05 Feb – Memorial for St. Agatha, martyr
St. Agatha (c. 250) was young, beautiful and rich, and lived a life consecrated to God. When the Roman emperor Decius announced the edicts against Christians, the magistrate Quinctianus tried to profit by Agatha’s sanctity; he planned to blackmail her into sex in exchange for not charging her. He handed her over to a brothel, but she refused to accept customers. After rejecting Quinctianus’ advances, she was beaten, imprisoned, tortured, and her breasts crushed and cut off. She told the judge, “Cruel man, have you forgotten your mother and the breast that nourished you, that you dare to mutilate me this way?” Imprisoned further, then rolled on live coals, she was near death when an earthquake struck. In the destruction, the magistrate’s friend was crushed, and the magistrate fled. Agatha thanked God for an end to her pain, and died.
- Patron Saint Index
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2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30 – 19:3
Absalom happened to run into some of David’s followers. Absalom was riding a mule and the mule passed under the thick branches of a great oak. Absalom’s head caught fast in the oak and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule he was riding went on. Someone saw this and told Joab. “I have just seen Absalom,” he said, “hanging from an oak.” And Joab took three lances in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive there in the oak tree.
David was sitting between the two gates. The look-out had gone up to the roof of the gate, on the ramparts; he looked up and saw a man running all by himself. The watch called out to the king and told him. The king said, “Move aside and stand there.” He moved aside and stood waiting.
Then the Cushite arrived. “Good news for my lord the king!” cried the Cushite. “The Lord has vindicated your cause today by ridding you of all who rebelled against you.” “Is all well with young Absalom?” the king asked the Cushite. “May the enemies of my lord the king,” the Cushite answered, “and all who rebelled against you to your hurt, share the lot of that young man.”
The king shuddered. He went up to the room over the gate and burst into tears, and weeping said, “My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! Would I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!” Word was brought to Joab, “The king is now weeping and mourning for Absalom.” And the day’s victory was turned to mourning for all the troops, because they learned that the king was grieving for his son. And the troops returned stealthily that day to the town, as troops creep back ashamed when routed in battle.
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Mark 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lakeside. Then one of the synagogue officials came up, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hand son her to make her better and save her life.” Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him.
Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she had spent all she had without being any the better for it, in fact, she was getting worse. She had heard about Jesus, and she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his cloak. “If I can touch even his clothes,” she had told herself, “I shall be well again.” And the source of the bleeding dried up instantly, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint. Immediately aware that power had gone out of him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” But he continued to look all round to see who had done it. Then the woman came forward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. “My daughter,” he said, “your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.”
While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the synagogue official to say, “Your daughter is dead: why put the Master to any further trouble?” But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, “Do not be afraid; only have faith.” And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. So they came to the official’s house and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.” But they laughed at him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child’s father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay. And taking the child by the hand he said to her, “Talitha, kum!” which means, “Little girl, I tell you to get up.” The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.
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The relationship between a father and his child is something that is most special in the life of a man. Every father wishes that his son would become like him when he grows up. For a son, his father is the most important man in his life, because it is from this man that the child will learn what it is to be a man. For every daughter, the first love in her life is her father. For a daughter, it is her father that she will come to measure against every man that she will love in future.
In today’s first reading, we see David weeping for his son Absalom, even though Absalom had been trying to kill him. We see the love that a father has for a son in an incredible way, and yet, it is the love that every father should have for his son. In the gospel reading, we see Jairus going all out to find Jesus to cure his daughter. It is the same love that David had for Absalom.
But in the gospel reading, we see another father-child relationship that might not be so obvious. We see Jesus calling the woman who touched him, “Daughter”. This is rather unusual, because Jesus rarely ever called someone “son” or “daughter”. We might wonder: why was it important for Jesus to see the woman who touched him? Perhaps it was important for the woman to see Jesus. We know that Jesus is the full revelation of the Father, and perhaps it is this revelation that Jesus wanted to show the woman – that her heavenly Father loved her.
And indeed it is this relationship between our heavenly Father and us that is today, and has always been, under the greatest attack. Right from the time of Eden, the evil one has been severing the relationship that we have with God our Creator and Father. This relationship is severed through disobedience. Disobedience comes about when we think we know better what is good for ourselves than our heavenly Father does. Similarly, disobedience to our parents comes about when we think we know better what is good for ourselves than our parents do.
This is why when we look at the Ten Commandments, we see that the first commandment that is not directly linked to God is the commandment to honour our father and mother. This commandment comes before other commandments like “You shall not kill”, “You shall not steal”. Why? Because the relationship that we have with our parents, especially our father, is going to set the stage for our relationship with our heavenly Father. If we are disobedient towards our earthly parents, how will we ever be obedient to our heavenly Father?
Today is the last day before the start of Lent. I invite you, my friends, to spend this Lent rediscovering the parent-child relationship between you and God. It is the most important relationship you’re ever going to have.
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Prayer:
Dear Lord, we ask that this coming Lent be a time of rediscovering our relationship with you as your child, and you as our Father. Amen.
Give Thanks to the Lord for: A wonderful father.
Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 06 Feb – Joel 2:12-18; 2 Corinthians 5:20 – 6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18; Ash Wednesday
Thu, 07 Feb – Deuteronomy 30: 15-20; Luke 9:22-25; Weekday after Ash Wednesday
Fri, 08 Feb – Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15; Friday after Ash Wednesday
Sat, 09 Feb – Isaiah 58:9b-14; Luke 5:27-32; Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Sun, 10 Feb – Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11; First Sunday of Lent
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