It is 18th January 2021.
The readings are from Hebrews 5:1-10; and the Gospel from Mark 2:18-22.
Jesus is our High Priest not by honour, merit, and title but by His Passion, death, and resurrection.
We all have some sort of pain in our life whether we are married, single or consecrated. We all pray our sufferings and pain to disappear. Pain and suffering intimidate our freedom to be the person we wish to be.
Everyone is called to participate in the priesthood of Jesus. It means to participate in our suffering and pain. It is those moments of pain and suffering; we ruminate and think about God.
There is no life without pain; painless life is not a complete life at all. Pain is the expression of love, affection, and affiliation not an infection, error, and infliction. Pain precipitates prayer.
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” (Heb.5:7)
No priesthood is complete whether it is ministerial or common without pain that leads us to prayer. Whenever we go through pain and suffering, we are not weak rather we become resilient and restored to approach life with vigour and hope. The first reading encourages us to be priests for the Lord in connecting with God regularly through our prayers in pain or out of pain.
The responsorial Psalm praises, “You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.” (Ps.109:4).
The Gospel gently reminds us to accept the teachings of Jesus. We need to embrace the new teachings over the old model of practices, rituals, and rubrics. We live in an era of new perspectives in living our faith according to the times. Yet, there are many would like to pacify and ponder on the outdated rituals that have no meaning at this time of our life. We all need to notice the radical shift Jesus brought into the world by His Sacrifice and suffering for the humanity. “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.” (Mk.2:21). May the Lord strengthen us to be faithful followers in responding to the need of the hour. Have a lovely day. God bless you.