First Reading
1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12
When the time of David’s death drew near,
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:
“I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
‘If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.’”
David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.
Responsorial Psalm
1 Chronicles 29:10, 11ab, 11d-12a, 12bcd
R. (12b) Lord, you are exalted over all.
“Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
“Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
“LORD, you are exalted over all.
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
“In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
Gospel
Mark 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
REFLECTION
Source: One Bread One Body
Title: GOD, THE TOUR GUIDE
"Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out." –Mark 6:7
In Mark's gospel, Jesus sends us out with four things and without four things.
We are to go without taking:
food (Mk 6:8), luggage (Mk 6:8), money (Mk 6:8), and clothes (Mk 6:9).
We are to go with:
another disciple (Mk 6:7), authority over demons and diseases (Mk 6:7, 13), a walking staff (Mk 6:8), and sandals (Mk 6:9).
Walking sticks and sandals are ways of improving our transportation as we take the Gospel to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8).
When Jesus sends us out:
we go trusting in God for our daily bread (Mt 6:11),we go as brothers and sisters in Him,we go "to destroy the devil's works" (1 Jn 3:8), and we keep moving (see Mk 6:11).
Most Christians have in abundance those things Jesus tells us we should do without, while lacking the community and the authority the Lord tells us we cannot do without. If we are to go forth in Jesus' name, we need a re-structuring of our lives. Jesus is willing to do it. Will you let it be done? (see Lk 1:38)
PRAYER: Father, may I do it Your way.
PROMISE: "Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God, following His ways and observing His statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn." –1 Kgs 2:3
PRAISE: At their martyrdom, St. Paul Miki and his twenty-five companions were pierced by a lance, as was their Savior.
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