SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME:

Mon . Mrk.2:18-22...It is present, the rule of God is among us. In the very person of Christ the last days make their beginning...the end has begun. The promised days have arrived. The marriage of God to His people is seen now in the person of His Son. How beautiful God tells us about the relationship He has with us, marriage. He takes that most sacred of human bindings, where two become one, wherever the one goes the other will follow, that life sharing relationship, and says: see this is how close I am to you.
11 The bridegroom to the bride, the Church. The image continues. As close as the husband is to is wife that is how close I am to you, and now the final step has begun. The marriage is now visible. There can be no fasting. Is fasting sad? It is not sad, it is hopeful, a sign of not completeness . The Bridegroom has come, it is complete...but not complete. The paradox all things are complete but not yet...He has come but we are waiting for his coming
A people possessing what they are waiting for...this is why we must fast. The cloth of the universe has been made new, the wine of the new creation has been poured…. from the unseen to the seen is what we are waiting for.

Tues. Mrk. 2:23-28...The Sabbath, the Holyday, covered with laws..binding people up in the ropes of does’ and don’ts’ and knotted with fear. There was a power structure in it also. He who controlled what could and could not be done on the Sabbath, he who could say what the Sabbath was and was not, controlled the lives of people. Anyone who dared to touch this power was an enemy. The law had to be supreme.
The Master brought a new law. He wanted to cut the knots and undo the ropes. He needed no reason for doing what He did except the power which was given to Him by the Father. He did not have to have recourse to any excuses, He is Lord. That is all that is needed.
How afraid of Him they must have been. Someone to stand in front of them, challenge their authority, How dare He say that people are the norm of the positive law. That it is from the nature of being human that rules are made, and anything which does not arise from this is not a good law. How dare He say that man is the crown of creation for which all things all others are made.

Wed. Mrk.3:1-6...He had to teach again and again. The synagogue was the place of teaching. It was the place of confrontation between the new and the old, between the slavery of the law and the freedom which He proclaimed. The law was the structure upon which their relationship to God was based. It was a good thing gone bad..it was meant to serve but instead had become the master..it was supposed to open hearts to the presence of God, but was clouding the lives of people in fear. He had recourse to something beyond the written law. His authority once again comes out: is it lawful to do good rather than evil on the Sabbath...He healed ....not waiting for an answer. Their authority was challenged, they could not let this go on, He had to be done away with. The voice of the Lord penetrating the darkness put too much light, they preferred the shaded light of their own hearts. The healing was not joyful for them. It was a sign that one greater than they was about to teach the new law.
14 The place of confrontation is the world, His voice still resounds, His healing power still touches the lives of so many.... fear still is in the hearts of so many... Light is blocked out … it will not be denied. His power will be seen.

Thurs.Mrk.3:7-12.....They came to Him. Perhaps their motivations were not the highest. They were wrapped up in the desire to be healed without looking at who the healer was.....Did they come to give honor and praise? No. They came because there was a hope of a new life ...there was the hope that this Man would take their sicknesses, their maimed limbs, their non-seeing eyes, the ears that could not hear, the legs that could not walk... He would make them whole and a new life would begin, They came because no one else gave them this hope, this dream, of newness. So many would come after them. Through the centuries they would come to Him because He was and is hope. Those who followed Him in the Galilee were the beginning, the sign of all those who would come after. With motivations not perfect, they would come to Him; at first with an almost selfishness, not looking at Him so much as looking at their own weaknesses. He would heal, and in healing they would see Him,,,and the voices of the evil spirits would be replaced. The secret would be proclaimed: You are the Son of God.

Fri. Mrk.3:13-19.....mountains were so important. They were the places He chose to do very important things. He proclaimed the new law from a mountain, He gave His disciples a glimpse of who He was on a mountain, He went to the mountains to speak to His Father. He chose mountains because they were so close to His Father. He chose them because from mountains we can see so far, sight is not limited as it is in the valleys. Horizons are wider,
16We see from mountains new things. To speak from a mountain meant your voice would echo in the valley, it would carry far beyond the spot were the words were spoken. The words would go into the valley and people would wonder where they came from, some would even go searching. He chose the mountain for this solemn moment. He chose the mountain to say that a new people will come into existence. He chose the mountain to tell these twelve that their voices, and the voices of all who would come after them must resound in the valley. Their voices must cause wonder: where did these voices come from? What a message? Let us go and discover more of these wondrous things of which these echoed voices speak.


Sat.Mrk.3:20-21....they had to make excuses for his behavior...they were afraid to acknowledge that this man who they knew from His birth was blessed beyond their wildest imaginings. “We’re sorry He is causing so much trouble, please forgive Him” “Insane” did they really think He was possessed by some sort of evil spirit. How it must have hurt Him to have those who called themselves “his relatives” deny Him like this. But He knew that this would be the story of His life...those closest to Him would inflict the most pain...the denials, the misunderstandings, the selfishness of those close to Him....but the crowds would still come and wonder. The crowds would always eventually do away with those voices which would take from Him who He was. His loneliness has started. The pain of rejection will resound through His ministry...”he is insane” will be the cry of those who seek the “practical” the “rational” and are afraid to see those things beyond. “He is insane” will be the cry of those through the ages who try to made excuses for the complete newness which He brings.

18Sat. Jan.25,THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL...at times the absolute freedom of God overpowers us. He is not “logical” in the human sense of that word. His actions go beyond our limited way of thinking. We want things to be predictable. The correct person must be chosen for the job. His credentials must be perfect. His character references must be of the highest. In the way we
do things there is almost a desire to away with the element of surprise. God’s power must be brought down to the level of human capabilities....it is much easier to accept something which fits comfortably into our way of doing things...it is much easier to receive the expected rather than the unexpected.
19We are asked today to look once again at the surprises which God works. We are asked to reflect on the freedom of God. Once we put limits on this freedom we put limits on His love. Once we try to bring Him to our level of doing things we at the same time bring Him to our level of love. We start relating to God not as the God of love who is love, but a great organizer and administrator. This, of course, makes our relationship to Him cold. But if we stand as His children with the open hands of children waiting for the surprise than His love will become for us the unlimited reality which it is.
He freely chose Paul. Everyone was surprised. Some could see the hand of God others could not. This was not the man to preach the message. He
persecuted the church. He could see in Paul that element so important, the great capacity to love beyond limits imposed by the world. Because He could love He could be surprised by the love of God. He could share this with others.
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