Friday of the 2nd week in ordinary time
1 Sam. 24: 2-20 Mark 3: 13-19
Theme: Repaying evil with good
In the 1st reading of today from the first Book of Samuel, David teaches us that we must not repay evil with evil. Since his victory over Goliath, Saul has continued to go after him to take his life, because of his fear and insecurity. As things continue to unfold, David’s actions and words have shown that he has great regards for Saul and would not do anything to harm him, even though he is after his life. He still regards Saul as the Lords anointed and would never harm him in anyway. We see a very wonderful opportunity today in the cave, for David to take the life of Saul who has been searching for him with his soldiers to take his life. Interestingly, David refused to raise his hand against the Lords anointed, or even to give his men the command to kill Saul. He rather cut a part of his garment to prove to Saul that he would have killed him if he was truly after his life, like some people are telling Saul. With this proof presented by David, Saul apologized to David and used his mouth to proclaim that David would be a king, his greatest fear.
The action of David in the 1st reading of today is saying a lot to all of us as children of God. He teaches us that we should never repay evil for evil, but we should rather repay evil with good and allow God to fight our battle. It takes someone with great faith and the fear of God to come to this profound conclusion, given such a situation. Another point that comes out very clearly in the action of David is the fact that he still had the sense of the sacred, that is why he refused to harm Saul, knowing fully well that he is the Lords anointed, even with his atrocities. The 1st reading of today is inviting all of us to emulate the action of David in our dealings with one another.
Sometimes this may be very difficult, but we must trust on God’s grace and make honest effort to put it into practice in our lives. We also must be mindful of the way we relate with the Lords anointed. Just like the action of David has shown us, not because of them as individuals, but because of God who has chosen them as his ministers. If you feel things are not going the way they should, kindly keep them in your prayers and allow God to take it up from there. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.