Catholic Mom Daily Gospel Reflections Logo with blue outlineToday's Gospel: Mark 1:27-33

Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O to be politically correct! Christ was in their turf, and they didn’t like it; he was speaking to their crowds about things they spent years studying, and he was gaining popularity while they were decreasing in popularity. Now for the moment of truth, the test: were they going to get it right and win their crowds back or give Christ the truth which he was asking for? The chief priests and scribes were too busy being in the right and of higher stature than those in the crowds that they failed or refused to see the truth. They didn’t want to lose what they worked so hard to achieve, to be above the crowds and in a place of honor, that Christ was a threat to them and their self-concerns.

Last month on the 30th we talked about Jesus telling those around him that “no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.” He went on to say that we would do good to believe this. Now can you see why? These “higher than thou” status quo chief priests and scribes have lost their vision, closed their minds and hearts to the truth and possibly their own salvation! They are threatened by Christ, fearing that they will lose their status in their community. But by putting Christ on trial, Christ put them on trial and basically boxed them in a corner. Here is the God of our existence, the creator of the entire world and beyond, and these high priests and scribes think they have the upper hand on him!

Ponder:

How many times do we see ourselves in this scenario? Maybe in our marriage, we want to be right, get our point across and make our spouse see things our way. It doesn’t happen, and an argument ensues. Unfortunately, it may take some time to see where we went wrong, and sometimes it is our stubbornness that prevents us from seeing the truth. Self-righteousness has no place in our families, in our society. No one knows everything, and if we refuse, like the high priests and scribes to be open to the truth, we lose out on the good things that are revealed to us. We become blinded to the beauty that is before us daily.

Pray:

Dear Lord, help us to always keep our eyes and hearts open to your truths that you reveal to us daily. How blessed we are to know that you are there and in control of our world! Amen.

We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.

Copyright 2015 Ebeth Weidner