20180129
A CHRIST-LIKE RESPONSE TO BETRAYAL AND
REJECTION
29 JANUARY, 2018, Monday, 4th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Samuel 15:13-14,30,16:5-13 ©
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A messenger came to tell David, ‘The hearts of the men of Israel
are now with Absalom.’ So David said to all his officers who were with him in
Jerusalem, ‘Let us be off, let us fly, or we shall never escape from Absalom.
Leave as quickly as you can in case he mounts a surprise attack and worsts us
and puts the city to the sword.’
David then
made his way up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, his head covered and
his feet bare. And all the people with him had their heads covered and made
their way up, weeping as they went.
As David was
reaching Bahurim, out came a man of the same clan as Saul’s family. His name
was Shimei son of Gera, and as he came he uttered curse after curse and threw
stones at David and at all King David’s officers, though the whole army and all
the champions flanked the king right and left. The words of his curse were
these, ‘Be off, be off, man of blood, scoundrel! the Lord has brought on you
all the blood of the House of Saul whose sovereignty you have usurped; and the
Lord has transferred that same sovereignty to Absalom your son. Now your doom
has overtaken you, man of blood that you are.’ Abishai son of Zeruiah said to
the king, ‘Is this dead dog to curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut
his head off.’ But the king replied, ‘What business is it of mine and yours,
sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse. If the Lord said to him, “Curse David,” what
right has anyone to say, “Why have you done this?”’ David said to Abishai and
all his officers, ‘Why, my own son, sprung from my body, is now seeking my
life; so now how much the more this Benjaminite? Let him curse on if the Lord
has told him to. Perhaps the Lord will look on my misery and repay me with good
for his curse today.’ So David and his men went on their way.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 3:2-8 ©
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Arise, Lord; save me, my God.
How many are my foes, O Lord!
How many are rising up against me!
How many are saying about me:
‘There is no help for him in God.’
Arise, Lord; save me, my God.
But you, Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, who lift up my head.
I cry aloud to the Lord.
He answers from his holy mountain.
Arise, Lord; save me, my God.
I lie down to rest and I sleep.
I wake, for the Lord upholds me.
I will not fear even thousands of people
who are ranged on every side against me.
Arise, Lord; save me, my God.
Arise, Lord; save me, my God.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 5:1-20 ©
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Jesus and his disciples reached the country of the Gerasenes on
the other side of the lake, and no sooner had Jesus left the boat than a man
with an unclean spirit came out from the tombs towards him. The man lived in
the tombs and no one could secure him any more, even with a chain; because he
had often been secured with fetters and chains but had snapped the chains and
broken the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him. All night and
all day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he would howl and gash himself
with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and fell at his
feet and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son
of the Most High God? Swear by God you will not torture me!’ – for Jesus
had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit.’ ‘What is your
name?’ Jesus asked. ‘My name is legion,’ he answered ‘for there are many of
us.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the district.
Now there
was there on the mountainside a great herd of pigs feeding, and the unclean
spirits begged him, ‘Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.’ So he gave them
leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the
herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there
they were drowned. The swineherds ran off and told their story in the town and
in the country round about; and the people came to see what had really
happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in
his full senses – the very man who had had the legion in him before –
and they were afraid. And those who had witnessed it reported what had happened
to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs. Then they began to implore
Jesus to leave the neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who
had been possessed begged to be allowed to stay with him. Jesus would not let
him but said to him, ‘Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in
his mercy has done for you.’ So the man went off and proceeded to spread
throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him. And everyone was
amazed.
A CHRIST-LIKE RESPONSE TO BETRAYAL AND REJECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 SM 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13; PS 3:2-8; MK 5:1-20 ]
In the first
reading, we read of the rebellion of Absalom, the son of David. He
went to Hebron where he had loyal friends to support him. He had been
strategizing to win the hearts of the people by his good looks, apparent care
for the poor, fighting for justice on their behalf, and putting himself in the
spotlight. At Hebron, he crowned himself King.
We can
imagine the sadness of King David when he heard that his own son was rebelling
against him.
We are reminded of King Lear who said, “Ingratitude! thou marble-hearted fiend,
more hideous when thy show’st thee in a child than the sea-monster.” Benjamin
Franklin once said, “Most people return small favors, acknowledge medium ones
and repay greater ones -with ingratitude.” Indeed, most of us have been
hurt by ingratitude and betrayal. When it is done by our loved ones, we
find it even more difficult to bear. Many parents suffer betrayal
and ingratitude from their children, especially in their old age.
Not only was
King David, now an old man, betrayed by his own son, but whilst fleeing from
Absalom, he also received uncalled for insults, adding injury to his
humiliating departure from the city of David. It was humiliating enough to
have him depart from his palace for safety. “David then made his way up
the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, his head covered and his feet
bare. And all the people with him had their heads covered and made their
way up, weeping as they went.” Along the way, he was misunderstood and
wrongly accused by Shimei, son of Gera. He “uttered curse after curse and
threw stones at David and at all King David’s officers, though the whole army
and all the champions flanked the king right and left.” In truth, David
had no part in Saul’s death.
What is
significant is the way David reacted to these events. Firstly, although
his son, Absalom, had committed treason and deserved death, he told his
officers and soldiers not to harm him in any way. “The king ordered
Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man
Absalom.” (2 Sm 18:5) He was deeply wounded by his son’s evil
deeds, but he continued to love him and sought for his repentance. He had
no intention of taking revenge but to restore order and justice.
Secondly,
David thought of his people more than himself even when he was bleeding in his
heart.
