Thursday of the
Second Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 18:6-9.19:1-7; Mark 3:7-12)
Life’s great tragedy lies not in becoming old but in failing
to become wise. King Saul in the first
reading should realize that the chorus of women praising David is as fickle as
weather on the prairie. If he were a
wise man, he would not worry that the people favor David to himself. Rather he would concentrate on how he, as
king, might serve the Lord by attending to the people’s needs.
Certainly Saul’s son Jonathan better fits the profile of a
wise person. As wisdom seeks the harmony
of right order, Jonathan takes pains to reconcile the king with his best
warrior. He reasons with Saul that David
is no threat to him. He also protects David
until father promises to do him no harm. Unfortunately, Saul will allow his envy to
reassert itself in a self-defeating manner.
David will once more flee for his life, and Saul and Jonathan will be
killed in battle.
We can locate the virtue that Saul lacks and that which
Jonathan exhibits in the Lord Jesus. In
today’s gospel he refuses to have his divine origin in part to avoid
misunderstanding. And he never ceases to
cure people of their ailments. Wise persons
will imitate Jesus’ virtue.
