Thursday of the
First Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 4:1-11; Mark 1:40-45)
Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross listed “bargaining” as one
of the five steps in accepting death. She
wrote that after denial and anger most people will offer a favor to God in
exchange for a miracle. Of course, the
maneuver fails. People cannot manipulate
God to give them what they want. The people
of Israel in today’s first reading have to learn this lesson the hard way.
When the Israelites are defeated in battle by the
Philistines, they look for a good luck charm.
They settle on bringing the Ark of the Covenant from the shrine at
Shiloh. The ploy fails, however. God wants His people to live righteous lives. He will not be manipulated by self-serving
shows of honor. If Eli’s two sons, Hophni
and Phinehas, represent the morality of Israel, the nation has lost God’s
favor. These men notoriously flouted
norms of justice in dealing with the people who came to offer sacrifice.
We should never assume that God will give us what we
desire. A Christian stance would be to
ask God to meet a need and to wait in hope for fulfillment. We are likely to receive what we ask. But even if we do not, God has not abandoned
us. He will be there in the hour of our
greatest need. In the meantime we
continue to serve Him because He is the source of all that we are and have.
