http://www.easterbrooks.com/cgi-bin/Cathcal.cgi?20050105s

First Reading: First John 4:11-18
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 72:1-2, 10, 12-13
Gospel: Mark 6:45-52

First Reading: First John 4:11-18

11

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.

12

No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

13

¹ This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit.

14

Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.

15

Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God.

16

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.

17

In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world.

18

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

Table of Contents 1 John 4

Footnotes

¹ [13-21] The testimony of the Spirit and that of faith join the testimony of love to confirm our knowledge of God. Our love is grounded in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God and the example of God's love for us. Christian life is founded on the knowledge of God as love and on his continuing presence that relieves us from fear of judgment (1 John 4:16-18). What Christ is gives us confidence, even as we live and love in this world. Yet Christian love is not abstract but lived in the concrete manner of love for one another.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 72:1-2, 10, 12-13

1

Of Solomon.

2

^{1 2} O God, give your judgment to the king; your justice to the son of kings; That he may govern your people with justice, your oppressed with right judgment,

10

³ May the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Seba offer gifts.

12

For he rescues the poor when they cry out, the oppressed who have no one to help.

13

He shows pity to the needy and the poor and saves the lives of the poor.

Table of Contents Psalms 72

Footnotes

¹ [Psalm 72] A royal psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Psalm 72:1-4, 12-14) and blessing (Psalm 72:5-7, 15-17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.

² [2] The king . . . the son of kings: the crown prince is the king's son; the prayer envisages the dynasty.

³ [10] Tarshish and the islands: the far west (Psalm 48:6); Arabia and Seba: the far south (1 Kings 10:1).

Gospel: Mark 6:45-52

45

¹ Then he made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, ² while he dismissed the crowd.

46

³ And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray.

47

When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.

48

Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. ⁴ He meant to pass by them.

49

But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out.

50

⁵ They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"

51

He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were (completely) astounded.

52

They had not understood the incident of the loaves. ⁶ On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

Table of Contents Mark 6

Footnotes

¹ [45-52] See the note on Matthew 14:22-33.

² [45] To the other side toward Bethsaida: a village at the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

³ [46] He went off to the mountain to pray: see Mark 1:35-38. In John 6:15 Jesus withdrew to evade any involvement in the false messianic hopes of the multitude.

⁴ [48] Walking on the sea: see the notes on Matthew 14:22-33 and on John 6:19.

⁵ [50] It is I, do not be afraid!: literally, "I am." This may reflect the divine revelatory formula of Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1-3, 10, 13. Mark implies the hidden identity of Jesus as Son of God.

⁶ [52] They had not understood . . . the loaves: the revelatory character of this sign and that of the walking on the sea completely escaped the disciples. Their hearts were hardened: in Mark 3:5-6 hardness of heart was attributed to those who did not accept Jesus and plotted his death. Here the same disposition prevents the disciples from comprehending Jesus' self-revelation through signs; cf Mark 8:17.