Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 24:3-21; Mark 3:13-19)
King David looms large in the Old Testament. The ancient writers see him as the model king
of Israel. Strong himself, he trusted in
God and conquered other nations.
Assuredly he is not portrayed as perfect, but he is always
remorseful. In today’s first reading he
refuses to harm King Saul out of respect for God.
The four evangelists see Jesus as David’s descendant. Like his predecessor, Jesus will conquer
Israel’s enemies. However, the enemies
will not be armored men on horses but the spiritual forces of sin and
death. Jesus will prove to be greater
than David. He never sins; yet he prays for
mercy on his brothers and sisters who fail to fulfill God’s will.
We should try to emulate David piety, especially before he
became king. When faced with enormous
challenges, we want to trust in God.
When we have done something beneficial, we ‘want to thank God openly and
fervently. And when mortal enemies are in
our grasp, we want to remember that they too are God’s children.
