Thursday of week 2 in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 7:25-8:6
The power of Jesus to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him. To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because he has done this once and for all by offering himself. The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever.
The great point of all that we have said is that we have a high priest of exactly this kind. He has his place at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up. It is the duty of every high priest to offer gifts and sacrifices, and so this one too must have something to offer. In fact, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are others who make the offerings laid down by the Law and these only maintain the service of a model or a reflection of the heavenly realities. For Moses, when he had the Tent to build, was warned by God who said: See that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
We have seen that he has been given a ministry of a far higher order, and to the same degree it is a better covenant of which he is the mediator, founded on better promises.
Psalm 39(40):7-10,17 Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Mark 3:7-12
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
Reflection:
The phrase from the first reading, “Because he has done this once and for all by offering himself,” sum up the whole of Jesus’ mission: a self-giving that was final, complete, and transformative; an eternal singular act of love that continues to ripple through time.
We can consider someone like Maximilian Kolbe, who was imprisoned in Auschwitz. When a fellow prisoner was condemned to death, Kolbe stepped forward, offering his life in place of the man with a family. Despite Kolbe’s unimaginable suffering, he remained a beacon of hope, leading prayers and singing hymns. After two weeks, he was executed by lethal injection, becoming a martyr of love.
And in our own time we have beacons of hope and love. Yesterday during the inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral USA, Bishop Mariann Budde, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, implored President Trump whom she noted was entrusted with power by millions of voters, to “have mercy upon the people in our country [USA] who are scared now” and referred specifically to gay, lesbian and transgender children, some of whom she said “fear for their lives.” She also spoke about immigrants, saying while some of them may not be citizens or have appropriate documentation, “the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.” She made her appeal respectfully, gently, without confrontation, speaking truth with clarity, conscience and courage. She offered her voice for others who remain voiceless.
Budde and Kolbe’s self-offering mirrors Christ’s – it was done freely, out of love, and for the life of others. Their courage demonstrates how divine love continues to inspire and manifest in human hearts.
Self-giving, the act of loving, often requires us to choose against our own human nature. Self-interest can be a potent influence on us. It is motivated by a complex interplay of factors both conscious and unconscious. At its core, it is tied to the basic human drive for survival and security. Our brains are wired to seek pleasure not discomfort. We prefer happiness over suffering. If we come from competitive societies we are rewarded for personal achievement not putting others first. The desire to protect, enhance, or affirm one’s self-image can urge self-interest and self-preservation. Our fear of scarcity, when resources are perceived as limited, compels us act to protect our share, driven by a fear of not having enough. So many injustices of the world are driven by these forces.
We see in Bishop Budde and other prophets, people who are motivated by empathy, community, and a sense of shared purpose, particularly recognizing our interconnectedness. By addressing our fears and cultivating virtues like gratitude and compassion, we can embrace self-giving.
Like Jesus, Budde, and Kolbe, we too are called to offer ourselves in our own time, choosing self-gift over self-interest, even in ordinary acts; making the self-giving of Jesus visible in the world again today.