Faith Daily | 28 January 2021

PRAYER of the WEEK Epiphany Three

Bountiful God,

through your Son you have called us to repent of our sin,

to believe the good news,

and to celebrate the coming of your kingdom:

teach us, like Christ’s first apostles,

to hear the call to discipleship,

and, forsaking old ways,

to proclaim the gospel of new life to a broken world;

through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Amen

GOSPEL for the Day: Mark 4:21-25

21 He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ 24And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

GOSPEL Reflection: Contributed by Mary Dean

My first reading of this passage made me sit up and pay attention – v 23 – if we have ears, we should “listen and understand”, v24 – “pay close attention”. It is really pressing home the necessity to listen carefully to Jesus and subsequently be able to understand the message he is wanting to give us.

It reminded me of school days and studies we may undertake – just how much we learn and absorb when we are really listening compared to when our minds are miles away on other things and it has little affect on us. (v24 “The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given”).

It is God’s desire for us that we listen to him speaking to us, through reading his word and prayer so that we become closer to Him and are able to understand all He has done for us so that we can encourage others to do the same.

Jesus tells the parable of the lamp on the stand to encourage his followers to stand out, to be an example and not to hide away. ... Jesus is saying that for the Christian message to spread and develop, followers must proclaim and show their faith.

Most of us would well remember the chorus we used to sing in Sunday School “This little light of mine”. We can make it a daily prayer or enjoy singing it to reinforce the message of this passage.

FINAL PRAYER:

See this little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine

See this little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine

All around the neighbourhood

I'm going to let it shine etc

Hide it under a bushel? No!

I'm going to let it shine etc

Don't let Satan blow it out!

I'm going to let it shine etc

Amen