Lectionary: 327
Reading 1
Heb 13:1-8
Let brotherly love continue.
Do not neglect hospitality,
for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.
Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment,
and of the ill-treated as of yourselves,
for you also are in the body.
Let marriage be honored among all
and the marriage bed be kept undefiled,
for God will judge the immoral and adulterers.
Let your life be free from love of money
but be content with what you have,
for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you.
Thus we may say with confidence:
The Lord is my helper,
and I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?
Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you.
Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9abc
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
For he will hide me in his abode
in the day of trouble;
He will conceal me in the shelter of his tent,
he will set me high upon a rock.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Alleluia
See Lk 8:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart,
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mk 6:14-29
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,
and people were saying,
“John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
That is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”;
still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: PURE COURAGE
"John had told Herod, 'It is not right.' " –Mark 6:18
St. John the Baptizer had the love and courage to tell Herod: "It is not right for you to live with your brother's wife" (Mk 6:18). The writer of the book of Hebrews had the love and courage to clearly and bluntly teach: "Let marriage be honored in every way and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers" (Heb 13:4). Paul spoke the truth in love (Eph 4:15) when he repeatedly, clearly, and emphatically proclaimed: "Make no mistake about this: no fornicator, no unclean or lustful person – in effect an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with worthless arguments. These are sins that bring God's wrath down on the disobedient; therefore have nothing to do with them" (Eph 5:5-7; see also 1 Cor 6:9ff; Gal 5:21; Rm 1:18ff; 1 Thes 4:7-8). Jesus, the Truth (Jn 14:6) and Love Himself (1 Jn 4:16), taught: "What I say to you is: anyone who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his thoughts. If your right eye is your trouble, gouge it out and throw it away!" (Mt 5:28-29)
If we are disciples of Jesus and truly love Him and His people, we will be pure and call others to purity. If we don't tell the Herods of the world that their adulteries and sexual sins are not right, we will quietly acquiesce to the murders, brutalities, and beheadings that they commit. If we don't stand up for purity, we won't stand up for life. If we don't stand up for purity, we won't stand up.
Be pure. Lose your life rather than your soul. Stand up for purity.
PRAYER: Father, grace me with love, courage, and purity.
PROMISE: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." –Heb 13:8
PRAISE: One of the Japanese martyrs, St. Philip of Jesus, had been a rambunctious youth. A family friend declared that Philip's chances of becoming a saint were as good as the dried-up fig tree in his garden sprouting leaves. On the day young Philip was martyred, the withered tree burst forth with abundant leaves.
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