1ST READING
God’s will is not something that we can consider as negotiable. His will is, well, His will, and it is for us to focus on what He wants and not what we think is best. The Suffering Servant Songs that we will reflect on this week are almost contradictions in terms; they challenge us to look past the present and into the future. This is why they are important. They are about how effective our proclamation of the Gospel is going to be.
Isaiah 42:1-7
1 Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, 2 not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, 4 until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. 5 Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it. 6 I, the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
P S A L M
Psalm 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14
R: The Lord is my light and my salvation.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (R) 2 When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies themselves stumble and fall. (R) 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust. (R) 13 I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord. (R)
GOSPEL
Paradoxes are part and parcel of being disciples of Jesus. Expensive oil anointing Jesus’ feet does indeed seem to be an extravagance but there is a symbol at work here. The symbol is that nothing we can give Jesus is too extravagant. God deserves everything we have and this is what this anointing is about, at least in part. There are other messages here, too, as the Scripture scholars will tell us. Let us seek to be as generous as we can when we serve the Lord.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our faults.
John 12:1-11
1 Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. 3 Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, 5 “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” 6 He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. 7 So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” 9 The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, 11 because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.
LIST
think: Nothing we can give Jesus is too extravagant. Let us seek to be as generous as we can when we serve the Lord.
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 Exodus 13-15xo
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