20220128 REAPING WHAT WE SOW
28 January, 2022, Friday, Week 3 in Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Samuel 11:1-4,5-10,13-17 © |
David and Bathsheba
At the turn of the year, the time when kings go campaigning, David sent Joab and with him his own guards and the whole of Israel. They massacred the Ammonites and laid siege to Rabbah. David, however, remained in Jerusalem.
It happened towards evening when David had risen from his couch and was strolling on the palace roof, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David made inquiries about this woman and was told, ‘Why, that is Bathsheba, Eliam’s daughter, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ Then David sent messengers and had her brought. She came to him, and he slept with her. She then went home again. The woman conceived and sent word to David; ‘I am with child.’
Then David sent Joab a message, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite’, whereupon Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came into his presence, David asked after Joab and the army and how the war was going. David then said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and enjoy yourself.’ Uriah left the palace, and was followed by a present from the king’s table. Uriah however slept by the palace door with his master’s bodyguard and did not go down to his house.
This was reported to David; ‘Uriah’ they said ‘did not go down to his house.’ The next day David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk. In the evening Uriah went out and lay on his couch with his master’s bodyguard, but he did not go down to his house.
Next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. In the letter he wrote, ‘Station Uriah in the thick of the fight and then fall back behind him so that he may be struck down and die.’ Joab, then besieging the town, posted Uriah in a place where he knew there were fierce fighters. The men of the town sallied out and engaged Joab; the army suffered casualties, including some of David’s bodyguard; and Uriah the Hittite was killed too.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):3-7,10-11 © |
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
That you may be justified when you give sentence
and be without reproach when you judge,
O see, in guilt I was born,
a sinner was I conceived.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,
that the bones you have crushed may thrill.
From my sins turn away your face
and blot out all my guilt.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 4:26-34 © |
The kingdom of God is a mustard seed growing into the biggest shrub of all
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’
Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.
REAPING WHAT WE SOW
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Sm 11:1-10. 13-17; Ps 51:3-7,10-11; Mk 4:26-34]
St Paul in Galatians wrote, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” (Gal 6:7f) This teaching of St Paul sums up neatly the two readings of today. The first reading shows us the consequences of sowing evil and the gospel impresses upon us the results of doing good. In both instances, the principle of reaping what we sow, good or evil is the same.
The first reading from the book of Samuel focuses on David’s evil deeds, namely, his twin sin of adultery and murder. What a drastic turnaround from being a servant of the Lord, as narrated in yesterday’s readings, meticulously observing all the Laws of Moses and the fulfilment of God’s promises of blessings upon him and the house of David to one of disaster. Although he eventually acknowledged his guilt and asked for forgiveness, the evil could not be undone. The dynastic covenant’s promise remained, but the other blessings that flowed from the obedience to the Law were replaced by curses instead, including the loss of family and even exile. His sin not only impacted him and his family but the nation as well because the sins of a leader bring even greater consequences for all. This explains why a leader must always be conscious that his sins will have far reaching consequences beyond himself, unlike those of an ordinary person, where the impact would be much less.
Consequently, it is important for us to understand the nature of sin and evil. It grows by leaps and bounds once we allow sin to enter our lives. No one becomes evil overnight. Sin begins small. It begins with idleness. An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop. This was the case of King David. We read that “at the turn of the year, the time when kings go campaigning, David sent Joab and with him his own guards and the whole of Israel. They massacred the Ammonites and laid siege to Rabah. David however remained in Jerusalem.” Israel was still fighting the Ammonites who were causing trouble to the tribal territories of Gad and Manasseh. It was the best time for battle as the weather was dry and it was harvest time for the wheat and the barley which the soldiers could eat. But instead of going out with his men to eliminate the Ammonites, David remained behind in Jerusalem. He was too free and thus when we are lazy and slothful, doing nothing, the Evil One would begin to suggest to us what we could do.
From idleness, sin is conceived by a thought. “Towards evening when David had risen from his couch and was strolling on the palace roof, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.” Then “David made inquiries about this woman and was told, ‘Why, that is Bathsheba, Eliam’s daughter, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ Then David sent messengers and had her brought. She came to him, and he slept with her.” Sin comes through the lustful eye and conceives a thought in our mind, to desire, yearn and possess what we see as beautiful and satisfying. If David did not see, the thought would not have arisen. It is true again for the growing number of sexual crimes in society, that in spite of the heavy penalty for such crimes, people still continue to commit them. This is because society simply refuses to admit the fact that because we promote pornography, sensuality, subtle forms of pornography in the name of art and beauty, and promiscuity, that such sexual thoughts and desires are conceived in the minds of our young and old. It would be a matter of time when thought will give birth to action and sin. Like David, we forget our position and the dignity of people. Most probably, Bathsheba gave in to David because he was the king. David was ungrateful. He did not consider Uriah who was giving his life to fight the battle for him. Instead, he was manipulating the situation to have his wife.
But this is not the end of the story. When the devil leads us to one sin, we are led to a string of sins. Sin does not come singly. It has many offspring. To cover up our sin for fear of the consequences, we commit more sins. We begin to lie, to deceive and even to kill. After going home, Bathsheba conceived and sent word to David, “I am with child.” How did King David react? He had to hide his sin, otherwise his integrity would be questioned. There would be a big uproar over his sin of adultery, which deserves death according to the Law. (cf. Lev 20:10; Dt 22:22) So David, shrewd as he was, schemed to have Uriah brought back to sleep with his wife so that no one would suspect that the baby was his. But Uriah, faithful to his responsibility in the warfare, and faithful in his service to King David and God, would not contaminate himself by drinking or having sexual intimacy with his wife. In spite of the pressure from King David to return home and celebrate with his wife, Uriah refused to do so as an expression of his loyalty to God and solidarity with his men.
When such strategy fails, we become more desperate in covering up our sins. We get more devious, and often in our attempts to hide our crimes, we kill those whom we see as possible witnesses to what we had done. This happens very often in cases when killing of witnesses or potential threats to our security take place. So too, David was so desperate, he had Uriah sent to the battle front for him to be killed in service. In this way, no one would blame David.
Soon, we will see how the consequences of his sins unfold. It would cause the death of his son, the one conceived by Bathsheba. God would eventually punish his household, notwithstanding the promise to protect the dynasty of David for ever. The Lord reprimanded David, “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. 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 neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel.” (2 Sm 12:10-12)
What is true for sin is equally true for goodness as well. In the gospel, Jesus told us the parable of the seedling growing quietly by itself and the mustard seed flourishing into a big tree where all birds could settle. Jesus reminds us that every seed will grow gradually by itself according to the environment we provide. “A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, while he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how; he does not know.” If we nurture evil, then evil will grow to be stronger each day till we are numbed to sin and evil. But if we sow the good seed of virtue and truth, then eventually, “of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.” So we must be careful of what seeds we sow and what kind of ground we provide for the seed to grow.
Secondly, Jesus reiterates that everything begins small. “It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.” Evil or good will grow accordingly. We must therefore ask ourselves whether we are attracting people who are evil or selfish to our lives. We begin with an individual committing sin. But soon he will draw others to be his accomplices and collaborators in the sins he commits. We must be on the alert that we draw people to our virtues and not be a cause of scandal and a bad example to the young. Those of us who are leaders or are influential have greater accountability to God for how we set examples for those we lead. If we cause them to sin, then Jesus says, it is better that “a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!” (Mt 18:6f) “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all.” (Gal 6:9f)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
