Daily Bible Reflections
for January 15, 2018
;

Dear Friend,

Don't be discouraged! God will be with you through this week.

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez



15
January
Monday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

SOMETHING BIG
 

“Although you were once small in your own eyes... he sent you on a mission....” – 1 Samuel 15:17-18

 

       “I’m preparing you for something big.” My eyes popped open when I heard the Lord speak to my heart. I was in Baguio then for a personal retreat. Most of my batchmates were graduating, but I had to stay for one more semester because I shifted courses. I felt bad about myself. I questioned my past decisions and doubted God’s direction. I asked Him, “How can an insecure and confused failure like me accomplish something big for You?”

       No answer. I bombarded Him with my pessimism until I got tired and just kept quiet. As I sat still, I felt an indescribable peace and heard God’s comforting voice again. “I got this, OK? I got you.”

       Today, I finally understand what He meant. To do something big for God doesn’t mean to build a mega-church or make a name in Hollywood (but why not? Ha, ha!). It means spreading His great love in the simplest ways — listening to others, speaking and writing about His faithfulness, and sharing love to the world one person at a time. He used my “smallness” to empathize with others and to testify that there’s more to life than our failures.

       There is no bigger mission than to love — and no one is too small, too poor, or too insignificant to fulfill that call. Because we are all big in God’s eyes. Maymay R. Salvosa (christiane.salvosa@gmail.com)

 

Reflect: No matter how small I see myself, I am able because God is able.

 

Embrace me today and every day, Lord. May I always remember that I matter in Your eyes. Amen.

 
St. Paul the Hermit, pray for us.

 

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COMPANION

 

1ST READING
 

Disobedience is the best way to explain how someone falls out of favor with God. This is what happened to Saul. He thought he knew better. He did not follow God’s instructions on how to defeat the Amalekites and rebelled against His will. Samuel likened Saul’s disobedience to divination (witchcraft) — it is placing another above God’s authority. This judgment becomes prophetic when Saul consults a witch in Endor later on. Let us pray for the grace to remain faithful to God’s will.

 
1 Samuel 15:16-23

16 Samuel said to Saul: “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul replied, “Speak!” 17 Samuel then said: “Though little in your own esteem, are you not leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king of Israel 18 and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction. Fight against them until you have exterminated them.’ 19 Why then have you disobeyed the Lord? You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the Lord.” 20 Saul answered Samuel: “I did indeed obey the Lord and fulfill the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought back Agag, and I have destroyed Amalek under the ban. 21 But from the spoil the men took sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the Lord their God in Gilgal.” 22 But Samuel said: “Does the Lord so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. 23 For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he, too, has rejected you as ruler.”

 
P S A L M
 
Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23

R: To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

8 “Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, for your burnt offerings are before me always. 9 I take from your house no bullock, no goats out of your fold.” (R) 16 “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, 17 Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” (R) 21 “When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes. 23 He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” (R)

 
GOSPEL
 

The wise steward embraces the new ways of doing things while respecting the old. Fasting on its own is simply the refusal to eat food. Fasting done with a religious motive is intercession. Jesus reminds us about our motives for doing things. Do we do things just because other people are doing them? We need to understand the reason behind our actions because these impact our life and spirituality.

 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

 
Mark 2:18-22

18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. 22 Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

think: How has the “wine” of Jesus burst your old wineskins?
 
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Read the Bible in one year John 19-21

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

 

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________

 
 

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SABBATH

 

GOD AND CHANGE:

THE ONLY PERMANENT IN LIFE

 

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus taught that only change is permanent. Yes, it’s true, but not absolutely because, along with change, God is the only one who truly remains, for He is perfect and not subject to change. We all change, for better or for worse.

       In the First Reading, Saul was initially obedient to God as king of Israel; unfortunately, in a recent battle, he disregarded God’s command to leave the spoils of war. Hence, Samuel reprimanded him. Our elders have a saying for this: “tumatanda nang paurong” (growing old backward), which literally means retrogression. Positive change is always a progression.

       Today, Jesus invites us to grow in intimacy with Him. Fasting is a practice common to almost all religions of the world. It is a way to be in touch with God by emptying ourselves of our bodily needs and filling up our spiritual needs. When Jesus asked the people, “How can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” He was stating He is God Himself. He assured them that when He, “the Bridegroom,” returns to heaven, His Apostles and all His followers, including us today, would fast to make Him present. But the people of His time did not realize the truth behind His response, even refusing to accept Him as the Christ. The issue really was not just fasting but accepting Jesus Christ. This continues today when many of us not only question but disregard fasting, especially the one-hour fast before receiving Holy Communion.

       Jesus asks us to see Him in a new light to mature in Him. We have to see fasting as a reality that we need to embrace to grow intimately with Christ. Jesus remains present and new with us in the changing situations of the world. It seems that it is us who refuse to adjust. Are you an old piece of cloth or old wineskin who remains stuck and complacent in your prayers and rituals? Fr. Nick Lalog

 

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

How has fasting helped you in your spiritual life? If you haven’t tried it, do so now and see the difference.

 

Lord Jesus Christ, help us to change for the best for You. Amen.

 

Today, I pray for: ________________________________________________

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