Daily Readings - Fri Jan 20 2023
Hebrews
6But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.7For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.8For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,9not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.11And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.12For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."13In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Mark
13And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.14And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach15and have authority to cast out demons.16He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);17James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);18Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the nature of God’s covenant with humanity and the call to follow Jesus in mission. In the first reading from Hebrews, we hear about the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old. The author explains that the Old Covenant, established through Moses, was imperfect because it could not fully transform the hearts of the people. God, therefore, promises a New Covenant through Jesus Christ, one that writes His laws not on stone tablets but on human hearts. This covenant is marked by forgiveness, intimacy, and a deep knowledge of God that transcends mere outward observance.
In the Gospel, Mark describes Jesus calling the Twelve Apostles to be His closest followers and emissaries. Jesus chooses ordinary men, giving them extraordinary authority to preach, heal, and cast out demons. This passage reminds us that God’s work is not reserved for the perfect or the privileged but is entrusted to those who are willing to follow Him in faith. The Apostles, with all their flaws and limitations, become the foundation of the Church, showing us that God’s plan is fulfilled through human cooperation with His grace.
These readings are deeply connected. The New Covenant described in Hebrews is lived out through the mission of the Apostles in Mark’s Gospel. Just as the Apostles were called to continue Jesus’ work, we too are called to live as part of this New Covenant. Our hearts, transformed by God’s grace, are to be the living temples where His laws are inscribed. Like the Apostles, we are imperfect but called to trust in God’s plan and to share His love with the world. Let us ask ourselves: Am I open to letting God write His law on my heart? Am I willing to follow Jesus, even when the path is uncertain, and to share His message of love and redemption with others? May we, like the Apostles, embrace our mission with faith and humility, knowing that God’s work is not limited by our weaknesses but glorified through them.