20200121
IS
YOUR HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE?
21 January,
2020, Tuesday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
These are the readings for the feria
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First reading
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1
Samuel 16:1-13 ©
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Jesse's youngest son David
is anointed king
The Lord said to
Samuel, ‘How long will you go on mourning over Saul when I have rejected him as
king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of
Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel replied,
‘How can I go? When Saul hears of it he will kill me.’ Then the Lord said,
‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite
Jesse to the sacrifice, and then I myself will tell you what you must do; you
must anoint to me the one I point out to you.’
Samuel
did what the Lord ordered and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came
trembling to meet him and asked, ‘Seer, have you come with good intentions
towards us?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify
yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ He purified Jesse and his sons
and invited them to the sacrifice.
When
they arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed
one stands there before him’, but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of
his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man
sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse then
called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, ‘The Lord has not chosen
this one either.’ Jesse then presented Shammah, but Samuel said, ‘The Lord has
not chosen this one either.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but
Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse,
‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the
youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send
for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a
boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said,
‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil
and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord
seized on David and stayed with him from that day on. As for Samuel, he rose
and went to Ramah.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
88(89):20-22,27-28 ©
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I
have found David, my servant.
Of
old you spoke in a vision.
To
your friends the prophets you said:
‘I
have set the crown on a warrior,
I
have exalted one chosen from the people.
I
have found David, my servant.
‘I
have found David my servant
and
with my holy oil anointed him.
My
hand shall always be with him
and
my arm shall make him strong.
I
have found David, my servant.
‘He
will say to me: “You are my father,
my
God, the rock who saves me.”
And I
will make him my first-born,
the
highest of the kings of the earth.’
I
have found David, my servant.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:18
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Open
my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider
the
wonders of your law.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.Ep1:17,18
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
May
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten
the eyes of our mind,
so
that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark
2:23-28 ©
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The sabbath was made for
man, not man for the sabbath
One sabbath day,
Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples
began to pick ears of corn as they went along. And the Pharisees said to him,
‘Look, why are they doing something on the sabbath day that is forbidden?’ And
he replied, ‘Did you never read what David did in his time of need when he and
his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God when
Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of offering which only the priests
are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him?’
And
he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; the
Son of Man is master even of the sabbath.’
IS YOUR HEART IN
THE RIGHT PLACE?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 SM 16:1-13; PS 89:20-22, 27-28; MK 2:23-28 ]
How do we choose a
leader? What qualities do we look for in a leader? Many people base it on external
criteria. We examine his credentials, his academic degrees, his
past experiences and his track record. Some of us are easily impressed by
the way the person presents himself, his eloquence, his diplomacy, even his
appearance and physique. This was the way Samuel went about choosing a
new leader to replace Saul. He went to Jesse to offer a sacrifice to the
Lord and to anoint the new successor to King Saul. He asked for the sons
of Jesse. As in the last selection of Saul, Samuel was again looking for
someone impressive in appearance and height. He “caught sight of Eliab
and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him.'”
But God made it clear
that these qualities, although useful assets for a leader, are not the most
important. He said, “Take no
notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not
see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the
heart.” What is even more important in leadership is that those who
are leaders have their heart in the right place. Otherwise, the more
intelligent and smart they are, the more they will use their ingenuity and
talents to enrich themselves, serve their interests and those that support
him. They are not there to serve the people’s interests or put their
interests before their own. Indeed, we have many political, corporate and
religious leaders who are intelligent, talented and resourceful, but they are
ambitious and yearn for power, glory, status and wealth. It is not about
helping to better the lives of the people they serve.
That was the reason why
God chose the youngest son of Jesse, David. He was not even among his siblings when the
selection began. He was out in the field tending the sheep. Perhaps
the father thought he was too young and insignificant. Precisely, God in
the final analysis sees the heart of the person. If the heart is in the
right place, skills and talents can be cultivated and a person will do well
because his passion is in the right place. When there is a will, there is
a way. When we are focused and our heart is for the good of the people,
God will provide us the grace to lead His people. He will supply what is
lacking.
This was the case of the
early Church as well in the choice of leaders. St Paul wrote, “Consider your own call,
brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human
standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is
weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and
despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that
are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.”
