DAILY- HOMILY

January 24, 2014 Friday 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time

1 Sm 24:3-21 /  Ps 57:2,3-4, 6, 11 / Mk 3:13-19

[Memorial, St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church] 

Reading: 1 Sm 24: 3-21

So Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel and went in search of David and his men to the east of the Wild Goat crags. When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he entered a cave to relieve himself. Now David and his men were far back in the cave. David's men said to him, "This is the day which Yahweh spoke of: look I will deliver your enemy into your hands and you will do with him as you see fit." So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul's robe. But afterward, David regretted having cut off an end of Saul's robe, and he said to his men, "Let me not lay my hands on my master, for he is Yahweh's anointed." With these words, David restrained his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way. Then David himself stepped out of the cave and called after Saul, "My master, the king!" When Saul looked back, David knelt and then bowed to the ground in homage and asked him, "Why do you listen to those who say that I want to harm you? Look, today you have seen that Yahweh delivered you into my hands in the cave, and I was told to kill you but I held myself back and I said: 'I will not lift my hands against my master who is Yahweh's anointed.' My father, look at this end of your robe which I am holding! I cut off the end of your robe but did not kill you. Now you may know that I mean you no harm or treason. I have done you no wrong and yet you are hunting me down to kill me. May Yahweh be judge between you and me and may he exact justice from you in my case, but I shall do you no harm. As the saying goes, 'From the wicked comes wickedness'; as for me, my hand shall not harm you. But who is it you are after, O king of Israel? Are you pursuing a dead dog? A flea? May Yahweh be judge between you and me. May he see and uphold my cause and deliver me from your hands." After David had spoken these words, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, my son David?" He wept aloud and said to David, "You are right and I am wrong, for you have repaid with kindness the harm I have inflicted on you. This day you have shown your righteousness to me by not taking my life when Yahweh put me into your hands. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go unharmed? May Yahweh reward you for what you have done for me today. Now I know for certain that you shall reign and the kingdom of Israel will be firm in your hand.              

Gospel: Mk 3:13-19

Then Jesus went up into the hill country and called those he want­ed and they came to him. So he appointed twelve to be with him; and he called them apostles. He wanted to send them out to preach, and he gave them authority to drive out demons. These are the Twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, which means "men of thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bar­tholo­mew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Al­pheus, Thaddeus, Si­mon the Cananean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

Reflection:

In today's first reading, David had the chance to kill Saul. Despite Saul's intention to hunt for him, he humbly paid him homage when they met. How many of us can face our tormentors with such grace and humility?  In so doing, David earned Saul's approval as God's anointed successor to his throne.  David gained Saul's respect. 

The two men appear to be in constant effort to be in tune with God's will for them. They read the signs that are available to them to decipher this. Even if they were serving the same God, they had their differences. How often do we find ourselves in conflict with people who share our goals--our loved ones, our work colleagues, and our friends. And how do we treat these people? To what extent do we become like Saul, hunting down the David in our lives? 

The invitation for us today is to re-consider the view we have of people who appear to make our lives harder, even our enemies. Let us then think how their goals are actually similar to ours. We might be working towards different outcomes, but what commonalities do we share? As we reflect upon this, let us echo St. Francis of Assisi's line in his prayer for peace, which goes: "Grant that we may not so much seek to be understood, as to understand."  And with this understanding, we can treat the other with a renewed honoring and respect. 

Prayer Requests

We pray …

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.

… for families who are in need of healing

     * Lorenzo Meoli

… for eternal repose

     * Esperanza Valenzona, Efren Garcia

… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:

   +================================================+

   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the

   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish

   |            http://www.marythequeen.org

   |  Distributed free and for personal use only. 

  +================================================+