Wednesday 12 February 2025

5th week in Ordinary Time

Today is Wednesday the 12th of February in the 5th week of Ordinary Time.    The community of Taizé sing Toi, tu nous aimes.  “You love us, Lord, source of life.”  As I listen, I remind myself that I am in the presence of God right now, that God is looking on me now with love.  Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark.    Mark 7:14-23  Then [Jesus] called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’  When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’    In this passage, Jesus teaches that it is what comes from the heart—our thoughts, desires, and actions – that matters. Place yourself as part of the crowd listening to Jesus. See Jesus pausing, looking at everyone, and calling out, “Listen to me!” How do his words challenge your beliefs?    Then, within the privacy of the house and the intimacy of the fellowship, see yourself close to him, noticing his tone and feeling his urgency as he teaches about the heart. What do you notice in Jesus’ words?     How do you feel as Jesus shifts the focus from the external to the state of the heart? As you listen to the passage again, imagine Jesus calling you to greater freedom, looking into your heart with love, inviting you to trust him.    Take a moment to reflect on the hidden thoughts, intentions, or desires within that separate you from God or others...How might God be inviting you to a new way of thinking, of feeling, today?     As we end this time of reflection, bring your thoughts to the Lord in honesty, asking for the grace to overcome anything that blocks your relationship with him.    Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.