Dai­ly Reflec­tion
Jan­u­ary 9, 2007

Tuesday of the First week in Ordi­nary Time
Lectionary: 306
Car­ol Zuegner

What is man that you are mind­ful of him or the son of man that you care for him?

This beau­ti­ful phrase runs through­out today’s read­ings, We can see God’s pow­er and be in awe, yet God is mind­ful of each of us and cares for each of us. We are remind­ed of the won­der of God’s plan, of Jesus being made man – “made a lit­tle less than the angels that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

The mag­ni­tude of that mind­ful­ness and the pow­er of Jesus are brought into sharp focus as Jesus goes to teach at the syn­a­gogue. He teach­es, Mark tells us, with author­i­ty. In the Gospel, peo­ple are aston­ished at his teach­ing, mar­veling because Jesus wasn’t like the scribes. Jesus wasn’t just repeat­ing words, lec­tur­ing by rote, going through the motions. He was set apart by His author­i­ty. This author­i­ty is not just com­mand­ing unclean spir­its, though. Jesus taught, preached and lived a les­son of love; that’s the author­i­ty behind His teach­ing. Lord, teach me to be mind­ful of my bless­ings and my chal­lenges, to be grate­ful for your care and your mindfulness.

Car­ol Zuegner

Pro­fes­sor Emeri­ta of Journalism

Writ­ing and read­ing the Dai­ly Reflec­tions helps me con­nect with my faith.