Daily Bible Reflections
for January 10, 2018
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Dear Friend,

See Him beside you this whole Wednesday!

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez



10
January
Wednesday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

LISTEN
 

“Speak, for your servant is listening.” – 1 Samuel 3:10

 

       Another brand-new year is upon us. (January is always a double New Year for me, as I also celebrate my birthday on this month.)

      As I grow older in age —hopefully not with my looks — there’s one thing I’ve been learning and applying. It is to listen more.

      I’ve been a talker all my life — as a teacher, preacher, recollection and retreat master, inspirational and motivational speaker, radio and TV host, and stage performer.

       For years I’ve applied being the talker even to my relationships with family, relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

        I realized I’ve been a talker too in my daily prayers to God.

     But slowly, gracefully, humbly, and joyfully, I received the grace of listening.

       Now, unless I am on stage and need to talk, I listen more, especially in my relationships.

        Above all, I discovered listening more to God in prayer.

    Because of this, my life has become holier, happier, and more peaceful.

         Speak. I am listening. Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo.com)
 

Reflect: Have you been more of a talker than a listener? This New Year, try to listen more. Discover the joy and peace that it will give you.

 

Dear Lord, grant me the grace to listen more — to You and to others. Amen.

St. Gregory of Nyssa, pray for us.

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COMPANION

 

1ST READING
 

Samuel heard a voice calling him and thought that it was his mentor, Eli. It took a while for the men to figure out that it was really the Lord who spoke to Samuel. This is what we may also experience as we discern. In discernment, God will find a way to speak to us. We need to keep our minds and hearts open, or we may not hear Him clearly when He speaks. He has something to say that we need to hear. It would be tragic to miss out on His message for us.

 
1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20

1 During the time young Samuel was minister to the Lord under Eli, a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent. 2 One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. 3 The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. 4 The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” 5 Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. 6 Again the Lord called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.” 7 At that time Samuel was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, 10 the Lord came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 19 Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect. 20 Thus all Israel from Dan to Beersheba came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of the Lord.

 
P S A L M
 
Psalm 40:2, 5, 7-8, 8-9, 10

R: Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

1 [2] I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. 4 [5] Blessed the man who makes the Lord his trust; who turns not to idolatry or to those who stray after falsehood. (R) 6 [7] Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not; 7 [8] then said I, “Behold I come.” (R) “In the written scroll it is prescribed forme. 8 [9] To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!” (R) 9 [10] I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O Lord, know. (R)

 
 
GOSPEL
 

Jesus had a busy day ministering to the sick, driving out demons, and preaching to the lost. After His ministry, Jesus went to a deserted place to pray. How often do we get away from the busyness of life and just be quiet before the Lord? This is what prayer is about – tuning our wavelengths so we can hear God’s voice. We tune in to our favorite stations and save these in our radio. Why can’t we do the same for God? Let us meet Him in prayer each day and tune in to His Word.

 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord. I know them, and they follow me.

 
Mark 1:29-39

29 On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. 31 He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. 32 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. 33 The whole town was gathered at the door. 34 He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. 35 Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and those who were with him pursued him 37 and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” 39 So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

 

think: After a day of ministry, what pressures do you think Jesus felt as a new day dawns?

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Read the Bible in one year John 4-6

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

 

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________

 
 

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SABBATH

 

MORE THAN WORDS 

There is an old movie about 20 years ago starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan called City of Angels, a love story of a guardian angel, Nicolas, who became human after falling in love with his ward, Meg. In one scene, Nicolas was conversing with Meg, a very busy doctor, asking her why she won’t give a few minutes of her time to God. Meg told Nicolas that if God wanted to speak to her, why doesn’t He send a message to her pager or phone? Nicolas said God has been trying to reach her, but she would not give Him the time. Then her cell phone and pager were flashed on the screen, with calls and messages from God. But Meg was so busy, she never bothered to check on them. That is a timely imagery of how busy we are.

           In the First Reading, we read how God called Samuel who was still a child serving Eli, the chief priest of Israel. He heard his name called and he went twice to Eli, who realized it must be the voice of God calling the child. True enough, the third time Samuel heard his name called, he answered as instructed by Eli, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10, NIV). From then on, Samuel became God’s spokesman or prophet.

           In the Gospel reading, we find the Apostles doing a Samuel, too. “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them” (Mark 1:29-31, NIV). What an attitude and expression of faith in Jesus Christ!

      The readings teach us a valuable lesson about the need to be always connected to God. They evoke a sense of quiet conversations that lead to the most profound results. Notice the deafening sounds in social media, those shout-outs and posts screaming but saying nothing at all. Do we listen to our inner selves and to God for true directions in our lives? Fr. Nick Lalog

 

------- REFLECTION QUESTION -------

Are you too busy to spend time with God and listen to Him?

 

Lord Jesus, help us to be silent and always listen to You for directions in life.

 

Today, I pray for: ____________________________________________

 

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