2 Timothy 3 : 10-17 / Mark 12 : 35-37
We might wonder why the people were delighted with what Jesus said.
What was it that seemed to be like good news to them?
The topic of discussion was the title "the Christ" which means the anointed one.
The title was closely connected to another title "son of David".
At that time the religious authorities maintained that the Christ must necessarily be a direct descendant of King David.
However the problem was that King David's direct line of descendants was already terminated when the Persians conquered Judah.
So there was this question about the Christ being the son of David because the possibility was almost non existent.
So when Jesus quoted the psalm from David and explained it, He cleared the confusion and doubts the people had in their minds.
That was why they were delighted, because they could now believe again.
We too have out questions about life, about the existence of God, about suffering and about eternal life.
St. Paul said in the 1st reading that anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be attacked, and that he had his share of it.
But St. Paul told Timothy that the Lord has rescued him from every persecution and difficulty.
May the faith of St. Paul and the faith of those characters in the Bible inspire us in our faith and give us hope in our doubts and difficulties.