Monday of the third week of Ordinary Time – Odd Year

Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel

 # Shekhina is a Hebrew feminine word meaning Divine Presence, used to designate the presence of God among his people, the people of Israel, or the divine immanence in the world, particularly in the Temple of Jerusalem. In Biblical Hebrew, the word means to settle, dwell, or reside, and is frequently used in the Hebrew Bible. The first occurrence of this root in Jewish sources can be found in the Pentateuch, Book of Exodus, chapter 25, verse 8.

The prophet Isaiah relates that the Divine Presence manifested itself on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, on which the First and Second Temple were built. In midrashic literature: the Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of allegories from the Talmud and attributed to Rabbi Shimon Ashkenazi Hadarshan of Frankfurt4 , mentioned that since the destruction of the Second Temple, wherever the people of Israel were exiled, the Shekhina accompanied them in their exile. For the Jewish liturgy: during the 17th blessing of the Amida prayer, the faithful bowed in silent prayer to God to bring his Presence back to Zion.

                                                                                                         

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

At that time, the resurrected Jesus said to the eleven Apostles: « Go into all the world. Proclaim the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who refuses to believe will be condemned.    These are the signs that will accompany those who will become believers: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will take serpents in their hands, and if they drink deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and the sick will be well. » (Mk 3, 31-35)

The father’s place belongs only to God

Mark remarked : Jesus, surrounded by the crowd, did not want to be interrupted in his speech, especially knowing the motives that brought his own people. They waited to bring their sick to him until the Sabbath had passed, because they thought that it would have been a violation of that day’s rest : « The Jews therefore said to him that was healed, It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed.  » (Jn 5, 10)

The evangelists distinguished the sick from the demonic : « When Jesus saw a great crowd around him, he gave the order to go to the other side. » Jesus did not speak of a father, citing the intimate relationship of the family, which was reformed, higher and holier, between those who did the will of God. In this spiritual sense, the place of father belongs only to God.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

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Links to other Christian websites

◊ Leah Baugh : click here to read the paper → 5 Ways God is Father to the Fatherless

◊ Mike Ledbetter : click here to read the paper → God The Father, His Son Jesus, and The Father’s Holy Spirit Speaks To Us All

♥ Fr. Mike’s : « Only faith that is tested can become great”