READING OF THE DAY
First reading from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel
Ez 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians
2 Cor 5:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mk 4:26-34
THE WORD OF FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
In God's Word today, God the Father only teaches people that humanity is a creature created by God the Father in His image. All the best things that God gives to humanity are to live happily in the Kingdom of Heaven with God the Father, and to be with Him in peace and joy.
Because human creation from the beginning was created by God the Father in His image, so He loves them very much. He gives humans everything necessary to become creatures that please God the Father. God the Father wants humans to exist in this world to worship and love Him. Do not abandon God and live in sinful passion anymore, because God the Father owns everything about living creatures, that is humans.
God the Father reveals to humans that: The Kingdom of Heaven is the happiest place that He created, where He reigns. This is a place filled with love. Therefore, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, God the Father wants all humanity to:
- Follow the way God the Father commands.
- Entrust, believe and rely on the power, love, and mercy of God the Father. Without the mercy of God the Father to open the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven and give life to humanity, humanity would gradually die under the captivity of Satan through its passions and overwhelming sins of mankind.
- Keep our whole being, both body and soul, pure.
- Always walk in grace according to the Word of God the Father, because His Word will be the way for humanity to enter the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven. When walking on God's Word, when following His Word through the Laws that God the Father has bestowed, and the laws that God has given are: believe in resurrection in the afterlife, believe in the love and mercy of God the Father accorded to Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. If anyone believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it will bring them eternal life. That life is the Kingdom of Heaven, the Eternal Kingdom that always exists as a source of peace and happiness.
Thus, God the Father calls people while still living on this earth to look forward to the Kingdom of Heaven in the future, as this is the truth that brings eternal life to humans. Believe absolutely in what God the Father teaches: The soul and body will become a true person when the strength and power of God the Father is demonstrated in that person. For the human soul will become like the image of God, hence the best thing that God the Father confers to humans is to live and never die, which is to enjoy the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In God's Word today, God the Father teaches us the way to live: to always hope for the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven in the future. God can do all things, God allows us eternal resurrection, but we must carry out and live according to God the Father's commandment, which is to know how to love God the Father above all things and love others as ourselves; know how to obey the will of God the Father, to abandon Satan's temptations and sinful passions, and know how to resist them by living in accordance with His commandments.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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