“AND THEY WATCHED HIM…” (Mark 3:2)

⏰Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time 1 – Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (23 Jan 2019)

📖Heb 7:1-3, 15-17; Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4 (R.v.4bc); Mark 3:1-6

🎤”AND THEY WATCHED HIM…” (Mark 3:2)

Mark 3:1-6 contains the last of the controversy stories in the Gospel of Mark. At the end of the story in Mark 3:6, the Pharisees and the Herodians would unite against Jesus, re-echoing the words of Psalm 2:2, “The kings of the earth brace themselves, and the rulers together take their stand against the Lord and his anointed.”

What was the crime of Jesus that earned him the watchful hate of those people? Righteous deed!

Jesus warned us ahead of time that we too shall face such oppression and persecution (cf. Matt 24:9; John 16:2). But he reassured us not to worry because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). And you must believe Jesus when he says so. Or do you not see that when he asked them a simple question, they were silenced (Mark 3:4)?

In that same way, my dear, he reassures us in Isa 41:10 that we should not fear because he is with us always to protect us. Moreover, no weapon fashioned against us shall prosper (Isa 54:17). To cap it all, your reward would be great in heaven for bearing such trial (Matt 5:11-12).

So, do not worry when you suffer persecution because you did something right or because you have chosen to be just. Jesus would not abandon you. He promised to be with us till the end of time (Matt 28:20) and he does not fail in his promises.

May he not abandon you as you go through the different challenges of your daily life. Amen.

Have a victorious day ahead. Peace be with you.