David defeated Goliath and fought in service of King Saul but Saul missed the point and was consumed by envy and anger. He should have been grateful to David for delivering the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines. Let us pray to the Lord that we be guarded from the malice of sin (Pride, envy, lust, anger, gluttony, avarice and sloth) and truly live a life after Christ. Today's 1st reading also speaks of Jonathan who interceded in David's behalf and thus was spared his life. It demonstrates to us the power of intercession and encourages us to do the same for our fellow brothers and sisters. We are all called to pray and intercede for each other. Even those people whom we never had the chance of knowing personally. In turn we should also thank God for using people as an instrument to save us from every danger. We can not deny that we have witnessed God's intervention in our life through people that we can consider as Jonathan just like in today's first reading. Amen. Hallelujah!
1st book of Samuel 18,6-9.19,1-7.
...Saul discussed his intention of killing David with his son Jonathan and with all his servants. But Saul's son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, told him: "My father Saul is trying to kill you. Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning; get out of sight and remain in hiding. I, however, will go out and stand beside my father in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you. If I learn anything, I will let you know...Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “Let not your majesty sin against his servant David, for he has committed no offense against you, but has helped you very much by his deeds. 5 When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel through him, you were glad to see it. Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed.”...
We only rely on people whom we can depend and whom we know are trustworthy. We are just setting ourselves for a disappointment if we risk trusting people whom we know can not deliver. Even if they are dependable enough there are some instances when things still do not work out the way it should. We just can't get total control and charge of everything no matter how perfect things may seem to be. This is because we have limited knowledge, capacities and resources no matter how hard we push ourselves to our maximum level. Our limitations show how imperfect we are and we can only make all things perfect and beautiful if we walk in the presence of God. He has gifted us with so many wonderful things in this world. We have the gift of friends and the company of our fellow brothers and sisters who all belong in this great and big family that God has provided us. If those people close to us and even those whom we don't know can intercede and pray for us then there is nothing we should be afraid of. Not even the scariest thing, person or element in this world should make us doubt that God is over and above all things in this world. Let us be firm in our belief that no harm can come before us if we stay on God’s side. If God is with us who could be against us? Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 56:2-3, 9-10a, 10b-12, 13-14
R: In God I trust; I shall not fear.
1 [2] Have mercy on me, O God, for men trample upon me; all the day they press their attack against me...9 [10] Now I know that God is with me. 10 [11] In God, in whose promise I glory, 11 [12] in God I trust without fear; what can flesh do against me? (R) 12 [13] I am bound, O God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. 13 [14] For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; ...
A lot of people profess their faith in God for they have witnessed His mighty power but it is our responsibility as believers to be discreet in the conduct of our faith so as to really reflect the true spirit of God who dwells in us. We have to be careful, too in keeping our distances with the people around us most especially with friends who are always close to us, so as not to end up bumping or crushing into one another. What do I mean by this? It is sometimes true, the old saying that goes like this, "Familiarity breeds contempt." Even if we have the closest and most trusted friends around us, it is also important to realize that there are times when we have to keep our distance from one another. In today's gospel even Jesus needed to keep a safe distance from the crowd and is somehow showing us the need to set our limitations too. In today’s Gospel, there are so many people that are after Jesus to the point of crushing Him. Jesus wanted to minister to all these people but He is also has to look out for His safety, stay in the path so that He could still carry on with His mission. He just told his disciples to have a boat ready for him so He could continue His mission. There are times in our life when during the conduct of our earthly missions we encounter instances when we feel like we are being crushed. Considering the fact that what we are doing is not for our own personal gain but for the welfare of others and we experience oppression in many forms. Due to this we tend to get sidetracked but we have to keep in mind that we always have to be ready and alert in order for us to carry on with the most important task in our very own lives. Though it may not be understood and approved by all the truth remains that our mission and purpose in life is to continue what Jesus has started more than 2000 years ago. God has gifted us with so many wonderful things in this world. We have the gift of friends and the company of our fellow brothers and sisters who all belong in this great and big family that God has provided us. If those people close to us and even those whom we don't know can intercede and pray for us then there is nothing we should be afraid of. Not even the scariest thing, person or element in this world should make us doubt that God is over and above all things in this world.
The secret of Mark’s gospel can be found in the gospel today. These very words, “He warned them sternly not to make him known,” is Mark’s trademark. Just imagine people witnessing all kinds of miracles and being instructed not to make Him known. This is due to the fact that the signs and wonders wrought by His mighty hand can only be fully understood in the light of the Paschal Mystery, the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. In Mark 8:27-29 it is written, "...Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Messiah." We thought it was Peter, who became the 1st Pope of the Catholic Church who first got it right. But if we read further on in the same chapter 8 of Mark in the following verses, 30-33, "Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." What Mark was trying to say is that we got it all wrong if we thought that Peter got it right because he didn't. He missed the truth about Jesus, he can not handle the truth that the Messiah, the King will be nailed and die on the cross. Just imagine Jesus who predicted and poured out his agony over his passion and death but was disappointed by Peter's inability to really get the point. It seemed ironic that the 1st Pope just guessed it right but it was really a pagan, a centurion who first got it right because he saw the cross of Jesus as the sign of His Kingship. For it is written in Mark 15:37-39, "Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" This means that if it was the centurion pagan who first got it right and not the 1st pope then salvation is for everybody even to the pagans and the Gentiles. Also in Mark 5:25 "There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured. "Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction." A woman was considered of no social standing during that time, and to be a pagan/Gentile only added to her worthlessness she was not even addressed with her own name. In Mark 9: 49-50, "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another." During his time, salt was stored in a bag and used in the cooking the way in the same manner tea bags are used. This is to filter the impurities so after use the taste is gone and what's left is just a bag of dirt. Mark was very much around these kind of people and this is what he was trying to convey in his writings. Mark was very much around the very people whom we usually look up to as the leaders of the community but fail to reach the mark. For in Mark 10: 32-45 when Jesus predicted for the 3rd time his passion and death, "Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise." Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish (me) to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" Mark was with people with a lot of conflicts. This is shown in the following bible passages as in Acts 15: 36-41, "After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come, let us make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord." Barnabas wanted to take with them also John, who was called Mark,but Paul insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them at Pamphylia and who had not continued with them in their work.So sharp was their disagreement that they separated. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.But Paul chose Silas and departed after being commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.He traveled through Syria and Cilicia bringing strength to the churches."
In this passage Paul's dislike for Mark (John) was very obvious. Also in Galatians where Paul did not hide his dislike for Peter (Kephas) 2:11,"And when Kephas came to Antioch , I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong."
Although there were conflicts among the people in the Church, as it usually does, they were able to go past it and built the Church. These things can be considered as the agitation in the grain of sand in the clam which eventually turned into a priceless pearl. This anxiety among these people of God brought about the spread of the Church in various places for they were divided into 2 groups and were able to evangelize in 2 different places at one time. God saw to it that everything turned out for the good. The Markan Community emphasizes this truth that despite the brokenness of the people the Church of God Kingdom of God
Mark wants us to realize that we should not want Jesus just because of our own personal agenda. What Mark was trying to say is that we would never get it right unless we can handle the truth about the Son of God, Messiah and the King who will be nailed and die on the cross. It is not easy to grasp especially at that time when the Jews were expecting for the Messiah to liberate them from the oppression of the Romans. Considering of course that we live in a world where suffering, pain and death are considered a curse and something that we could not embrace all too willingly. This is exactly why they were warned not to make Him known because they would end up missing the point. We need to see the cross of Jesus as the sign of His Kingship. Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 3:7-12
...He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. 10 He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.”. He warned them sternly not to make him known.
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