Wednesday January 26

Wednesday of 3rd Week in Ordinary Time

 

TITUS AND TIMOTHY

Today, we celebrate two close associates of the apostle Paul. Paul put them in charge of Christian communities and wrote letters to them to tell them what is expected of leaders of Christian communities, especially how they should be servants and models of the people entrusted to them.

 

First Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-8

I, Paul, am on special assignment for Christ, carrying out God’s plan laid out in the Message of Life by Jesus. I write this to you, Timothy, the son I love so much. All the best from our God and Christ be yours!

Every time I say your name in prayer—which is practically all the time—I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion.

That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now.

 

Gospel: Mk 4:1-20

He went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that he had to get into an offshore boat, using the boat as a pulpit as the people pushed to the water’s edge. He taught by using stories, many stories.

3-8 “Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.

9 “Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

10-12 When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward a welcome awakening. These are people—

Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing,
Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word,
Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.”

13 He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.

14-15 “The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.

16-17 “And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

18-19 “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.

20 “But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
Saints Timothy and Titus, assistants of St. Paul,
passed on the mighty Word of your Son
and tried to live by them.
Give to your Church credible leaders
who lead in living by the Word and life of Jesus.
Let their words stir our hearts
and bring us the new life
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

The logic of wasting to gain

In the parable of the sower there is a small detail that immediately draws our attention: lots of seeds got wasted in large quantities in a barren land.
The insistence on the waste, failure, and disappointing prospects is an important element of the parable of Jesus. It reflects the reality of the world in which evil appears much stronger, more efficient than good. In most cases the seed does not sprout, that which sprouts does not grow, that which grows is suffocated.
Why does this happen? While writing the gospel, Evangelist Mark is addressing the dilemma of the Christian community in Rome – If God is good, why does his Kingdom not grow unchallenged? Through the parable of Jesus, Mark attempts to answer the doubts of his community in Rome. Despite the apparent futility of their preaching ministry, the disciples are to continue their mission of spreading the Word of God just as the sower keeps sowing the seed.
The farmer in the parable appears to be working in vain and wasting seeds and his energy. Jesus tells this parable in a difficult moment of his life. In Nazareth, he is rejected, in Capernaum, he is taken as mad, the Pharisees want to kill him, and the disciples abandon him. It just seems that all his preaching has fallen in vain. The conditions are too unfavourable; his word seems destined to die (cf. Mt 11–12).
With this parable, Jesus sends a message to his discouraged disciples who doubts the usefulness of the work of Jesus; and the faithful of the community in Rome is reassured of the usefulness of their apostolic mission. Despite all the contradictions and obstacles, God’s word would bear abundant fruit.
Contrary to all expectations, the coming of the Messiah was not sensational. It has not changed anything in the people’s social and political life. The Baptist was more famous than him. Jesus disappeared into the ground like a small, weak, almost invisible seed. However, after a short time, this seed has begun to sprout. The Gospel has raised humanity to life and joy.
We sometimes doubt the usefulness of proclaiming Jesus in a corrupt world and society; Does it still makes sense to teach catechism to people who do not listen, whose hearts are hardened, who think only about money, entertainment, and cosy living. Are not these evangelizers and catechists sowing in vain?
When such thoughts of doubts and dissuasions arise, profess the faith in the divine power contained in the Word of the Gospel.

 

Video available on Youtube : The logic of wasting to gain