20240131 SEEKING CONTROL
31 January 2024, Wednesday, 4th Week of Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Samuel 24:2,8-17 © |
David takes the guilt on himself to save Israel
King David said to Joab and to the senior army officers who were with him, ‘Now go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and take a census of the people; I wish to know the size of the population.’ Having covered the whole country, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. Joab gave the king the figures for the census of the people; Israel numbered eight hundred thousand armed men capable of drawing sword, and Judah five hundred thousand men.
But afterwards David’s heart misgave him for having taken a census of the people. ‘I have committed a grave sin’ David said to the Lord. ‘But now, Lord, I beg you to forgive your servant for this fault. I have been very foolish.’ But when David got up next morning, the following message had come from the Lord to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, ‘Go and say to David, “The Lord says this: I offer you three things; choose one of them for me to do to you.”’
So Gad went to David and told him. ‘Are three years of famine to come on you in your country’ he said ‘or will you flee for three months before your pursuing enemy, or would you rather have three days’ pestilence in your country? Now think, and decide how I am to answer him who sends me.’ David said to Gad, ‘This is a hard choice. But let us rather fall into the power of the Lord, since his mercy is great, and not into the power of men.’ So David chose pestilence.
It was the time of the wheat harvest. The Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning till the time appointed and plague ravaged the people, and from Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of them died. The angel stretched out his hand towards Jerusalem to destroy it, but the Lord thought better of this evil, and he said to the angel who was destroying the people, ‘Enough! Now withdraw your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was beside the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel who was ravaging the people, he spoke to the Lord. ‘It was I who sinned;’ he said ‘I who did this wicked thing. But these, this flock, what have they done? Let your hand lie heavy on me then, and on my family.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 31(32):1-2,5-7 © |
Forgive, Lord, the guilt of my sin.
Happy the man whose offence is forgiven,
whose sin is remitted.
O happy the man to whom the Lord
imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no guile.
Forgive, Lord, the guilt of my sin.
But now I have acknowledged my sins;
my guilt I did not hide.
I said: ‘I will confess
my offence to the Lord.’
And you, Lord, have forgiven
the guilt of my sin.
Forgive, Lord, the guilt of my sin.
So let every good man pray to you
in the time of need.
The floods of water may reach high
but him they shall not reach.
Forgive, Lord, the guilt of my sin.
You are my hiding place, O Lord;
you save me from distress.
You surround me with cries of deliverance.
Forgive, Lord, the guilt of my sin.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 6:1-6 © |
'A prophet is only despised in his own country'
Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
SEEKING CONTROL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 SM 24:2, 8-17; PS 32:1-2,5-7; MK 6:1-6]
In the first reading, King David ordered a census of his people. Joab, his military commander, did his bidding and reported to him the figures for the census. However, “afterwards David’s heart misgave him for having taken a census of the people. ‘I have committed a grave sin,’ David said to the Lord.” What was this sin? For us, it is not too clear because in our times, census is important for policy planning. But during the time of King David, taking the census of the people was tantamount to assuming the authority that was not given to him. The people of Israel belonged to Yahweh. Only He alone knew the number of people He had. But more than just going beyond the authority vested in him, this action was an expression of David seeking to control the situation instead of trusting in God. He should have trusted in God to protect His people. He thought that with numbers, he would be able to defend the nation against his enemies. But in truth, God does not need numbers. During the time of Moses and the judges, God showed His power in helping Israel to fend off her enemies with just a small number of men. God showed Himself as the Commander-in-Chief of Israel.
In the gospel, the townsfolk of Jesus also could not accept Him. He was too ordinary and only the son of a carpenter. Furthermore, they knew Him as a child. They said, “‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him.” Once again, they sought to measure Jesus according to human reckoning. Yet, they could not deny what they heard about Him. They were astonished when they heard Him preach so eloquently. They heard about His miracles and wisdom. Instead of taking Jesus as He is, they considered Jesus as He was.
The truth is that God is in control. This is the lesson we can learn from their mistakes. We cannot control every situation in life. Every life is open to God’s grace. And if we are open to God’s grace, miracles can happen. Indeed, many of us came from unfortunate backgrounds, or dysfunctional families, yet, we turned out to be better than what sociologists and psychologists often say of such people. Then there are many who came from rich, influential and educated backgrounds, but they turned out to be failures in life, suffer broken marriages, fragmented families, and some, although successful in business and work, landed in jail for the crimes they committed. Nothing is fated in life. We do not need to feel that our past or our disadvantaged background or upbringing will constrain us from being happy and fruitful in life. It is a matter of responding to the grace of God, which is within our capacity. We are in control within the plan of God. But God wants us to cooperate with His grace. He will supply us the necessary graces to do much more that we can imagine.
