20220113 TEMPTATION TO A SUPERSTITIOUS FAITH
13 January, 2022, Thursday, Week 1 in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Samuel 4:1-11 © |
Israel is defeated and the ark of God is captured
It happened at that time that the Philistines mustered to fight Israel and Israel went out to meet them in battle, encamping near Ebenezer while the Philistines were encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up their battle line against Israel, the battle was hotly engaged, and Israel was defeated by the Philistines and about four thousand of their army were killed on the field. The troops returned to the camp and the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord allowed us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of our God from Shiloh so that it may come among us and rescue us from the power of our enemies.’’ So the troops sent to Shiloh and brought away the ark of the Lord of Hosts, he who is seated on the cherubs; the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, came with the ark. When the ark of the Lord arrived in the camp, all Israel gave a great shout so that the earth resounded. When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, ‘What can this great shouting in the Hebrew camp mean?’ And they realised that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. At this the Philistines were afraid; and they said, ‘God has come to the camp.’ ‘Alas!’ they cried ‘This has never happened before. Alas! Who will save us from the power of this mighty God? It was he who struck down Egypt with every kind of plague! But take courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been slaves to you. Be men and fight.’ So the Philistines joined battle and Israel was defeated, each man fleeing to his tent. The slaughter was great indeed, and there fell of the Israelites thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured too, and the two sons of Eli died, Hophni and Phinehas.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 43(44):10-11,14-15,24-25 © |
Redeem us, O Lord, because of your love.
Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us;
you no longer go forth with our armies.
You make us retreat from the foe
and our enemies plunder us at will.
Redeem us, O Lord, because of your love.
You make us the taunt of our neighbours,
the laughing-stock of all who are near.
Among the nations, you make us a byword,
among the peoples a thing of derision.
Redeem us, O Lord, because of your love.
Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep?
Arise, do not reject us for ever!
Why do you hide your face
and forget our oppression and misery?
Redeem us, O Lord, because of your love.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:88 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Mt4:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 1:40-45 © |
The leprosy left the man at once, and he was cured
A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.
TEMPTATION TO A SUPERSTITIOUS FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 4:1-11; MK 1:40-45]
What does it mean when we say that someone has a superstitious faith? It means that the person believes that he can control nature and events through the manipulation of the supernatural, sometimes, using objects and charms. This was the case of the Israelites in their relationship with God, especially in their battle with the Philistines. In the first battle against the Philistines, “the battle was hotly engaged, and Israel was defeated by the Philistines and about four thousand of their army were killed on the field.” That gave them a real cause of concern. “The troops returned to the camp and the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord allowed us to be defeated today by the Philistines?”
Clearly, they did not reflect deeply enough on the significance of their failure in the battle against the Philistines. We note how superficial their diagnosis of their setback was. Not only the army, but the elders themselves were blind to the reality of their moral life and their relationship with God. Instead of asking themselves whether it could be their failure to keep their covenantal relationship with God that God was punishing them so that they might come to realize that without God they could not win any battle, their immediate reaction was that the Ark of God was not with them. They would have remembered how their forefathers during the time of Moses and Joshua, conquered their enemies because the Ark was with them. (Jos 6)
Hence, their solution was to do the same as their forefathers did. “Let us fetch the ark of our God from Shiloh so that it may come among us and rescue us from the power of our enemies.’ So the troops sent to Shiloh and brought away the ark of the Lord of hosts, he who is seated on the cherubs; the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, came with the ark.” They were sadly mistaken to treat the Ark as if it was a magic charm for protection. They were bordering on idolatry and the superstitious practices of the pagans. Like them, they thought that they could control God through the use of religious objects like the Ark.
Yet, the power of the Ark did not lie on the Ark itself but on the presence of God. The Ark was a sacramental presence of the glory of God. With the Ark, the people would remember that God was with them in their midst so that they would not fear their enemies. But the Ark was also the centre of their life and activities. Their whole life was to be cantered on Yahweh and everything revolved around the Ark representing the presence of God. This also helped them to remember their covenantal relationship with God and to live the covenant in their life, especially observing the commandments of Moses in their relationship with their fellowmen. The Ark was never meant to be an object for use, to be manipulated but for reverence and for strengthening their relationship with God.
Ironically, even the Philistines recognized the symbolic presence of the Ark. “When the ark of the Lord arrived in the camp, all Israel gave a great shout so that the earth resounded.” When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they realized “that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. At this the Philistines were afraid; and they said, God has come to the camp.’ ‘Alas!’ they cried ‘This has never happened before. Alas! Who will save us from the power of this mighty God? It was he who struck down Egypt with every kind of plague!” They knew that it was not the Ark that has power but what the Ark symbolized, namely the presence and power of God with His people. With God on the side of the Israelites, they would surely lose the battle. But since, it was a question or do or die, they said to their men, “But take courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been slaves to you. Be men and fight.’ So the Philistines joined battle and Israel was defeated, each man fleeing to his tent. The slaughter was great indeed, and there fell of the Israelites thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured too, and the two sons of Eli died, Hophni and Phinehas.”
Alas, the truth was that the elders, the priests and the people were not with God and so God abandoned them and delivered them into the hands of the Philistines. Their life was not in order. They were corrupt and living for themselves. They abused their power and authority. They were living immoral lives and causing scandals among the people. As a consequence, when even the priests and the elders were corrupt, the whole country fell into moral decadence. God would not identify with them and certainly He would not even sacrifice His honour by winning the battle for them as it would only endorse their wicked deeds. God preferred to let their enemies win and allow them to think that the God of Israel was less powerful than their pagan deity, Dagon.
As a consequence, not only did the sons of Eli who carried the Ark of the Covenant die, but the Ark was captured, and the priest, Eli, died upon hearing that the Ark was taken by the Philistines. That was too much for him to behold. “The messenger replied, ‘Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.’ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. (1 Sm 4:17f)
But that was not all, “his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth; for her labour pains overwhelmed her. As she was about to die, she named the child Ichabod, meaning, ‘The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.'” The birth of the child and the death of his daughter-in-law was in direct contrast to the birth of Samuel and his mother, Hannah, who rejoiced when she gave birth.
In the gospel, Jesus reaffirmed that it is faith in Him that we are healed and restored. The leper was cut off from society and he was going through a slow death. The leper knew that the power to heal comes from the Lord. He could only request. He could not force the Lord to heal him. And so, he asked humbly, “‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.'” He knew that Jesus could heal Him just by uttering the word. He did not need any object or charms. The leper’s relationship with the Lord was one of faith and trust. The Lord was of course merciful. He responded to him with great empathy. “Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course, I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured.”‘ The Lord touched him. He could have just healed him without touching him and cause himself to be infected with the illness. But the Lord wanted to give him His personal touch. He saw the need to embrace him and welcome him back to the community.
Nevertheless, healing requires authentication. Hence, Jesus immediately sent him away to be confirmed by the authorities. It was important that the man confirm his healing by presenting himself before the priest. Having been touched by the Lord, he could no longer keep the joy to himself. “The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.” Unfortunately, the need for a personal faith is often replaced by an I-It relationship, instead of an I-Thou relationship. This is why the Lord told him, “Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.” But he did not keep quiet and people came to Jesus only for healing, not for a relationship with him. Such faith still needs to grow. It is only incipient.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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