Our First Fruits
Our First Fruits
Gospel Reflection for Wednesday, January 10th, 2024
In today’s Gospel, we hear that Our Blessed Lord healed many people, cast out demons, and preached to the people throughout all of Galilee. Certainly, these wonders are numerous in the Gospels, and any one of these miracles would make for a fruitful reflection for today. But I want to concentrate on one detail that is placed in the middle of these miracles that is truly a hidden gem for the spiritual life. Verse 35 reads:
“And in the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a lonely place, and there He prayed.” Mark 1:35
This verse is almost lost in a sea of wonders and signs done by Christ for the people of Galilee. But it represents an immensely important part of the interior life that Our Lord models for us. This is one of many verses spread throughout the Gospels in which Christ departs from the people and goes off to a solitary place to pray. This time, however, there are several details worth considering.
First, St. Mark records that Our Lord went out in the morning before it was day. This is to say, that He went out before dawn. One can imagine that it was probably still dark. Our Lord uses the first hours of His day to enter into prayer with the Father. He does this to set an example for us on how to begin our day with prayer. Traditionally, reflections on scripture and tradition instruct the faithful to give their ‘first fruits’ to God as seen in the story of Abel, the Just:
“In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought some of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard.” Genesis 4:3-4.
Here, we see Abel giving of his lambs, not just what came first but also the best. God was pleased with his offering. In the same way, we are called to give our first fruits, in the case of prayer, we ought to give the first fruits of our day to God through offering to Him the work of our day and thanking Him for sustaining us throughout the night.
Second, if we follow the timeline of St. Mark’s Gospel, we can see that the morning in which Our Lord goes out to commune with God is Sunday morning.1 It is through this practice that Our Lord foreshadows the liturgical practice of Mass being offered on Sundays.
Third, Our Lord leaves to a solitary place. From earlier in the reading, we know that He was staying at the home of Peter and Andrew and that people from all over Capernaum were coming to Him for miracles so much so that while He was at prayer, Peter came and found Him because the people were looking for Him. With all of this going on, Our Lord takes the time to find a solitary place to pray. He doesn’t do it in the view of everyone or show Himself in the Synagogue. He goes to a ‘lonely place.’ Again, this is to give us an example to follow. He instructs us to this end in the Gospel of Matthew as well:
“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6.
Finally, Christ exemplifies to us the need to go to prayer and be fed by the Lord prior to our work. No matter what we are called to do in our lives, we must be fed before we can do the work that God has called us to do. Simply, you cannot give to others what you don’t first possess. God continually calls us to prayer and the sacraments so that we can be fed on a daily basis for the work that He has set out for us to do.
This simple line from the Gospel of Mark is a profound yet, practical instruction for the faithful. God desires our first fruits, and, in return, He will give us the grace needed to multiply those fruits. Today, ask God for what you need so that you can fulfill what God is calling you to do in your life.
In previous verses, it makes mention of Christ teaching and casting out a demon on the Sabbath, which for the Jews, falls from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.