Daily Readings - Mon Jan 17 2022
1 Samuel
16Then Samuel said to Saul, "Permit me, and I will reveal to you what the Lord has said to me this night." And he said to him, "Speak.17And Samuel said: "Was it not when you were little in your own eyes that you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you as king over Israel18And the Lord sent you on the way, and he said: ‘Go and put to death the sinners of Amalek. And you shall fight against them, even unto utter annihilation.19Why then, did you not listen to the voice of the Lord? Instead, you turned to the spoils, and you did evil in the eyes of the Lord.20And Saul said to Samuel: "On the contrary, I did listen to the voice of the Lord, and I walked in the way along which the Lord sent me, and I led back Agag, the king of Amalek, and I put to death Amalek21But the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, as the first-fruits of those things that were slain, to immolate to the Lord their God at Gilgal.22And Samuel said: "Does the Lord want holocausts and victims, and not instead that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifice. And to heed is greater than to offer the fat of rams23Therefore, it is like the sin of paganism to rebel. And it is like the crime of idolatry to refuse to obey. For this reason, therefore, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has also rejected you from being king.
Mark
18And the disciples of John, and the Pharisees, were fasting. And they arrived and said to him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?19And Jesus said to them: "How can the sons of the wedding fast while the groom is still with them? During whatever time they have the groom with them, they are not able to fast20But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they shall fast, in those days21No one sews a patch of new cloth onto an old garment. Otherwise, the new addition pulls away from the old, and the tear becomes worse22And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the wineskins, and the wine will pour out, and the wineskins will be lost. Instead, new wine must be put into new wineskins.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the themes of obedience, faithfulness, and the newness of life in Christ. In the first reading, Samuel confronts King Saul for his disobedience to God’s command to destroy the Amalekites and their possessions. Saul, though chosen by God, failed to fully obey, justifying his actions by keeping some of the spoils for sacrifice. Samuel’s response is clear: obedience is more pleasing to God than sacrifice. This passage reminds us that partial obedience is not true obedience and that following God’s will requires humility and surrender.
In the Gospel, Jesus responds to the question about fasting by comparing his disciples to sons of the wedding, who cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them. He then uses parables of the patch, the wineskins, and the wine to emphasize that his message is new and cannot be contained in old practices. Just as new wine must be put into new wineskins, so too does the Good News of the Kingdom require hearts that are open to change and renewal. This teaching challenges us to let go of old ways of thinking and living, embracing instead the fresh life and freedom that Christ offers.
Both readings call us to examine our relationship with God and our willingness to follow Him fully. Like Saul, we may sometimes try to justify our partial obedience or hold onto things that are not of God. Like the Pharisees, we may cling to old traditions and miss the new life Christ offers. Today, let us ask ourselves: Am I truly listening to God’s voice and obeying His will? Am I open to the newness of life that Christ brings? May we surrender our hearts to Him, allowing Him to transform us and fill us with His Spirit, so that we may live as His disciples in a world that so desperately needs His love.