7th Week, Wednesday, Feb 23: POLYCARP OF SMYRNA
James 4:13-17 / Mark 9:38-40
Tomorrow is uncertain; “Life is brief like a puff of smoke.”
CBS News says the average American spends a week this way: 52 hours sleeping, 40 hours working, 26 hours watching TV, 21 hours listening to the radio, 18 hours eating, and 8 hours reading newspapers and magazines. That leaves two precious hours for things like loving, recreating, and praying. Whether these statistics fit our life or not, they do jar us into asking ourselves, “How profitably are we using the gift of life?”
“Referees call time; prisoners serve time; musicians mark time; historians record time; loafers kill time; statisticians keep time. . . The fact remains that all of us are given the same amount of time.” Dennis Hensley
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How are we using the time God has given us? "Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.” Horace Mann
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The two readings of today give us concrete examples of the difference between being narrow-minded and broad-minded. The 1st reading quotes some people who talk about making plans for the future and what they are going to do and with hopes of making some money too.
But it is like a tunnel-vision of life and God does not seem to be included in their plans; it was all about themselves and nothing about God or anyone else. If the problem with the people in the 1st reading is the exclusion of others in their life and in their plans, then the problem that we see in the gospel is that of non-acceptance.
John saw a man doing the same ministry as them and because he was not one of them, they tried to stop him. They couldn't accept that man and what he did. And Jesus gave His disciples a very broad principle: Anyone who is not against us is for us. The broad-minded see the truth; the narrow-minded see only the difference. Let us pray that we will be able to see God in little things and give Him glory for everything.
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Wednesday of 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Introduction
St Polycarp of Smyrna was a disciple of John the Evangelist and one of the most renowned of the early bishops of Asia. He died a martyr at the age of 86, offering his death as a eucharist of thanksgiving. He declared to his judges: “How could I become disloyal to my King, to whom I owe my salvation?” He is venerated both in the East and in the West. Let us celebrate his and our faithfulness.
Opening Prayer
“True God in whom there is no lie,” we admire St Polycarp and we thank you for the example of his deep faith and courage.
Like him, may we live our life as a sacrifice that pleases you. Help us to face with him contradictions and difficulties in life with great serenity and trust in you. Keep us always faithful to you through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Intentions
– For the Church we love, that it may bring forgiveness and love to all, welcome all, care for all, inspire all with the gentle power of the Holy Spirit, we pray:
– For lawmakers, that the Spirit may prompt them to make good laws that are fair to all, we pray:
– For outcasts and victims of discrimination, that our communities may accept them fully and make our love so spontaneous and warm that they feel accepted, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our faithful God, we bring this bread and this wine before you,
as the signs that we are willing to follow Jesus
if need be even on the way of the cross. Let no difficulties or contradictions ever separate us from him but make us grow more like him and closer to him,
who is our Lord forever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, let this holy eucharist confirm and strengthen our faithfulness to your Son Jesus Christ. Make us servants of one another who try day after day to become more like Jesus your Son, who lives with you and with us forever.
Blessing
We should learn to appreciate whatever good is done by whatever person. The Spirit inspires many people to do good in a variety of ways. Good for them! May Almighty God bless them and you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Apostolic Jealousy
Given that John spoke in first person plural (“we”), he was evidently speaking on behalf of all twelve disciples who were upset that an “outsider” was casting out devils in Jesus’ name. We can understand their frustration: It is just a few passages before that we read about their own inability to cast out demons despite being the accredited disciples of Jesus (cf. Mk 9:14-18). Now, they have to face the ignominy of an outsider successfully performing miracles, which makes their own inability to do so all the more humiliating. In reality, the disciples were no different from the priests and Pharisees of their times who felt threatened by the “authority” with which Jesus taught and lived. Jesus wants them to have a generous heart to appreciate goodness wherever it is present, irrespective of loyalties and memberships. After all, God can raise up descendants for the Kingdom even from stones (cf. Lk 3:8)! Apostolic humility can save us much heartburn.
