May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 2:23-28
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this, the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
REFLECTION
Why does St. Paul or the author of this passage say, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened?"
The heart is mentioned a lot in the Sacred Scriptures. For example, David was described as a "man after God's own heart."(1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22) David had a deep personal relationship with God throughout his life. The heart is the seat of or center of man's physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life. It is considered to be a vital part of man's inner self.
St. Paul wrote letters to different Church communities that he evangelized. He wanted to encourage the members to know and love Jesus Christ. He wanted to share how he came to know Jesus. Before his conversion, Saul's heart was full of zeal for the laws and teachings passed on to the Israelites by God in the Torah. Jesus needed to correct Saul's vision. So he blinded him and told him, "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?" Jesus wanted to enlighten Saul's heart to who He, Jesus Christ, was. Jesus wanted to "open the eyes of Paul's heart" and call Him to a new mission. Therefore, Paul says to the Ephesians, "May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call." (Ephesians 1:18)
How can we today "enlighten the eyes of our hearts?"
We must seek to know Jesus and spread the hope and knowledge of our inheritance and the power given to those who believe in Jesus Christ. We can get to know Jesus more through studying His Words. FACE ZBS (Face to Face -ZOOM Bible Study) is one way we can know Jesus more. Join us on Wednesdays to study the Scriptures from the Biblical context. Here is the link explaining FACE ZBS.
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