Rich and Poor Alike
Psalm 49:1-12
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
Leviticus 8:18-9:11
Leviticus 9
The Priests Begin Their Ministry
1 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the LORD. 3 Then say to the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb—both a year old and without defect—for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the LORD, together with a grain offering mixed with olive oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.’”
5 They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the LORD. 6 Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”
7 Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.”8 So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. 9 His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. 10 On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, as the LORD commanded Moses; 11 the flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp.
Mark 3:1-12
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Crowds Follow Jesus
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.
Reflections:
The psalmist today begins by reflecting that there is nothing we could offer that would appease God. He reflects that those who put their trust in riches, will go down to their graves the same way as everyone else. One cannot buy God and redeem themselves. We all need something outside of ourselves and our possessions to redeem us in our relationship with God.
In Leviticus, Moses continues to explain how the Israelites could be redeemed through sacrifices offered to God as God had commanded. The priests were the first to make atonement for themselves through the sin and burnt offerings, as the blood of innocent animals atoned for the sins of the people as God had prescribed. Notice God made the provision for their forgiveness, and they had to trust in God’s way not their own way. (See Ephesians 2:8 below for the classic verse on God’s grace and how we receive it through faith.)
In our Gospel lesson, Jesus continues to show the people, especially those in leadership, what it means for God’s kingdom to come in power and authority in their midst. A man with a shriveled hand was in the synagogue (where the everyday people met to worship God, the priest went to the temple). The leaders set this up to see if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath, thus breaking the Law in their minds. But Jesus knew their hearts and how they had missed the true intent of the Sabbath, which was to give life and healing, not the opposite. So he heals the man publicly and the Pharisees begin to plot to take Jesus’ life. Jesus is angered by their stubborn hearts and how badly they have missed the true intent or spirit of the Sabbath.
Our gospel lesson reminds us that we can often be so caught in how we think things should go, that we miss out of what God really wants to do. This is especially true for those who lead churches that they not forget the big picture of what God is trying to do in every Church. Our main job as leaders is to create an environment where God can continue to show His power and love through preaching, teaching, healing and showing the world that God still cares, still heals and still shows this power through us his disciples as we spread the Good News of kingdom! It is a great privilege and opportunity and not to be taken lightly.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:22
By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
Faithful and steadfast God, our gratitude is too great for words. You have offered us the gift of grace and you have shown us by your son's birth, death and resurrection how to accept this gift through faith. Amen.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
Leviticus 8:18-9:11
Leviticus 9
The Priests Begin Their Ministry
1 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the LORD. 3 Then say to the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb—both a year old and without defect—for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the LORD, together with a grain offering mixed with olive oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.’”
5 They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the LORD. 6 Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”
7 Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.”8 So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. 9 His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. 10 On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, as the LORD commanded Moses; 11 the flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp.
Mark 3:1-12
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Crowds Follow Jesus
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.
Reflections:
The psalmist today begins by reflecting that there is nothing we could offer that would appease God. He reflects that those who put their trust in riches, will go down to their graves the same way as everyone else. One cannot buy God and redeem themselves. We all need something outside of ourselves and our possessions to redeem us in our relationship with God.
In Leviticus, Moses continues to explain how the Israelites could be redeemed through sacrifices offered to God as God had commanded. The priests were the first to make atonement for themselves through the sin and burnt offerings, as the blood of innocent animals atoned for the sins of the people as God had prescribed. Notice God made the provision for their forgiveness, and they had to trust in God’s way not their own way. (See Ephesians 2:8 below for the classic verse on God’s grace and how we receive it through faith.)
In our Gospel lesson, Jesus continues to show the people, especially those in leadership, what it means for God’s kingdom to come in power and authority in their midst. A man with a shriveled hand was in the synagogue (where the everyday people met to worship God, the priest went to the temple). The leaders set this up to see if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath, thus breaking the Law in their minds. But Jesus knew their hearts and how they had missed the true intent of the Sabbath, which was to give life and healing, not the opposite. So he heals the man publicly and the Pharisees begin to plot to take Jesus’ life. Jesus is angered by their stubborn hearts and how badly they have missed the true intent or spirit of the Sabbath.
Our gospel lesson reminds us that we can often be so caught in how we think things should go, that we miss out of what God really wants to do. This is especially true for those who lead churches that they not forget the big picture of what God is trying to do in every Church. Our main job as leaders is to create an environment where God can continue to show His power and love through preaching, teaching, healing and showing the world that God still cares, still heals and still shows this power through us his disciples as we spread the Good News of kingdom! It is a great privilege and opportunity and not to be taken lightly.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:22
By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
Faithful and steadfast God, our gratitude is too great for words. You have offered us the gift of grace and you have shown us by your son's birth, death and resurrection how to accept this gift through faith. Amen.
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