OXYGEN

19 Jan – Monday in the Second Week in Ordinary Time

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Hebrews 5:1-10

Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever. During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.

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Mark 2:18-22

One day when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!’
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Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering

An oft-heard mantra by those who serve in the military is the phrase “Tough training is good training”. I never understood how this could be the case until it dawned upon me that if one could bear with the pain and endure the hardships that came along with the tough training; one would need not fear anything else. Similarly, if we overcome our fear of death, we will need not fear it.

Jesus came down to earth and experienced all possible hurts and emotional hurt that none of us have ever been through. Jesus underwent the pain of losing his father, been the centre of many conspiracies, betrayed and then abandoned by his friends, falsely accused of trumped-up charges and condemned to die a criminal’s death. He is truly a leader by example because we can follow Him knowing that our sufferings are slight compared to what He has gone through and is worthy of our obedience.

We live in a world that fears suffering. Whilst some form of suffering deserves to be removed, we should never shun away from it completely. In our suffering, we draw closer to God as we realise our own limitations and become dependent on His grace to sustain us in our life.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
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Prayer: Lord, we pray for your grace to keep us going amidst the various trials that we face in our lives.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the cross that we have to carry.

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Upcoming Readings:
Tue 20 Jan – Hebrews 6:10-20, Mark 2:23-28; St Fabian, Pope and Martyr; St Sebastian, Martyr
Wed 21 Jan – Hebrews 7:1-3.15-17, Mark 3:1-6; St Agnes, Virgin & Martyr
Thu 22 Jan – Hebrews 7:25-8:6, Mark 3:7-12
Fri 23 Jan – Hebrews 8:6-13, Mark 3:13-19
Sat 24 Jan – Hebrews 9:2-3. 11-14, Mark 3:20-21; St Francis De Sales, Bishop & Doctor
Sun, 25 Jan - Jonah 3:1-5.10, Psalm 24, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20; Third Sunday in Ordinary Time