Daily Catholic Mass Readings for January 30, 2026
First Reading: 2 Samuel 11.1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17
1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,3and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"4Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.5The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."6So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David.7When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.8Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.9But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house.10When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"13At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.15In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."16So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.17When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
Psalm 51
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.4Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.5Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.6Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.9Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.14Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.18In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.19Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Gospel: Mark 4.26-34
26He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.28All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.34He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Sermon
Today's readings present us with a stark contrast: the profound depth of human sin and the mysterious, quiet power of God's Kingdom. In the first reading, we witness King David, a man after God's own heart, straying from his duty by remaining in Jerusalem during wartime. From this idleness, a series of catastrophic choices unfolds: he succumbs to lust, commits adultery with Bathsheba, then engages in elaborate deception and ultimately orchestrates the murder of her loyal husband, Uriah, to cover his sin. It is a sobering account of how quickly unchecked desire and the abuse of power can corrupt even the greatest among us, leading to betrayal and bloodshed. The Gospel, however, speaks of a different reality: Jesus describes the Kingdom of God through two parables. It is like a seed sown that grows and bears fruit whether the sower understands how or not, and like a tiny mustard seed that, once planted, grows into the largest of shrubs, providing shelter for all.
These two narratives, so different in tone and content, offer us profound insights for our daily lives. David's tragic story serves as a powerful cautionary tale, reminding us of the destructive spiral that begins when we neglect our duties and entertain temptations. One moral compromise can quickly lead to a web of lies and even greater evils, demonstrating the terrible cost of putting our own desires above God's law and the dignity of others. Yet, even in the face of such human failing, the parables of the Kingdom reassure us of God's persistent grace and unwavering plan. They remind us that the work of God often begins small, grows mysteriously beyond our full comprehension, and ultimately becomes vast and encompassing. Our task is not to orchestrate grand schemes or succumb to worldly power, but to humbly sow seeds of faith, love, and righteousness in our own lives and communities, trusting that God will bring about the growth, even when we don't see immediate results. We are called to be vigilant against the deceit of sin, while simultaneously nurturing the quiet, transformative power of God's presence within us and around us.