Daily Readings - Mon Jan 20 2025
Hebrews
1For every high priest, having been taken from among men, is appointed on behalf of men toward the things which pertain to God, so that he may offer gifts and sacrifices on behalf of sins2he is able to commiserate with those who are ignorant and who wander astray, because he himself is also encompassed by infirmity3And because of this, he also must make such offerings for sins even for himself, in the same manner as for the people4Neither does anyone take up this honor himself, but rather he who is called by God, just as Aaron was5Thus, even Christ did not glorify himself, so as to become High Priest, but instead, it was God who said to him: "You are my Son. Today I have begotten you.6And similarly, he says in another place: "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.7It is Christ who, in the days of his flesh, with a strong cry and tears, offered prayers and supplications to the One who was able to save him from death, and who was heard because of his reverence8And although, certainly, he is the Son of God, he learned obedience by the things that he suffered9And having reached his consummation, he was made, for all who are obedient to him, the cause of eternal salvation10having been called by God to be the High Priest, according to the order of Melchizedek
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 first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews presents Jesus Christ as the ultimate High Priest, who, unlike the priests of the Old Covenant, does not need to offer sacrifices for his own sins because he is sinless. Instead, he offers himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. The reading emphasizes that Christ’s priesthood is not based on lineage or human appointment but on his divine calling by God. It also highlights that Christ’s priesthood is eternal, in the order of Melchizedek, and that through his suffering and obedience, he has become the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
In the Gospel, Mark recounts a moment when Jesus is questioned about why his disciples do not fast like the followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees. Jesus responds with a parable about the groom and the days of celebration, explaining that as long as he, the bridegroom, is with them, it is not a time for fasting. He also uses the imagery of new cloth and new wine to illustrate that his message and way of life cannot be confined to the old traditions and practices of the past. The old must give way to the new, just as new wine requires new wineskins to hold it without bursting.
These readings remind us that our faith is rooted in the newness and uniqueness of Christ’s mission. Jesus is not simply a reformer of the old covenant but the one who brings a entirely new way of relating to God. Just as the old wineskins cannot contain the new wine, our old ways of thinking and living must give way to the fresh, life-giving message of the Gospel. In our daily lives, this means being open to the renewal that Christ offers, trusting that his way is better than our own, and being willing to let go of the past in order to embrace the future he has in store for us. Let us, like Christ, learn obedience through our struggles and trust in the eternal salvation he has won for us.