This was certainly the case of our Lord. He was an ordinary man. He was a common man because He lived as a common worker. He operated within the limits of His humanity. But He was receptive to the grace of God. The Holy Spirit worked in and through Him. As a consequence, He was able to do things, perform miracles, read the hearts of people, and the capacity to know the heart of His Father. The gospel tells us that He grew in age and wisdom. He began by asking questions of the religious leaders in the Temple when He was only twelve years old. He was willing to learn like any normal child. He prayed and contemplated in the desert. He spent time regularly with His Father in the desert and in the mountains to seek His will and to bask in His love. Jesus surrendered His life to His Father. He sought to do His will and allowed His Father to determine His life and His fate, even to die on the cross for the salvation of humanity. Jesus, knowing that the cross was the will of His Father, accepted it in obedience, even unto death.
However, when we do not trust God and cooperate with His grace, we bring consequences, firstly for ourselves. We read that because of their lack of faith, Jesus “could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them.” They lost the opportunity to learn about the mercy of God and, most of all, the healings they could have received. Indeed, at the end of the day, we must remember that to reject the prophet of God, to reject the grace of God, we are the ultimate losers. Pride will cause us to lose the blessings of God destined for us through His appointed agents. This is why Jesus was not affected by the rejection of His people. He lost nothing except to feel sad for His townsfolk. They were the losers because Jesus came to offer them the Good News which they rejected. In saying these words, “A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house”, we can feel Jesus’ regret for them.
But our decisions also have repercussions beyond ourselves to those people under our care. David, upon realizing his mistake, knew it was too late. He had to face the consequences of his actions. God asked David to choose one of the three penalties. “David chose pestilence.” Regardless of his choice, he suffered much, not just personally, but it pained him to see the people suffering with him because of his arrogance. He came to realize that as a leader, his mistake would not just cause him to suffer but all under him as well. As leaders, our decisions and actions have consequences for the larger community. We must never forget that the decisions we make will affect all those under our care, now, and those in the future. This is particularly true of political and religious leaders, including parents and guardians. Leaders and guardians must therefore consider carefully their words, actions, decisions and conduct, as these have untold consequences.
Yet, the final word in today’s scripture readings is that in spite of our ignorance, lack of faith and trust in God, He is always merciful. David, for all his mistakes, never doubted God’s mercy, and even when he suffered the consequences of his sins, he continued to believe in God’s mercy. When asked to choose the punishment from God for his sin, he was offered three years of famine, or three months under the pursuit of his enemy, or three days of pestilence, he chose the last. This was because David reasoned out, “This is a hard choice. But let us rather fall into the power of the Lord, since his mercy is great, and not into the power of men.” David knew that whilst men could not be trusted, and he knew how evil men could become, he preferred to rely on God’s mercy and surrendered his life to Him than to men.
David of course was not wrong. God’s mercy was revealed later. “The Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning till the time appointed and plague ravaged the people, and from Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of them died. The angel stretched out his hand towards Jerusalem to destroy it, but the Lord thought better of this evil, and he said to the angel who was destroying the people, ‘Enough! Now withdraw you hand.” God is always merciful. He is a God of mercy and compassion. He is ever ready to relent and forgive when we repent, when our hearts are truly remorseful. God does not desire our death but He wants us to live. His punishment is meant to awaken us to the truth and walk the way of love and faith. God does not desire us to suffer, just as no parent wants their children to suffer even when they punish them for their mistakes. The punishment is to help them to repent of their mistakes.
Hence, today, if we come to realize our mistakes, whether present or in the past, all we need to do is to be like the psalmist who said, “Forgive, Lord, the guilt of my sin. But now I have acknowledged my sins; my guilt I did not hide. I said: ‘I will confess my offence to the Lord.’ And you, Lord, have forgiven the guilt of my sin. So let every good man pray to you in the time of need. The floods of water may reach high but him they shall not reach.” Truly, God is ultimately in control of our lives. He will write straight in crooked lines. He will bring good out of evil. He will give us a new beginning. All our past is forgotten. He wants us to trust in His love and mercy. We must surrender our lives into His hand, cooperate with His grace, trusting in His mercy and love when we fail. But we should not fall into despair.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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