Daily Readings - Wed Jan 17 2024
1 Samuel
32And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."33And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth."37And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"40Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.41And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.42And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.43And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.44The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field."45Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,47and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand."48When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.49And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.51Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
Mark
1Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.2And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.3And he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come here."4And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.5And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.6The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Sermon
In today's readings, we encounter two powerful narratives that invite us to reflect on faith, trust in God, and the triumph of divine love over human limitations. The first reading from 1 Samuel tells the story of David and Goliath, a tale of a young shepherd who, armed with nothing but a sling and stones, confronts a towering giant. Despite Saul's doubts and Goliath's mockery, David places his trust in God, declaring, "The Lord who delivered me from the hand of the lion and the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." With unwavering faith, David defeats Goliath, proving that true strength comes not from human might but from reliance on God.
The Gospel from Mark presents a different kind of battle, one between compassion and legalism. Jesus encounters a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, more concerned with rules than with healing, watch to see if Jesus will "break" the Sabbath. Jesus, however, sees the human need and acts with mercy. He heals the man, demonstrating that the Sabbath was made for humanity, not the other way around. His actions provoke anger in the Pharisees, who begin to plot against him. This passage reminds us that love and compassion should always take precedence over rigid adherence to rules.
Both readings call us to trust in God's providence and to prioritize love and mercy in our lives. Like David, we may face challenges that seem insurmountable, but with faith, we can overcome them. Like Jesus, we are called to see the needs of others and act with compassion, even when it goes against the expectations of others. May we, in our own lives, choose to trust in God's power and to love without limits, just as David and Jesus did.