Daily Catholic Mass Readings for February 14, 2020
First Reading: 1 Kings 11.29-32; 12.19
29About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country,30and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.31Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes.32But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe.
19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
Psalm 81
1Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!2Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre.3Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;4this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.5He established it as a statute for Joseph when he went out against Egypt, where we heard a language we did not understand.6He says, "I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.7In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah8"Hear, O my people, and I will warn you- if you would but listen to me, O Israel!9You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god.10I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.11"But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.13"If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways,14how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!15Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.16But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
Gospel: Mark 7.31-37
31Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.32There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.33After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.34He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ).35At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.36Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.37People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Sermon
The readings today present us with two distinct yet interconnected moments in salvation history. In the first reading from 1 Kings, we witness the division of the kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam, who had been a loyal servant of Solomon, is torn between his loyalty to the king and the promise of God that he will inherit ten tribes. This division is not merely political but deeply spiritual, as it reflects the consequences of Solomon’s turning away from God and the fulfillment of God’s plan to maintain a remnant for David’s sake. The tearing of Ahijah’s cloak into twelve pieces symbolizes the fracturing of unity, yet even in division, God’s providence endures.
In the Gospel, we encounter a very different kind of division—one that Jesus comes to heal. A man who is deaf and mute is brought to him, and Jesus, in a deeply personal and intimate gesture, restores his hearing and speech. This miracle is not just a physical healing but a spiritual one, as it opens the man to the Word of God. The crowd’s amazement and their inability to keep silent about the miracle reveal the transformative power of God’s grace. Just as the kingdom of Israel was divided, our own lives can be marked by divisions—between faith and doubt, love and fear, unity and discord. Yet Jesus, in his compassion, seeks to heal these divisions and restore us to fullness of life.
These readings invite us to reflect on the ways in which we experience division in our own lives and in the world around us. Just as Jeroboam faced a choice between trust in God and the lure of power, we too are called to trust in God’s plan even when it seems uncertain. And just as the deaf and mute man was opened to new life by Jesus, we are invited to let go of our own spiritual deafness and muteness, to be opened to God’s Word and to speak it boldly to others. May we seek the healing that only Jesus can bring, and may we strive to be instruments of unity and reconciliation in a world so often torn apart by division.