Daily Readings - Wed Jan 29 2025
Hebrews
11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.13Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool,14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.15The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:16"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."17Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
Mark
1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables12so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?14The farmer sows the word.15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the nature of God’s plan and our response to it. In the first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear about the priesthood of Christ and how his single sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to atone for all sins. This is contrasted with the repeated sacrifices of the old covenant, which could never fully take away sin. The author emphasizes that Christ’s sacrifice is eternal and complete, and through it, God’s laws are written on our hearts and minds, forgiving our sins once and for all.
In the Gospel, Mark presents us with the parable of the sower, a well-known teaching of Jesus. The parable describes how the Word of God is sown in different hearts, yielding different results. Some hear the Word but lose it immediately; others receive it with joy but falter in times of trial; still, others allow worldly concerns to choke the Word. Only those who hear the Word and nurture it in good soil bear fruit abundantly. Jesus explains that the parable is a mystery given to his disciples to understand, while others may see and hear but not perceive, lest they turn and be forgiven.
These readings are deeply connected. The sacrifice of Christ, as described in Hebrews, makes possible the forgiveness of sins and the new covenant written on our hearts. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us how to respond to this gift. The parable of the sower challenges us to examine the soil of our own hearts. Are we allowing the Word of God to take root and bear fruit, or are we letting distractions, trials, or worldly desires choke it out? The moral lesson is clear: we must cultivate openness, perseverance, and detachment from worldly things to receive God’s Word fully and live it out in love. May we strive to be the good soil, bearing fruit in abundance for the kingdom of God.