothy 1:1-3,6-12 ·

God's gift is the Spirit of power, love and self-control

From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.

Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers. That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News; and I have been named its herald, its apostle and its teacher.

It is only on account of this that I am experiencing fresh hardships here now; but I have not lost confidence, because I know who it is that I have put my trust in, and I have no doubt at all that he is able to take care of all that I have entrusted to him until that Day.

 

Responsorial Psalm       Psalm 122(123):1-2

 

To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.

To you have I lifted up my eyes,

    you who dwell in the heavens;

my eyes, like the eyes of slaves

    on the hand of their lords.

 

Like the eyes of a servant

    on the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes are on the Lord our God

    till he show us his mercy.

Gospel Acclamation  John 17:17

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord:

consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel       Mark 12:18-27

The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living

 

Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’

 

Reflection

In the First Reading, Paul addressed Timothy in an affectionate way as if he was his own biological son. The close relationship between Paul and Timothy made the former weep when he last said farewell to him in 2Tim 1:4. In the reading today, we notice Paul’s encouragement to Timothy who has taken over the leadership of the community. Paul reminded Timothy of his laying on of hands that made him a leader of the community. In the laying on of hands, Timothy received the gift of leadership from God that he was to put to good use by fanning it into a flame.

As a leader of the community, Timothy is to teach the right doctrine. The question that the Sadducees brought before Jesus in the Gospel Reading exemplifies situations that leaders of communities can face. The Sadducees tried to induce Jesus into error but he was smart to discover their plot. Jesus stood his ground and upheld the doctrine of the resurrection. This reveals his gift of wisdom that was necessary for teaching the right doctrine. Timothy too must have this wisdom if he is to lead his community in orthodoxy.

God’s gifts to humanity are never meant to be kept intact in a safe and protected place. They are meant to be used by the person to whom it is given for the edification of God’s people. We should not feel shy of the gift God has given us and fail to put it to use. The Spirit of God that we receive is one of power, love, and self-control. When we put all these gifts to good use, we witness to the power of God that is manifest in us. Moments of timidity prevent us from bringing to the fore the power of God at work in us. Timothy made good use of the gifts he received from God by offering good leadership to the community entrusted to him by Paul. To do that, he needed to rely constantly on the grace of God. He needed to be in communion with God so that he may be inspired and illumined by the Lord. One of the ways of doing this is through prayer. This is what the Psalmist means when he says he lifts up his eyes to the Lord. We are encouraged to follow the good example of the Psalmist and Timothy in all that we do so that the power of God may be manifest in us and in our actions.

4 June/Tuesday/9th Week in Ordinary Time,

            2Pet 3,12-15.17-18/Psa 90,2.3-4.10.14.16/Mark 12,13-17

 

First Reading    2 Peter 3:11-15,17-18 ·

We are waiting for the new heaven and the new earth

You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved. You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen.

Responsorial Psalm :Psalm 89(90):2-4,10,14,16

 

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

Before the mountains were born

    or the earth or the world brought forth,

    you are God, without beginning or end.

 

You turn men back to dust

    and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’

To your eyes a thousand years

    are like yesterday, come and gone,

    no more than a watch in the night.

 

Our span is seventy years,

    or eighty for those who are strong.

And most of these are emptiness and pain.

    They pass swiftly and we are gone.

 

In the morning, fill us with your love;

    we shall exult and rejoice all our days.

Show forth your work to your servants;

    let your glory shine on their children.

 

 

 

Gospel Acclamation Heb 4:12

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel Mark 12:13-17

Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God

 

The chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

 

Reflection

The encounter between Jesus on the one hand and some Pharisees and some Herodians on the other clearly shows that the move by the latter was well planned. These Pharisees and Herodians were sent by the chief priests, the scribes and the elders of the Jews to trick Jesus into error. The plot recalls Mark 3:1-6 where we are told that Jesus cured a man with a withered hand to the displeasure of the Pharisees. These went out and conspired with the Herodians about how to destroy Jesus. The encounter in the Gospel Reading today is one of such occasions to bring their plot to completion. Those sent to Jesus first praised him but it is clear they were doing so out of malice. They only wanted to get Jesus to face squarely the issue they were presenting to him.

The question they asked seemed simple – “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” They expected a straightforward answer from Jesus when they knew themselves it was not easy to give one. A bit of historical background helps to appreciate better the question. When the payment of tax to the Emperor was introduced in the Roman Province of Judea in 6AD, many Jews opposed it. They saw it as a form of slavery and an affront to the sovereignty of God. The Zealots refused to pay the tax because they saw it as a way of acknowledging the authority of the Emperor over them. The Pharisees disliked the humiliation implied in the payment of the tax but justified it. The Herodians supported the payment in principle. The divergence in opinion reveals that the Pharisees and the Herodians were not asking Jesus the question for the same reason. The Pharisees were concerned about the religious and moral implication of the question, whereas the Herodians were concerned about the political implications.

In short, the question was an insincere one insofar as it was meant to push Jesus into a compromising situation either theologically or politically. The question was posed in such a way that if Jesus should give a positive answer, he would be discredited in the eyes of the people who saw the tax as a sign of slavery to the Roman Empire. If he should answer in the negative, he would be inviting reprisals from the Roman authorities. In a situation such as this, it is only in the Lord that we can find a way out. The Psalmist was right when he called on the Lord who has been his refuge from one generation to the next.

In the case of Jesus, he was aware of the trap they were setting for him and he responded tactfully by calling for a denarius or a roman coin.  The solution to the problem was to be found in the coin. Jesus made it clear that if you use what belongs to the emperor then you should pay tax to him. The civil authority has power over what belongs to it but it should not reach beyond its appointed function. It cannot pretend to take the place of God.

As citizens of a nation, we should be clear about the limitations of the power of the state and what falls within the divine domain. We should not allow the state to usurp what is God’s domain. What Peter tells us in the First Reading is a constant reminder of how we should live our lives in civil society. Our eyes should be set on what Christ has promised us – the new heavens and the new earth. As we wait for this, we should live our earthly lives in a way that would not deny us entry to this new reality. As human beings, we are created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, we should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to him, our very selves.