The Word today, The Baptism of the LordB24
- Admin
- Jan 6, 2024
- 3 min read
January 08 - January 13, 2024
1 Samuel 1:1-8 Today we start, at a distance, the important story of King David, a story to be followed for the next couple of weeks. The Samuel of the title was a religious leader who found and anointed the first kings of Israel. Today’s opening verses present us with the challenge of childlessness. The husband’s understanding and affection are very touching.
Mark 1:14-20 We start today a fresh reading of the Gospel of Mark: may God gives us a listening heart to hear it afresh today!
1 Samuel 1:9-20 In the Bible, there are “story patterns” that recur. One of these story types regularly tells of a woman who has no children of her own. This is a cause of suffering and supplication. Eventually, by God’s intervention, the woman becomes pregnant. Christians are familiar with this kind of story from the Luke’s accounts of the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus. Our passage today includes a critique of the priesthood, because Eli the priest does not discern what is happening.
Mark 1:21-28 Jesus speaks (and acts) always from within, from the inside, so to speak, of his own authority
1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20 This is one of the great stories of call and vocation in the Bible. Once more, the priest Eli is slow to understand. Eventually, however, it dawns on him that God is calling the boy, Samuel. The turning point is in the words “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” picked up perfectly by the Psalm.
Mark 1:29-39 Our Gospel reminds us of the sources of Jesus authority and spirituality: his prayer.
1 Samuel 4:1-11 Today the reading introduces a second important element in the story of 1 and 2 Samuel: the ark of the covenant. The ark of the covenant was a piece of furniture, a kind of chest or box, used to symbolise God’s presence among the people. The presence of the ark gave power to its owners and the loss of it meant a corresponding loss of power. In our story, the loss of the ark and the killing of the sons of Eli are read as a punishment.
Mark 1:40-45 The compassion of Jesus is both immense and immediate. The leper inspires us to recognise our need of God.
1 Samuel 8:4-7,10-22 This brilliant passage conveys the unease in the Bible with monarchy as such. This may come as a surprise, but listen carefully to all the reasons why a monarch would be a bad idea. But the real objection is the rejection of God as the only true king over Israel. The desire “to be like any other nation” will, in the very long term, lead to disaster and exile.
Mark 2:1-12 This Gospel passage is really about us: we too are carried by others; we too have our sins forgiven; we too learn to walk again in the light of Gospel.
St Hilary of Poitiers, bishop
1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19, 10:1 Restoring the missing verses would make the reading clearer and more entertaining.
Finally, we are told of the anointing of the first king over Israel, Saul. The somewhat enigmatic story of the finding of Saul is meant to be a sign that he was God’s choice.
Mark 2:13-17 Our story is meant to be provocative on several levels: Jesus goes to the “wrong” people and, even worse, insists he was not sent to the conventionally holy who may not really know their need of God.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024d, January 8). The Baptism of the Lord. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010824.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/
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