20260127 UNITING THE FAMILY OF GOD
27 January 2026, Tuesday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Samuel 6:12-15,17-19 |
David dances before the ark of the Lord
David went and brought the ark of God up from Obed-edom’s house to the Citadel of David with great rejoicing. When the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fat sheep. And David danced whirling round before the Lord with all his might, wearing a linen loincloth round him. Thus David and all the House of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with acclaim and the sound of the horn. They brought the ark of the Lord in and put it in position inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered holocausts before the Lord, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. He then distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israelites, men and women, a roll of bread to each, a portion of dates, and a raisin cake. Then they all went away, each to his own house.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 23(24):7-10 |
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies,
he is the king of glory.
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:135 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 3:31-35 |
Who are my mother and my brothers? Those that do the will of God
The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 SM 6:12-15, 17-19; MK 3:31-35]
David had reached the height of his career – becoming King of Israel. He had overcome the Philistines and driven them back to their own borders. He had also succeeded in unifying the twelve tribes of Israel. In a shrewd political move, he made Jerusalem the new capital city. As king of Israel, David served as Yahweh’s viceroy. When Samuel addressed the people’s request for a king, it was never about relinquishing Yahweh’s role as king. Yahweh remained the true king, and the human king was His representative, chosen by Him to carry out the tasks of building and unifying the people. As Yahweh’s deputy, David’s military victories over the Philistines underscored that Yahweh is truly king not only of Israel but of all Israel’s neighbours as well. He is the great king of the universe and rules over all (cf. Ps 2:1-3).
Consequently, to strengthen David’s political power as King over Israel, he also needed to make Jerusalem not only the nation’s capital but God’s capital as well. The city’s new political role therefore had to be reinforced by a religious one, so that the people would remain united under the banner of Israel’s God. Fittingly, the Ark of the Covenant–which symbolised God’s presence, the divine throne itself during the days of Moses when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, and later when it was kept at the sanctuary of Shiloh–was to be brought to the capital instead. The Israelites, and even their enemies, the Philistines, all knew the power of the Ark of the Covenant. It was a holy object not to be taken lightly, for it bore the holiness and power of God and inflicted judgement on those who abused its presence. Indeed, bringing the Ark to Jerusalem would be the most powerful sign of God’s support for David and the new capital city. His presence in Jerusalem would also signify His approval of the unified tribes of Israel.
Yet, this process of bringing the ark into the city was complicated and even dangerous. The first attempt to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem failed because it was transported on a cart instead of being carried. One of them was struck dead when he tried to steady the ark as it became unstable along the road. To touch the ark was to impinge upon the holiness of God. For failing to take God’s power and holiness seriously, death was the consequence. So much so that “David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?'” As a result, David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead, he brought it to the house of Obed-edom, where it remained for three months (2 Sm 6:9ff). When David heard that “the Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God” (2 Sm 6:12), “David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the Citadel of David with great rejoicing.”
The exuberance and joy, the sacrifice and the dancing, reveal David’s faith and his sense of priority. Unlike Saul, who had no respect for God and was disobedient to His will, David took his role seriously as God’s representative among His people. He exercised his role not only as king but also as priest, as seen in the sacrifices he offered and in the distribution of bread, dates, and raisin cakes. Later, Psalm 110declares that David shares in royal dignity from the womb; he is not only king of Israel but also a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Indeed, because the Lord was present in the holy city of Jerusalem, symbolised by the Ark of the Covenant, the nation was blessed, and David had rest from all his enemies. Truly, this act of worship and sacrifice revealed the devotion of the new king, who knew where his true power lay. Through King David, Yahweh chose Jerusalem as His dwelling place. God moved from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion, God’s chosen mountain (cf. Ps 78:68f). Yahweh is king, and He dwells in Jerusalem. In the New Testament, this becomes the New Jerusalem, the eternal city (Rev 21:1-4; 22:1-5), which is our final destination.
What lessons can we draw from David’s transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem? First, faith in God and obedience to Him are what made King David successful in uniting his people and enabling the nation to prosper. When David placed God at the centre of his kingship, everything fell into place. Because Saul did not make God the centre of his kingship, and instead presumed his authority rested on military might and personal ingenuity, he lost the favour of God. Samuel pronounced judgment on Saul when he disobeyed the Lord, saying, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king” (1 Sm 15:22-23).
Secondly, we are called to trust in God’s fidelity to His people. By making Israel great through David, God demonstrated His faithfulness to Abraham and his forefathers. Through King David, the promises made to Abraham–of posterity, land, and kingdom–were finally realised (Gn 12:1-3). God has indeed been faithful to His word: Abraham’s descendants had become a nation, and David had become their king. From the earliest days of his life, David learned to depend on God. He relied on God to overcome Goliath, and he trusted in God’s vindication of his innocence when he was a fugitive fleeing from the temperamental Saul. He remained God’s faithful servant and was thus portrayed as a man after the heart of God (1 Sm 13:14).
Indeed, this is a call to faith for us as well. When we examine the success of King David, we see that he was not merely building an earthly nation, but God’s kingdom. David’s achievements foreshadow what is to come when we make the Lord the centre of our lives. Like him, we must journey in faith, knowing that God is with us as we make our way toward the eternal city. This is possible only if we confess our faith in Christ as the Son of David and our King. David thus anticipated the ultimate fulfilment of God’s promises in Christ.
Within this context, we can better appreciate the Gospel text regarding the true kinship of Jesus. Our Lord made it clear when His mother and brothers came looking for Him, hearing that He was “out of His mind.” They were standing outside while He was addressing His listeners. The Lord said, “‘Who are my mother and brothers?’ And looking around at those sitting in a circle about Him, He said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.'” True kinship is not a matter of biological ties, even though some say that blood is thicker than water. The truth, however, is that spiritual ties are even stronger than kinship by blood. By spiritual ties, we mean a shared faith in God, affective relationship, and a sharing of the same will and mind. This is how Jesus related with His heavenly Father. He said, “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). Jesus’ ultimate desire was to do the Father’s will: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work” (Jn 4:34). Of Him, the author of Hebrews says, “See, I have come to do your will, O God” (Heb 10:7). He gave His ultimate “Yes” to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane and at the cross. Speaking of His divine authority, He said, “The Son can do nothing on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise” (Jn 5:19).
Let us, therefore, continue to build the house of God through obedience to His will. Like Mary and David, we must place the Lord at the centre of our lives. We must allow Him to make His home in us by keeping His Word, as the Lord promises: “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (Jn 14:21). We are called to be like Mary, who hears the Word of God and keeps it. In Luke’s account, immediately following Jesus’ teaching on the parables, Jesus praised Mary, saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it” (Lk 8:21). He reiterated this when a woman praised Him, saying, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it” (Lk 11:27-28). In the same way, we build the family of God only when we hear His Word and put it into practice.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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