(1 Cor 1:26-29)
This was true in the
case of Samuel too. God chose Samuel as the judge of Israel because of
his docility and obedience to the Word of God. When God rejected Saul, Samuel was
disheartened. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you go on mourning
over Saul when I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with
oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen
myself a king among his sons.” Samuel was reluctant because he feared the
retaliation of King Saul. He replied, “How can I go? When
Saul hears of it he will kill me.” When the Lord provided him a solution,
he did what the Lord asked of him. He was always docile to the Lord’s
prompting even in the choice of David when he thought others were more impressive.
The Lord said, “I myself will tell you what you must do; you must anoint to me
the one I point out to you.” This was why the Lord loved Samuel and chose
him to be the last judge of Israel.
This does not mean that
the leader is perfect.
In fact, he could have many faults as well. Samuel did not manage to
control his sons. Perhaps as a father, he was too weak and gentle to rein
in the sons’ to walk the right path. His sons brought down the
reputation of Judges. It was partly because of them that the people sought
to have a king to replace the rule of the judges. David, too, was not
that perfect. He was the ideal king but not one without human
frailties. He was tempted by the sin of lust. He slept with
Bathsheba and even murdered her husband, Uriah by dispatching him to the battle
front just to protect his name. (cf 2 Sm 11) Later on, he sinned again by
disobeying God in calling for a census to be taken of his people. Instead
of relying on God, he relied on the numbers of his people. In fact, Joab
said to the king, “May the Lord your God increase the number of the
people a hundredfold, while the eyes of my lord the king can still see it! But
why does my lord the king want to do this?” (Cf 2 Sm 24)
What is edifying about
Samuel and David was that they were humble in recognizing their failures and
asked for forgiveness. They
repented of their sins and strived to walk in the way of the Lord. When
David was confronted by the prophet Nathan, instead of exonerating and
defending his evil deed, in humility, David said, “I have sinned against the
Lord.” (2 Sm 12:13) He accepted the punishment
from God without resentment. When his son died, “Then David rose from the
ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the
house of the Lord, and worshiped.’ (2 Sm 12:20) It was too in the case
of the census as well. When he realized his mistake, he immediately asked
for forgiveness and accepted the consequences of his actions. “David was
stricken to the heart because he had numbered the people. David said to the
Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, I pray you,
take away the guilt of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.'” (2 Sm 24:10)
This was certainly not
in the case of the Pharisees who criticized the Lord’s disciples for picking
ears of corn for their consumption when they were hungry. For the Pharisees, what was all important
was that the Law was followed. It did not matter whether the people were
hungry or not. But Jesus made it clear that “the Sabbath was made
for man, not man for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is master even of the
Sabbath.” Laws are meant to help the people to order their priorities in
life. Work is not the ultimate end of life. They are means to
develop the potentials of the human person and to contribute to the common good
of all beginning with their families. So the Sabbath was implemented to remind
the people that there are more important things in life than work only.
Rather, it was to develop relationships, strengthen bonds with our fellowmen
and make time for God. Love and relationship with God and our fellowmen
is the ultimate meaning of life.
However, our heart is
not in the right place when we are more concerned with work so that we can be
rich, powerful and famous; or when we are more concerned with the
implementation of the laws just to feel that we are righteous and
disciplined. Jesus,
in providing us the example of how David and his soldiers consumed the Holy
Bread meant for the priests from the tabernacle when they were hungry, is
calling us to put our hearts in the right place. We should be more
concerned about the good of our people than just mere observance of the
laws. We should not just be keeping the letter of the law but more
importantly, the spirit of the laws.
We must therefore always
ensure that our hearts are in the right place if we want to be successful as
leaders. We do not need to
be very talented and brilliant. God uses ordinary people like the
apostles to proclaim the gospel to the world. What is required of us is
our docility to His word, obedience to His commandments, and always at His
service and that of our people. As St Teresa of Calcutta reminds
us, we should seek to be faithful. If we are faithful in whatever we do,
and whatever the Lord appoints us to do, in whichever place He assigns, we only
need to trust Him. Let us do well and God will eventually raise us up to
a higher level when the time comes. So what we do now is a preparation
for future leadership.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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