The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday, Week I, Year II in Ordinary Time, 14 January 2022 1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22 ><]]]]*> + <*[[[[>< Mark 2:1-12
Today, O Lord, I remember those days when I insisted on what I wanted, without giving any moment to dwell on your plans and suggestions.
Today, dear God our Father, your words clearly show us how so apart are our thoughts and your thoughts, of how wide and encompassing at how you see everything and everyone compared to our very limited and shallow perceptions that are too little, hence, easier to insist on.
The people however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, “Not so! There must be a king over us. We, too, must be like other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles.” When Samuel had listened to all the people had to say, he repeated it to the Lord, who then said to him, “Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them.”
1 Samuel 8:19-22
Widen our horizons to see how you have made us in fact different from others, so special and beloved to be close to you and yet, like those people to Samuel, we would always insist to be just like others.
And the saddest part of belittling our stature is how we also try to bring you down to our own level:
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth.” He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
Mark 2:6-11
Raise up our thoughts and understanding, Lord Jesus! Let us "level up" and "shift" to your thoughts and the way you see persons and situations that lead us to claim our freedom from sins and evil that have trapped us for so long despite your victory since your rising from the dead; open our eyes and our hearts, Jesus, to see the new realities, our restored dignity as beloved children of the Father in you so that we stop insisting with our little and unworthy causes and demands. Amen.
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