He put the people’s welfare and safety before his own. Instead of staying
back in Jerusalem and fighting head on with Absalom, he decided to flee to
avoid unnecessary bloodshed on innocent people should a civil war break
out. Weighing the costs of the battle, he withdrew. David
showed his wisdom by not saving his pride. He was courageous to back down
from his fight with Absalom for the sake of his people. Furthermore, when
he was fleeing, he even thought of those officers who were non-Jews, urging
them to go back to their homeland. He said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are
you also coming with us? Go back, and stay with the king; for you are a
foreigner, and also an exile from your home. You came only yesterday, and
shall I today make you wander about with us, while I go wherever I can? Go
back, and take your kinsfolk with you.” (2 Sm 15:19f)
Thirdly, in
response to the curses of Shimei, his response was one of compassion and
understanding. Instead of attacking his opponent in his hurt, he felt with
Shimei. He knew he was hurting as much as he himself was hurting by the
rebellion of Absalom. He knew that his curses were directed at him
in ignorance because he needed an avenue to articulate his pains. When an
officer wanted to teach him a lesson by cutting off his head, David replied,
“What business is it of mine and yours, son of Zeruiah? Let him
curse. If the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ what right has anyone to
say, Why have you done this?’ David said to Abishai and all his
officers, ‘Why, my own son, sprung from my body, is now seeking my life; so now
how much the more this Benjaminite?”
Fourthly, he
suffered his shame as an act of repentance and atonement for his sins. He said, “Let him
curse on if the Lord has told him to. Perhaps the Lord will look on my
misery and repay me with good for his curse today.” He felt he was paying
for his crimes of adultery and murder as predicted by the prophet Nathan.
“Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have
despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your
wife. Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you
from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and
give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of
this very sun.” (2 Sm 12:10f) He took his suffering as the consequence of
his sins. What he sowed was what he reaped.
Finally, he
continued to believe in God who is all merciful and just. He knew that in spite
of his sinfulness and mistakes, the Lord would never abandon him. He knew
that God would never leave him but such misfortune and trials were meant to
invite him to trust in God rather than his own strength. In order to
solicit God’s mercy, he refused to defend himself and rather allowed God to
work accordingly. His faith was expressed beautifully in the responsorial
psalm when he said, “How many are my foes, O Lord! How many are rising up
against me! How many are saying about me: ‘There is no help for him in
God.’ But you, Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, who lift up my
head. I cry aloud to the Lord. He answers from his holy mountain. I lie
down to rest and I sleep. I wake, for the Lord upholds me. I will not fear even
thousands of people who are ranged on every side against me. Arise, Lord;
save me, my God.”
When we
compare how David handled his suffering, we give praise to God for David had
certainly matured in his old age and grew to become more like Christ. In fact, the way
David dealt with the events mirrored and prefigured that of Christ. The
events suggest this. Like Jesus, David was betrayed not just by his son
but by one of his trusted officers, Ahithophel, who became a traitor by
supporting Absalom. (2 Sm 15:12) Eventually, like Judas, he hanged
himself. (2 Sm 17:23) King David’s passing by the river of Kidron
crying on his way to safety, (2 Sm 15:23)
reminds us of how Jesus “went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to a place where there was a garden” before he was confronted by His enemies. (Jn 18:1)
David, like Jesus, too was at the Mount of Olives. (2 Sm 15:30 cf Lk 22:39)
Again, that David was with a small group of followers on the hill-stop,
paralleled Jesus’ apostles who were with Him at the Mount of Olives. (2 Sm 15:32)
Finally, just as the general sought to defend David with his sword, one of the
disciples of Jesus “struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right
ear.” (Jn 18:10) But Jesus, like David, forbade them to take
revenge or act in violence. Jesus said, “’No more of this!’ And he
touched his ear and healed him.” (Jn 18:11)
From hindsight, we can understand why David foreshadowed in many ways the
kingship of Christ.
Indeed, in
today’s gospel we have a glimpse of Jesus’ understanding for those who rejected
Him. He too was asked to leave by the Gerasenes when He healed the man
who was possessed by a powerful unclean spirit. The people were non-Jews
and were fearful of such supernatural phenomenon. They could not help the
man and thus he was left at a cave away from the people as he was
unrestrainable. But Jesus showed that whilst the evil spirit was
powerful, God was even more powerful than the legion of spirits. He
demonstrated this fact by visibly allowing the inhabitants to see the power of
God by sending the spirits into the pigs. Even in the act of exorcism,
Jesus was merciful to the evil spirits because their time had not yet come to
be totally destroyed. He gave in to their request to be sent into the
pigs. Of course, the people were torn between getting rid of the evil
spirit and their attachment to their livelihood. They were not ready to
let go of their rice bowl to accept the God of Jesus. And Jesus
understood. He did not force them to accept Him or His Father because He
knew they were not yet ready. But He knew that He had already planted the
seed of faith in them. It would take time for them to acknowledge the God
and Father of Jesus Christ. He would wait.
In the meantime,
He told the man who was healed, ‘‘Go home to your people and tell them all
that the Lord in his mercy has done for you.’ So the man went off and
proceeded to spread throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for
him. And everyone was amazed.” Indeed, the seed of faith
would take time to be grounded and bear fruit. We must be patient with
those who are ungrateful to us, who misunderstand us even when we are good to
them, and who hurt us by their words and betrayal. Let us follow David
and Jesus in not retaliating but to accept our sufferings patiently for the
grace of God to work. St Peter wrote, “For it is better to suffer for
doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing
evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” (1 Pt 3:17f)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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