Heb 9:2-3, 11-14
A tabernacle was constructed, the outer one,
in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering;
this is called the Holy Place.
Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies.
But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,
passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands,
that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary,
not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood,
thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled
so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the Blood of Christ,
who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
For king of all the earth is God:
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
Gospel
Jesus came with his disciples into the house.Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
REFLECTION
There was good reason for the relatives of Jesus to think that he is out of his mind. First, he had a flourishing career as a carpenter. His income was good but he abandoned it to became a wandering preacher with nowhere to lay his head. Second, he was on to a head on collision with the Pharisees and the Scribes. They were already planning to kill him. Third, he has started to form his own group, the apostles. And the members of the apostles were people disliked by society: there was a tax collector, there were fishermen, there was a fanatical nationalist. They were definitely not the kind of people a prudent man would like to hang out with. These three facts led them to conclude he is out of his mind. He has thrown away his security, his safety, and even society. But he has thrown them away for God. Can we also do the same? What have you thrown away for God?
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