Year II

4th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday

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Today’s First Reading begs the question of what the big deal is if King David wants to do a census of his people. A leader would normally be within his rights to do so. However, almost immediately after the census, David realizes he has sinned and asks the Lord for forgiveness. Scholars debate here what the sin here was, but perhaps pride and vanity were involved, which is why David realized almost as soon as it was done that he’d acted wrongly. His commander Joab had tried to dissuade him, but David insisted; maybe Joab and his commanders knew that the people would take such a gesture badly, and ancient peoples also believed at the time that actions like a census made the king have a mysterious power over them and was an expression of ownership. It’s also true that a census is usually taken for taxation, allocation of resources, or to measure military strength with war in mind. It could also have been simply a way for David to flex what he thought was his absolute authority.

As David realizes and the Lord reminds him, his authority comes from the Lord and is at the service of the people. Authority bears responsibility, and when authority sins, it has an effect on the people who answer to that authority. Three possible punishments are offered, and each reflects a punishment related to a goal of the census: they would all impact the population and make the census useless, because people would die. In choosing David still tries to remain directly unaffected by what happens next: he chooses the shortest punishment, one that apparently would affect him the least, and once again realizes how horrible a decision he made when self-preservation was involved. By the time he asks the Lord to bring punishment upon himself  instead, the deed is already done and seventy thousand have died.

All our actions have consequences, and at times our pride can blind us to the long term ones. Let’s ask Our Lord to help us not abuse, out of vanity or pride, whatever gifts or duties he has entrusted to us.

Readings: 2 Samuel 24:2, 9–17; Psalm 32:1–2, 5–7; Mark 6:1–6. See also 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Monday, Thursday after Epiphany, and 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C.

4th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday

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The Gerasenes in today’s Gospel had tried to resolve the issue of the possessed man in the tombs  for a long time. They couldn’t subdue him, they couldn’t chain him up, they couldn’t silence him or even get near him. It’s not clear whether they could hear him crying out from their homes, but he was frequently in their thoughts as something beyond their comprehension and beyond their control. If swine herders lived nearby they were probably not Jewish, and had no idea of God, just the confused religion of many mysterious and fickle powers at play.

Then Our Lord comes into their life. The crazy man in the tombs is dressed and in his right mind, and evil spirits have driven a whole herd of swine into the water. After hearing testimony to the events they responded out of superstition, not faith. If Our Lord could do all this, he was to be feared even more. They didn’t want the unexplainable explained, they just wanted him gone and the unexplainable forgotten. The grace of God came and passed them by, but the Decapolis did hear, from the lips of the formerly possessed man himself, what the Lord had done for him.

We pride ourselves on being educated and knowing how the world works. Yet we can’t ignore that some times things happen that just don’t fit into our heads. Who do we turn to in those moments? Make them moments of faith and not moments of superstition. Our Lord reveals himself in those moments if we don’t shut him out.

Readings: 2 Samuel 15:13–14, 30, 16:5–13; Psalm 3:2–7; Mark 5:1–20. See also 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

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In today’s First Reading the Lord sends the prophet Nathan to David to see how sound David’s moral reasoning is, only to “hang him” with it. David sizes up perfectly the scenario of the rich man who takes the poor man’s only lamb instead of using one of his own to entertain a guest. In David’s time polygamy was practiced, and he had multiple wives, but Uriah the Hittite only had one. In committing adultery with Uriah’s wife David took what did not belong to him, and he didn’t give a thought to Uriah, except to murder him in order to cover up his sin, as we saw yesterday. David was fully aware of what he was doing, which made his sin even more serious.

Unlike Saul, who made an effort to justify his sin, David knew all his schemes to cover up what he had done were now revealed to be futile, and acknowledged his sin before the Lord. He was repentant for what he had done, but, as the First Reading also reminds us today, the effects of sin remain even when sins are forgiven. In Catholic teaching we call this the temporal effects of sin: Uriah is not coming back from the dead, nor the men that died alongside him in the battle, and now David’s child by Uriah’s wife is struck mortally ill as well.

