Daily Readings - Mon Jan 17 2022
1 Samuel
16Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night." And he said to him, "Speak."17And Samuel said, "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel.18And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, 'Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'19Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?"20And Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."22And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.23For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king."
Mark
18Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"19And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.20The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.21No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.22And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins--and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh 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.