Category: Verse for the day

“As He moved on He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, at his tax collector’s post, and said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Levi got up and became His follower.” –Mark 2:14 Although it was a serious sin for a Jew to be a tax collector, Levi chose to be one. Jesus called Levi out of his sinful job and into being an apostle and missionary. If we repent, we can follow Jesus’ call even if we are damaged goods, for Jesus comes not for the healthy but for the sick, not for the righteous but for sinners (Mk 2:17). Jesus...

“I command you: Stand up! Pick up your mat and go home.” –Mark 2:11 Will you receive “the promise of entrance” into God’s rest (Heb 4:1), that is, will you be with the Lord forever in the perfect happiness of heaven? “Therefore, while the promise of entrance into His rest still holds, we ought to be fearful of disobeying lest any one of you be judged to have lost his chance of entering” (Heb 4:1). By ourselves, we are unable to obey the Lord and enter eternal rest. We are spiritually paralyzed. Our only hope is to come to Jesus...

“Oh, that today you would hear His voice: ‘Harden not your hearts.’ ” –Psalm 95:7-8 Jesus miraculously and instantaneously healed a leper and then gave him a stern warning not to tell anyone (Mk 1:43-44). The man promptly and completely disobeyed Jesus and began to publicize the whole matter (Mk 1:45). This casual attitude toward disobedience has been the curse of the human race from Adam and Eve to the last person going to hell. All of us recognize this casual attitude toward disobedience in other people. We chide or condemn those who disobey in areas where we may be...

“As evening drew on, they brought Him all who were ill, and those possessed by demons.” –Mark 1:32 In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals in the evening, in the midst of the darkness (Mk 1:32-34). Jesus entered the darkness to drive the demons out of the darkness. “A people living in darkness has seen a great light. On those who inhabit a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen” (Mt 4:16). In today’s first reading, Jesus enters the darkness of our fallen human state (Heb 2:14ff). He became one of us. The Almighty God, Whom the universe could not contain (1...

“Have You come to destroy?” –Mark 1:24 The Church has now entered the season of Ordinary Time. A more precise meaning would be “Ordered Time,” for this season of the Church Year is marked by godly order rather than ordinary, boring activity. Today’s Gospel shows the impact of God’s order coming into a situation. A man in the synagogue is possessed by a demon (Mk 1:23). His life is disordered by Satan and his demons rather than ordered under the freedom and order of the children of God. Jesus casts out the demon and sets this man free. This is...