Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News. 2 TIM 1:10
1 SAMUEL 18:6-9,19:1-7
My Soul's Beloved,
We see in this First Reading the whole gamut of human emotions, both good and bad. When acted upon, the fruit of thoughts has the power to either make us noble and wise or blackguards and murderers. Envy, a deadly sin, is sister to another deadly sin, pride. Saul ought to have known better; not only was he anointed by God as king to rule over his people, but he also ought to have been grateful to David for his hand in destroying the enemy and winning for Israel a great victory. Instead, when the women praised David as Saul, he and the army returned in triumph, his heart became bitter with envy, and he plotted evil against him.
So arrogant was Saul that he made known to all, including his son, Jonathan, that he intended to kill David. He had no idea how dearly Jonathan loved David and revealed his father's deadly plot to him. Interceding passionately on David's behalf, he won a reprieve for David, and he returned to live and attend to the king once more.
Are we brave enough to speak truth to those in power? Jonathan teaches us that we ought to speak up and defend those who are unable to defend themselves. David teaches us faith and trust in God, no matter how impossible the situation we face may be. For You, O Lord, fight our battles for us; we only need to be still and trust You.
Saul made oaths many times not to harm David, and each time he broke them in his murderous jealousy of him. So too do we. When things get difficult, we make time to pray, and make many promises that if You help us, O Lord, we will reform our way of living. Once all is well, we go back to old ways and old habits, and before long, we have forgotten completely all that You have done for us until the next trial and suffering.
Help me, Lord, to keep my gaze on You in all circumstances and to trust You always to take care of everything in my life, the good, the bad, the difficult, the sorrowful, and the joyful. Thank You, Beloved.
On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang:
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’
Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.
PSALM 55(56):2-3,9-14
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang:
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’
Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.
PSALM 55(56):2-3,9-14
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.
You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
(are they not written in your book?)
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.
You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
(are they not written in your book?)
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
MARK 3:7-12
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
By this time in Your ministry, You had become well known as You went everywhere preaching, teaching, and healing. Aside from the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who saw You as a threat to the status quo, the people thronged about You wherever You went. When You entered a town or a village, word of Your arrival spread like wildfire, and they came bringing their sick in heart, mind, and soul, looking to touch You, be touched by You, and be healed.
Unlike people with a celebrity-like status in the world, You did not seek the crowds but often withdrew from them with Your disciples as You did on this occasion as well. You were at the lakeside with them when people came pouring in from different places. You asked for a boat, so You get into it and preach and teach from there, for the crowd pressing around You would have crushed You as they pressed around You.
The boat with You in it is symbolic of the Church You founded with You at its head and with Peter and the other disciples. It is not enough to go to healing conferences, praise and worship prayer meetings, and listen to preaching that stir up religious fervor momentarily. No. We are called to repent, to be baptized, to receive the Sacraments, to obey God's Law, follow the teachings of Holy Mother Church, live the Beatitudes, and be a blessing to each other. Most of us come to You for what we can get from You, Lord, but when we are faced with the cross and with suffering, many of us slink away. Yet, there is no other way to get to the Kingdom of God than to pick up our cross daily, knowing You carry it with us, and follow You.
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
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