FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

First Reading | Deuteronomy 18:15-20

God tells Moses that His prophets should be faithful in serving Him. The gift of salvation is given to us freely; however, its full effect only; comes by being faithful to God. Hence, Moses received the warning—if the prophet does not pass on the Lord’s message, he is responsible for this failure. While it is a privilege to serve the Lord, it is also a great responsibility.

15 Moses spoke to all the people, saying: “A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him, you shall listen. 16 This is exactly what you requested of the Lord, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fire anymore, lest we die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘This was well said. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet; like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. 19 Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. 20 But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that In have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in; the name of other gods, he shall die.'”

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing a psalm to him. (R) 6 Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. 7 For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R) Oh, that today you would hear his voice, 8 “Harden, not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” (R)

Second Reading | 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

Saint Paul experienced the power of the Gospel to change his own life and was ready to give everything to share the Good News with others. Paul even encouraged others to make themselves available for the same work. Paul’s life and ministry witnessed to the power of God’s Word. May we all see and experience the power of the Gospel in our lives and ministries.

32 Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. 33 But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

Gospel | Mark 1:21-28

The people were amazed at the authority with which Jesus spoke to them. His authority comes from the truth He speaks. Sadly, many people today no longer respect the truth. Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel that only the truth can set us free. Following philosophies, fads, or new ideas that do not respect the truth will only enslave people. Let us pray for the grace to know the truth and live it. Apart from the truth, we will never be fulfilled.

Gospel Acclamation

The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.

21 Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.