Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
394

FIRST READING

MIC 2:1-5

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
and work out evil on their couches;
In the morning light they accomplish it
when it lies within their power.
They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and they take them;
They cheat an owner of his house,
a man of his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the LORD:
Behold, I am planning against this race an evil
from which you shall not withdraw your necks;
Nor shall you walk with head high,
for it will be a time of evil.

On that day a satire shall be sung over you,
and there shall be a plaintive chant:
“Our ruin is complete,
our fields are portioned out among our captors,
The fields of my people are measured out,
and no one can get them back!”
Thus you shall have no one
to mark out boundaries by lot
in the assembly of the LORD.

PSALM

PS 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14

Response: Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

Why, O LORD, do you stand aloof?
Why hide in times of distress?
Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted,

who are caught in the devices the wicked have contrived.

For the wicked man glories in his greed,
and the covetous blasphemes, sets the LORD at nought.
The wicked man boasts, “He will not avenge it”;
“There is no God,” sums up his thoughts.

His mouth is full of cursing, guile and deceit;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He lurks in ambush near the villages;
in hiding he murders the innocent;
his eyes spy upon the unfortunate.

You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow,
taking them in your hands.
On you the unfortunate man depends;
of the fatherless you are the helper.

GOSPEL

MT 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus
to put him to death.

When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.
Many people followed him, and he cured them all,
but he warned them not to make him known.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not contend or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

Daily Reflection

Following in the footsteps of Amos, Hosea and Isaiah comes Micah, another prophet sent by God to bring about a social reformation. Micah denounced the brazen exploitation of the weaker sections of society by the rulers, certain elite groups and even the religious leaders. He confronted them about their greed and covetousness that had led them to violate not just all ethics and morality but even basic respect for human life!

We see this disrespect for human life in today’s Gospel as well, as the Pharisees plot to do away with Jesus. Today’s Gospel also recalls a prophecy Isaiah made about God’s suffering servant (later believed to be Jesus). The servant of God will bear the abuse and humiliation without retaliating violently. But His stand for truth and justice will be a source of inspiration to many who will work to establish God’s kingdom on earth.

When I fully understand that respect for life and the dignity of every human being begins with me, I have begun my work, contributing to the building of God’s kingdom.