05 Feb 2026 – Thursday of Week 4

05 Feb 2026 – Thursday of Week 4

Memorial: St Agatha died a martyr at Catania, Sicily in the 3rd century. Patron of bell-founders.

1st Reading: 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12

The dying David urges Solomon to have courage and stay faithful to God in every way

When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: ‘If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.’

Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly etablished.

Responsorial: 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

R./: Lord, you are exalted over all

Blessed are you, O Lord,
the God of Israel, our father,
for ever, for ages unending. (R./)

Yours, Lord, are greatness and power,
and splendour, triumph and glory.
All is yours, in heaven and on earth. (R./)

Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom,
you are supreme over all.
Both honour and riches come from you. (R./)

You are the ruler of all,
from your hand come strength and power,
from your hand come greatness and might. (R./)

Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

He sends out the twelve two by two, to preach and to heal

Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Leaving a legacy

Politicians and celebrities are not alone in their desire to leave behind a worthwhile legacy. This idea of leaving a legacy must be almost universal, once a person has come to terms with his or her mortality. Nobody wants to feel that their transient life is utterly insignificant, blown away like dust in the wind, with nothing to mark our few decades in this world. It’s part of why people work so hard for success, to make a mark in society, and hope for some monument to their memory after they die. The most universal legacy is what parents leave behind to their children, by their example and the insights they try to share.

David’s deathbed advice to Solomon summarises what a conscientious father might want to leave as a moral legacy to his son. The old king knows that he is about to die, and urges his successor to live a noble life, “walking in the ways of the Lord your God.” The flavour of the book of Deuteronomy suffuses this account, with those stock phrases, “his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies.” He makes explicit reference to the law of Moses as the code of morality for Israel. Then he climaxes his advice with the recurrent motivation, “so that you may prosper in all that you do.”

The legacy Jesus leaves behind has more to do with sharing the good news of God’s love and mercy. He had taught them much about the kingdom of God, the state of harmony and renewal. The life God wants for mankind cannot be selfish and must be shared. Jesus sent his disciples two by two, to spread his vision. What he has share with them must be shared with others. The task is so urgent that they move out with no thought of profit for themselves, without luggage or money. While this level of frugality cannot be long sustained, it gives a clear flavour of the priorities that Jesus would like to see among his followers.

Sent out, two by two

Jesus sends them out to do what he was doing, to preach the gospel and to heal the sick. Jesus wanted and needed the help of others to do the work he was sent to do. He continues to need us today for this work. We are to be his eyes, his ears, his hands, his feet and his voice. St Paul understood very clearly that the church to be the body of Christ in the world. He was very clear that every member of Christ’s body had a vital role to play.

The church cannot be fully alive unless everyone plays the role they are called and equipped to play through their baptism. There are to be no second class citizens in the church. Each of us is a vital member, with some task and mission in the world.