Sin leaves its mark, even when we’re repentant for it. Even hardened sinners will admit to that. Let’s continue to detest sin in our lives, not just because of what it does to us, but because of what it does to others as well.

Readings: 2 Samuel 12:1–7a, 10–17; Psalm 51:12–17; Mark 4:35–41. See also 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, and Wednesday after Epiphany.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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Today’s First Reading reminds us that if, as we saw yesterday, we’re expected to shine before Our Lord, sin makes us want to keep things in the dark, but our conscience keeps a blazing spotlight on the wrong we have done. David should have been out on the military campaign with his troops, but instead he stays back and fools around with another man’s wife. Maybe he thought it would just stay as a one time fling, but she becomes pregnant. He tries to cover it up by making her husband Uriah go visit home when Israel is at arms, but Uriah doesn’t go. So instead of coming clean and bringing things to the light, he has Uriah killed in combat as another way to cover up what he has done.

Uriah, without saying a word or knowing anything about what happened, filled David with shame. Uriah had been faithful to his wife and his king. He had gone out in campaign when Israel had needed it, and he did not think of himself when visiting home. He wanted to show David his loyalty and fidelity by not going home to be with his wife when David and Israel needed him ready for battle. He probably did it also out of solidarity with all his brother soldiers who didn’t have an opportunity to be with their loved ones. His noble example screamed at David showing him everything he was supposed to be as king. Uriah’s reward was being murdered.

We’ve all had moments when our conscience has tried to be our guide, but we have ignored it. We’ve all had moments when someone’s good example has reminded us of how bad we’ve been. When we sin we betray our conscience, and it reminds us as we keep sinning that we’re only digging a deeper hole for ourselves until we come clean. Ask Our Lord for the grace to come clean and seek his mercy in the sacrament of Confession and your shame turn into peace of soul.

Readings: 2 Samuel 11:1–4a, 5–10a, 13–17; Psalm 51:3–7, 10–11; Mark 4:26–34. See also 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B and 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday

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Today’s First Reading shows the difference between how David lived his mission as king of Israel (and succeeded) and how Saul did (and failed): David sought to make the Lord shine in the presence of Israel by building a Temple for him, and Saul tried to make himself shine at the Lord’s expense by disobeying the Lord to score political points with Israel and giving the impression that the Lord approved. David was rewarded, as we saw yesterday, with the Lord’s promise of a house that would endure forever, in contrast the Saul being told by Samuel that his house was to end (and so it did).

David in today’s First Reading shows that he realizes his purpose is to second whatever the Lord asks of him as the key to a successful and happy life for him and for Israel. The Lord sees whether our hearts shine or not; appearances can only go skin deep. David realizes that the Lord took him from being nobody and made him king for the benefit of Israel, in service to the Lord; Saul became enslaved to public opinion and in so doing did not serve the Lord or Israel. In David’s prayer today he acknowledges how blessed Israel is to be the Lord’s people, not how lucky they are to have king David. If David asks that his house endure forever, it is only because the Lord promised it first; he would never have asked for it out of ambition. David didn’t seek for his house to endure forever, but the Lord promised it to him. Saul did a lot of bad things to try and make his house endure, and his house ended.

Let’s learn today from David’s prayer and attitude. Sometimes Our Lord in prayer helps to see what we should pray for and what we should not. That requires not just speaking in prayer, but listening as well. If we ask him to help us do whatever makes him shine in the eyes of men in service to them we know we’re on the right track. Let’s examine our lives today and see if there’s anything in them where we’re making ourselves shine at the Lord’s expense and to the disservice of our brothers and sisters. If we make him shine, if we give glory to him through our life, we will shine as well and serve others.

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:18–19, 24–29; Psalm 132:1–5, 11–14; Mark 4:21–25.