The Word today, 03A
- Admin
- Jan 24
- 3 min read
January 26 - January 31, 2026
St Timothy and Titus, bishops
2 Timothy 1:1-8 The tone of encouragement is always needed and today, more than ever, we need the reminder to fan into a flame the gift of God.
Mark 4:26-34 A further few seed parables illuminate the Gospel. The parable of the farmer asleep is especially encouraging: just let things grow. Cf. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (1Corinthians 3:6)
St Angela Merici, virgin
2 Samuel 6:12-15, 17-19 The ark represented the presence of God on the move with the people. The settling down, so to speak, of God’s presence in Jerusalem, even without a temple, was indeed a momentous choice.
Mark 3:31-35 Our reading can feel a little unsettling because it sounds like Jesus is dismissing his family, including his mother. However, it is really an affirmation of the essence of discipleship.
St Thomas Aquinas, religious and doctor
2 Samuel 7:4-17 Today we read from one of a few absolutely central texts from the Old Testament. Earlier in the chapter, David made a proposal to build God a house. Through Nathan, God refuses David for the substantial reasons given. Nevertheless, a tremendous promise is made to David and his “house”, a mark of God’s love and faithfulness through time.
Mark 4:1-20 This long reading can be tricky. The original parable is given first, a parable from the lips of Jesus. The later explanation of the parable comes from church tradition, a kind of allegorical reading. The allegory narrows the original meaning of the parable. In between, the question of the disciples is difficult. It seems to be answering a later issue: how was that that most of Jesus’ fellow Jews did not recognise him as the Messiah?
2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29 The full context of this reading is interesting. David proposed building a temple, a house for God. Speaking through Nathan the prophet, God said, no, but that God would build him a house, a dynasty. The bit we get to hear today is the pious part!! Christians see in Jesus, the Son of David, the fulfilment of God’s promise to be faithful to the house of David.
Mark 4:21-25 It may help to recall that in those days a lamp was a naked flame. Putting it under a bed would not be advisable at all! The enigmatic second saying is presented as a shocking contrast. It should read, “from the one who thinks he has (but really does not), even what he thinks he has will be taken away. It is a stern wake-up call.
St Aidan, bishop
2 Samuel 11:1-4, 5-10, 13-17 This is a horrible and fascinating story. The opening lines set up the tension. It begins with, at the turn of the year when kings to campaigning and we expect to hear, “David went to war”, but on the contrary the wretch was at home committing adultery. To cover his tracks, David acted really, really badly, as we hear.
Mark 4:26-34 A further few seed parables illuminate the Gospel. The parable of the farmer asleep is especially encouraging: just let things grow. Cf. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (1Corinthians 3:6)
St John Bosco, priest and religious
2 Samuel 12:1-7, 10-17 Because of David’s adultery with the wife of Uriah and his subsequent murder, the prophet Nathan is sent by God to accuse David of his sins. The prophet begins by tricking the king into righteous anger and then very cleverly catching him out. The electric words are “You are the man.” David wasn’t the first or last person in the world to have been a hypocrite or to have acted inconsistently.
Mark 4:35-41 Already at the hands of Mark, the calming of the storm is to be read symbolically. The later church, under tremendous pressure during the Jewish War, questions the presence and even the concern of Jesus. The final question is one we need to ask again and again.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2026h, January 25). Third Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012526.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings
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