Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (2)

Title

Planning with God

Outline

You can find a solution that turns out to be worse than the problem

Some people distance themselves from the problem, and do not realize that they are taking the problem with them internally

Some people throw up their hands and see the problem as intractable

Some people try to find some compromise or mediating solution which turns out to be worse than the problem

None of these take God into account

Jeroboam had a problem

Rehoboam had the legitimacy of the David-Solomonic dynasty, even if he had blown it personally

Therefore there was reason to fear that if Israel went up to the Davidic-Solomonic Temple in Jerusalem they might start to question the legitimacy of Jeroboam - after all, the Temple was impressive

So he made it easier to go to two border shrines than to pass them to go to Jerusalem, took a page from Exodus and built a calf-god representation of YHWH, and established parallels pilgrimage feasts. These were where one would find the king worshipping, so they strengthened his dynastic connection with the cult

The only problem was that God had commended otherwise and God was the one who had put him in power, so it was a profound distrust of God and apostasy from his directives.

It was not the people he feared who caused the death of Jeroboam, but he lived and died with the knowledge of God’s doom hanging over his family, which was destroyed 3 years after his death, and with the knowledge that his actions would lead to the exile of Israel. And yet he did not repent.

Jesus put his problem to the disciples

A crowd had been with him in the wilderness for 3 days and in Jesus’ compassion he did not want to dismiss them for fear they would collapse on the way.

The disciples simply said, “There is no solution.” “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Apparently their memories were short.

Jesus takes what they have (not what they did not have) and feeds the crowd (just as he did the 5000) and ends up with more in leftovers than they started with.

Then he does not say, “Told you so,” but simply dismisses the crowd - perhaps they learned something as they meditated

What do we learn here?

First, the best solutions begin and end with trusting God, trusting what he has said, trusting him in the situation

Second, the best approach is to think back on what God has done in similar situations. He will not act identically, for he does not repeat himself, but he will act in character.

Third, the way to create unnecessary problems is to give way to anxiety and fear, throwing up one’s hands.

Fourth, the worst solution is that which forgets God’s commands, compromises with the culture in ways incompatible with divine teaching, forgets history, and even blocks people from keeping God’s commands. It comes from your anxiety and will result in destruction.

When we offer what we have to God he is capable of using it creatively. When we trust in God’s word to us, he is quite able to protect us from real evil. It is when we leave God out of the center of our plans that whatever we are constructing is likely to collapse.

Readings

Catholic Daily Readings 2-12-2022: Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

FIRST READING

1 Kings 12:26–32, 13:33–34

26 Jeroboam thought to himself: “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, the hearts of this people will return to their master, Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah.” 28 The king took counsel, made two calves of gold, and said to the people: “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan. 30 This led to sin, because the people frequented these calves in Bethel and in Dan. 31 He also built temples on the high places and made priests from among the common people who were not Levites.

32 Jeroboam established a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month like the pilgrimage feast in Judah, and he went up to the altar. He did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. He stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places he had built.

33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again made priests for the high places from among the common people. Whoever desired it was installed as a priest of the high places. 34 This is the account of the sin of the house of Jeroboam for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth.

Catholic Daily Readings 2-12-2022: Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

RESPONSE

Psalm 106:4a

4 Remember me, LORD, as you favor your people;

come to me with your saving help,

PSALM

Psalm 106:6–7b, 19–22

6 We have sinned like our ancestors;

we have done wrong and are guilty.

7 Our ancestors in Egypt

did not attend to your wonders.

They did not remember your manifold mercy;

they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.

19 At Horeb they fashioned a calf,

worshiped a metal statue.

20 They exchanged their glory

for the image of a grass-eating bull.

21 They forgot the God who had saved them,

who had done great deeds in Egypt,

22 Amazing deeds in the land of Ham,

fearsome deeds at the Red Sea.

Catholic Daily Readings 2-12-2022: Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Matthew 4:4b

4 He said in reply, “It is written:

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ ”

GOSPEL

Mark 8:1–10

1 In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, he summoned the disciples and said, 2 “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” 4 His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” 5 Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied. 6 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. 8 They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets. 9 There were about four thousand people.

He dismissed them 10 and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Notes

Catholic Daily Readings 2-12-2022: Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2022 | ORDINARY TIME

SATURDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

YEAR 2 | ROMAN MISSAL | LECTIONARY

First Reading 1 Kings 12:26–32, 13:33–34

Response Psalm 106:4a

Psalm Psalm 106:6–7b, 19–22

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 4:4b

Gospel Mark 8:1–10

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