20260122 CRUSHED OR OVERWHELMED BY SUCCESS
22 January 2026, Thursday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Samuel 18:6-9,19:1-7 |
Saul's envy and Jonathan's loyal friendship
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
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.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
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.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
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?
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
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.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 3:7-12 |
He warned them not to make him known as the Son of God
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.
CRUSHED OR OVERWHELMED BY SUCCESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 18:6-9; 19:1-7; PS 56:2-3,9-14; MK 3:7-12]
When we are in danger of being crushed or overwhelmed, it is normal for us to react and safeguard ourselves. In the first reading, King Saul felt that he was losing control of his power and his kingdom. He was defending Israel against the Philistines, but no one was courageous enough to take them on except David. By allowing David to confront Goliath, Saul unwittingly opened the door to David’s rising ambition. After David defeated Goliath, he returned victorious, celebrated by the people: “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.'” This victorious welcome made King Saul nervous because he felt his popularity was waning.
It is part of our fallen human nature, like King Saul, to react with jealousy because of insecurity. Indeed, upon hearing and seeing how popular David was with the people, “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.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.” How true it is in life that insecurity, sparked by jealousy, consumes us. But this was not all. If we were Saul, we would be doubly crushed, because even his loved ones were bewitched by David. Saul’s heir, Jonathan, was so charmed by David that he gave him his robe as well as his armour, sword, bow, and belt (1 Sm 18:4). By doing so, Jonathan renounced his position as crown prince and transferred the right of succession to David. Indeed, Jonathan was completely devoted to David, even more than to his father. He loved David more than himself and sought to protect him from being harmed by his father. Even Saul’s daughter fell in love with David and eventually married him.
Of course, there were two sides to this story, and we must not blame Saul entirely. It is true that Saul was insecure and jealous, but David also showed himself to be aspiring to fame and power. Surely, David must have acted ambitiously, leading Saul to conclude that David was waiting to take the throne from him. Jealousy is often provoked not only by the insecurity of the person who feels threatened, but also by the actions of the one whose success, power, and popularity make others feel threatened. When these factors were present, Saul was overwhelmed with insecurity and jealousy at David’s success and feared that his crown would fall into David’s hands. Indeed, he said, “He has all but the kingship now.”
Unfortunately, instead of reflecting and processing his emotions, Saul allowed his insecurity to overwhelm him and reacted adversely.We all have our insecurities as well. In fact, many of us allow envy and jealousy to control us, turning those who are better than us into enemies. We cannot bear to play second fiddle to them; instead, we want to prove that we are better and stronger. Having initially supported David and regarded him as a great help and a source of joy, Saul soon became consumed by jealousy and began to view David as a threat and a danger. Instead of seeing him as a help and a potential successor, Saul could have found peace by mentoring him. The danger of jealousy is that it consumes us more than our competitor. Saul failed to manage his insecurity and did not use David’s success to strengthen his kingship. It was Saul, not David, who suffered and was crushed by jealousy because of his animosity. Indeed, David’s successful military expeditions could have been used to consolidate Israel as a nation and strengthen Saul’s position. However, in his tortured state of insecurity, Saul became obsessed with eliminating David, especially as he grew increasingly aware that “the Lord was with David” and not with himself (1 Sm 18:10, 12, 14).
In the final analysis, jealousy reveals our deepest love. Saul loved and served himself rather than Yahweh, the God of Israel. As king, he was meant to represent God to his people, yet he was more concerned with building his own kingdom than God’s. Indeed, we too must ask ourselves whether we can genuinely rejoice in the success of others, even when we are all working for God’s kingdom. Are we able to rejoice when a fellow colleague leads more people to Christ, or must it always be us rather than them? When we are unable to rejoice with those who rejoice and celebrate their success in ministry, it reveals that we are not truly serving God but ourselves. We become more invested in our own plans, our power and control, and our popularity, rather than embracing God’s plan and building His kingdom.
In contrast, Jonathan shows us what it means to put God first in our lives. He knew that his father’s kingdom was coming to an end and that David’s kingdom was on the rise, yet he gave David his full support. Rather than resenting David because of God’s anointing, Jonathan embraced God’s plan and stood by him wholeheartedly. Jonathan was gracious not only toward David; more importantly, he was concerned with the Lord’s kingdom above his own. This is what we are all called to do, especially when we feel pressure from competitors for our position. We too must ask ourselves sincerely: are we seeking to do God’s will and advance His kingdom, or are we merely protecting our own interests? Can we accept God’s plan in all things and surrender our own plans to Him, even when it means giving up our personal ambitions and interests for someone else whom the Lord has chosen to build His kingdom?
In the Gospel, we encounter Jesus, who was deeply conscious of His motives in ministry. St Mark notes that Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed Him. The reason for His withdrawal was likely that, after the incident in the synagogue, His life was in imminent danger. The religious leaders were not only hostile toward His ministry and preaching but were already seeking ways to destroy Him. Yet Jesus did not withdraw from the region altogether. Rather, He shifted His ministry to the lakeside, the open land, and the desert areas, where He could reach a greater number of people and continue His mission without hindrance. With one notable exception–His return to His hometown of Nazareth to preach in the synagogue (cf. Mk 6:1-6)–Jesus largely turned away from the synagogues, withdrawing from the institution that had long been the centre of Jewish religious and cultural life. This withdrawal signalled a deliberate change in His strategy, not a retreat from His mission.
It is noteworthy that although the multitude is mentioned three times in the passage, the people came mainly to touch the healer and be cured. They were drawn to Jesus because of His healing power, yet they had no real understanding of who He was. Jesus did not rebuke them for their self-interest; instead, He welcomed the crowds and sought to respond to their needs. To avoid being overwhelmed, He instructed His disciples to have a boat ready so that He could create some distance from the crowd. What is significant is that Jesus was not gratified by the sheer numbers attracted to Him. Rather, He remained reserved toward their enthusiasm. While crowds can appear to be a measure of success, they are often ambiguous. This serves as a reminder to those of us in ministry not to become overly preoccupied with numbers or the size of our congregations, programmes, or worship services. Attracting crowds is not the goal of ministry; leading people to the Lord is. Like our Lord, we must not allow visible success to distract us from genuine ministry, which is to attend faithfully to the real needs of people.
Indeed, Jesus refused to allow internal enemies, such as insecurity or the desire for popularity, or external enemies, like “unclean spirits,” to distract Him from His mission of leading people to know the true God and His message. Whenever “the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!'” He strongly warned them not to make Him known. Jesus remained focused on building His Father’s kingdom, not His own. Just as large crowds are no guarantee of true conversion, empty confessions of faith or formulaic prayers do not necessarily reflect genuine trust and commitment to Him. Therefore, let us treat external success and adulation with caution, so that our service to others remains authentic–leading them toward God’s kingdom, not our own.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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