Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 15:16-23; Mark 2:18-22)
The first reading sounds more than cruel. It sounds blasphemous. Reading it, one asks, “Could God really have commanded
Saul to exterminate the Amalekites?” In other words, did God order a genocide? One will ask again, “What kind of ‘loving God’
is this?”
There should be no doubt that God really did command Saul to
exterminate the Amalekite nation. It must
be remembered, however, that God has the power to give the Amalekites eternal
life. His providence would have provided
for the innocent and the good members of that nation. Furthermore, God’s plan is to make Israel a
holy nation so that it might teach the world God’s justice. Always pitting themselves against Israel, the
Amalekites were frustrating God’s plan.
Of course, the purpose of telling this story is to emphasize
the need to obey God. With Jesus, God
has revealed his ultimate will for the world.
He wants us to live in peace with all.
This is Martin Luther King’s dream whom we remember especially today.
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