Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Wednesday of the fourth week in ordinary time, February 4th, 2026

Delivered by Fiona from the Parish of Mary Queen of Rosary in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. 2 Samuel 24: 2.9-17; Rs psalm 32: 1-2.5.6.7; Mark 6: 1-6.POINT OF VIEW The title for our meditation today is: Point of View.In a lesson for the 4th grade of elementary school, the studentswere asked by their teacher to write about the mutual love between their fatherand mother at home. Student A wrote about his mother preparing neat and orderlyclothes for his father when he was about to go to work or attend a meeting.Student B told the story of his father who always faithfully accompanied hismother to shop at the market, help with the laundry, help with cooking, andtidy up the house. Student C told the story of his mother who faithfully waiteduntil his father came home from work. Each student gave his or her point of view on the lovebetween his father and mother at home. A point of view includes the positionfrom which we see and understand someone or something, and the will to do whatwe have decided.  King David had hispoint of view as a king. He decided to act according to his point of view andwill. But it turned out that David's viewpoint was contrary to God's viewpointand will. Fortunately, David quickly regretted it and asked for forgiveness, thenGod forgave him. Jesus Christ appeared in public as a person ofextraordinary appeal. There were so many impressions from the people around himthat it produced various points of view about him. His fans, disciples, andenemies viewed Him differently. The demons saw that Jesus could be tempted withall bad and dangerous tactics, but Jesus defeated them. The first apostles onceasked: “Where do you live, Master”? They thought that Jesus would immediately gavethem a guarantee of life both physically and spiritually. Today's Gospel reading tells the story of the views ofthe people of the village and their relatives about the person and work ofJesus Christ. It turned out that their view of Jesus was very limited and verysuperficial. Jesus was seen as a part of them. There was nothing special aboutHim. In essence, this is a point of view to belittle and reject Jesus, eventhough they know that He has done a wonderful thing in helping and overcomingthe difficulties of many.  A point of view that we have depends heavily on thestandards of our respective knowledge, wisdom and faith. If we are guided bythe Holy Spirit and faith in Jesus Christ, our viewpoint is certainly based onGod's will. Of course, we always ask for divine light through prayer andreflection in order to get a good and correct point of view. We must be able tofree ourselves from having a negative, narrow or subjective, and destructivepoint of view. This is definitely not from the light of the Holy Spirit. Don'tget used to having this kind of point of view!Let us pray. In the name of the Father... O God, may wealways look at You with joy on this day and may we always see the good andright in our brothers and sisters. Glory to the Father and to the Son and tothe Holy Spirit... In the name of the Father ...