20240129 A CHRIST-LIKE RESPONSE TO BETRAYAL AND REJECTION
29 January 2024, Monday, 4th Week of Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Samuel 15:13-14,30,16:5-13 © |
David flees Absalom and is cursed by Shimei
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.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 3:2-8 © |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn17:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 5:1-20 © |
The Gadarene swine
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 they 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 His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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