Wednesday after the Epiphany Gospel: Mk 6:45-52 Do Not Be Afraid
We often live in our own world, so much so that we tend to view the world through our own lens. Whenever we perceive the world through our own eyes, we become like the disciples who saw Jesus walking on water, unable to recognize the Jesus who appeared before us. The arrival of Jesus Christ evokes fear in our hearts, causing us to lament this world filled with all mortal elements. (See Mark 6:47-49) Yet we are unwilling to fully entrust ourselves to God and allow Him to dispose of us, so as to always be worthy of everything received from Him. All of this is fully reflected in every aspect of our daily lives.
Today, Christ, who walks upon the sea, approaches the boat where His disciples are, thus demonstrating to us that with His divine power, He has defeated the devil and suppressed all factors that could harm us, ensuring our safety amidst various secular storms through His presence. Similarly, through faith, we have received the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ and are united with Him. Although we must continue living in this ever-changing world, our lives will still encounter various challenges. When we face all these, we must remember the words Jesus spoke to us today: “It is me, do not be afraid.” Because He is always with us, always accompanying us.
O Lord, You have always been with us, always ready to assist us in our times of need. Have mercy upon us. Amen.
Tuesday after the Epiphany Gospel: Mark 6:34-44 A Prefiguration of the Eucharistic Banquet: The Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves
In our daily lives, we sometimes encounter problems that are difficult to solve now or situations that are extremely thorny. For instance, we may face bottleneck issues at work or experience a lack of inspiration when writing. When confronted with such problems, we sometimes sit idly by and leave these difficult issues for others to handle, expecting to reap the benefits without lifting a finger. At other times, we may be like the disciples in today’s account, who took no action themselves and relied solely on Jesus, hoping that He would do everything for us that we are unwilling to do.
Today, Jesus sets an example for us. When His disciples said to Him, “This is a deserted place, and it is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat,” Jesus neither agreed nor opposed their request. Instead, He said, “You give them something to eat.” This had a completely different meaning from the food the disciples were referring to. The food the disciples meant was all the material edibles, while the food Jesus was referring to was from a supernatural perspective, namely the spiritual nourishment for life. This nourishment is the Body and Blood of Christ.
The merciful Lord Jesus, who has chosen us from among humanity to be His disciples, invites each of us to become a source of grace leading others to Christ. He further invites us to share the spiritual food we have received, so that through all that we do, the world may receive God’s mercy and share in the joy of Christ with us. Therefore, today, let us quiet our hearts, meditate on God’s will, and pray for His guidance to fulfill our mission worthily. Amen.
Monday after Epiphany Gospel: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 Imitate the Good Christ and Proclaim the Gospel Publicly to the World
When we preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to the world, we often do so in what we consider a relatively safe environment. Consequently, we lack experience in spreading the gospel to our brothers and sisters outside our hometowns. Thus, when we leave our hometowns and find ourselves in foreign lands, and our brothers and sisters there invite us to share the gospel of Christ with them, we may become flustered and at a loss. This is because we lack the courage to follow Christ’s example and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all of creation.
This passage follows the incident where John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod for condemning Herod’s act of taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his own. After John was imprisoned, Jesus began His ministry. At the very beginning of His ministry, Christ chose to leave the place where He had grown up from childhood and went to Capernaum. He made Capernaum the center of His preaching and began to proclaim the gospel to all of creation, thereby setting an example for us. Since we have been called to be Christians, we should follow the example of John the Baptist and, even more so, that of Jesus Christ. We should live out the spirit of the gospel in our daily lives, imitate the virtues of Christ, care for and love our neighbors, especially those who are sick and those with weak faith. Through our constant prayers to the Heavenly Father on their behalf, we hope that they may, through our intercessions, turn to Christ and believe in the gospel along with us.
John the Baptist, please intercede for us before the throne of God, so that we may increasingly resemble Christ, live out the spirit of the gospel in our lives, and have the courage to bear witness to Christ. Amen.
全属于祢 
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