1ST READING
We like to think that it is somebody else’s responsibility, not ours, to ensure that a particular job gets done. This is not the case when proclaiming the Gospel. Certain aspects of the proclamation of the Gospel may belong to other people but we are all called to be ministers of the Gospel and witnesses of the power of the Gospel to transform our lives for good.
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
1 Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.3 A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! 4 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. 5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 9 Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! 10 Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. 11 Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.
P S A L M
Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
R: Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
8 [9] I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord — for he proclaims peace to his people. 9 [10] Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.(R) 10 [11] Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. 11 [12] Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. (R) 12 [13] The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. 13 [14] Justice shall walk before him, and salvation, along the way of his steps. (R)
2ND READING
It is difficult to comprehend how God can see all things no matter when they occur. This is part of His omniscience. That God knows how things will turn out does not negate our free will; if anything, it serves to help us realize the depths of His mercy and love for us. God always chooses to love us even when we err and sin, even when He knows the consequences of our sin. If only we could be more like Him in this.
2 Peter 3:8-14
8 Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. 11 Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. 13 But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
GOSPEL
We are all called to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming, only this time it will be His second coming. And as it was for John the Baptist, this is both a responsibility and a privilege; it is hard work and an experience of grace; it is both a joy and an experience of trial and tribulations. This is the nature of life as we experience it, in a world mingled with sin and suffering. But there is a place where evil has been cast aside and where joy and love reign supreme. This is the place we are all headed for — heaven.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Mark 1:1-8
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. 3 A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” 4 John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. 6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. 7 And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
think: Heaven is a place where evil has been cast aside and where joy and love reign supreme — the place where we are all headed for.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
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God’s special verse/thought for me today_
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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ezekiel 45-48
SABBATH PAUSE
My weekly time with God
THANK YOU LIST
Things to be grateful for from the past week
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SPECIAL NEEDS
Things to ask God for in the coming week
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HIDDEN TREASURE
Most important word God told me this week
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