The Courage of David and the Son of David, Second Wednesday (II), January 19, 2022

Fr. Roger J. Landry
Visitation Mission of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan
Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year II
January 19, 2022
1 Sam 17:32-33.37.40-51, Ps 144, Mk 3:1-6

To listen to an audio recording of today’s homily, please click below: 

The following points were attempted: 

• In the first reading, we see one of the most famous examples of courage not just in the Bible but in history. For 40 days Goliath had been calling on someone from the Israelite Camp to come out and fight him, one-on-one, to determine the outcome of the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. But none of those on the Israelite side, including Saul, were willing to take him up on the challenge. Everyone was too cowardly. The text tells us that they were all “dismayed and terror-stricken.” David, however, was not. He was a young boy, a harpist — not exactly a form of music associated with warriors! — who had with him a simple slingshot that he would use to get the attention of the sheep he would watch. He heard Goliath’s challenge on the 40th day as he was bringing food to his older brothers in Saul’s army. He volunteered. He was not afraid of going head to head — more like head to waist! – against the 6’9” warrior with all the latest gear, a heavy, long sword, a javelin with an iron head weighing 15 pounds and bronze scimitar, a bronze helmet on his head, and a bronze corselet of scale armor weighing 125 pounds. David didn’t even bother taking up the offer of Saul’s armor. He was satisfied with his sling and five stones he got from a Wadi because he knew he would be acting “in the name of the Lord.” He said, “Not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s!” And we know how the story ends.
• In today’s Gospel, we see an example of Jesus’ courage. We’re not normally accustomed to look at Jesus’ courage except perhaps on Good Friday, but today we see it. He was risking his life contradicting the Scribes and the Pharisees with regard to their misunderstanding of the Sabbath. It was because of Jesus’ words about and works of charity on the Sabbath that they would plot to kill him. Jesus met in the synagogue a man with a withered hand and immediately responded with compassion. The Greek word used to describe his hand strongly suggests it was withered through an injury, not because of something from birth. And Jesus wanted to cure his hand and allow him to use it to work and build up a life for himself. But the Pharisees present didn’t look at the injured man in the same way. They were indifferent to his plight. The text suggests that they may have even planted him there as a pawn to try to entrap Jesus, to see if he would try to cure him on the Sabbath. Hence Jesus asked if it were against God’s law and will to do good and save life. They didn’t reply. St. Mark tells us that Jesus looked at them with anger at their malevolence and was grieved at their hardness of heart, which prevented them not only from seeing the place of charity in the law of God but also from looking on this man with love. Jesus’ question, “Is it lawful to do good … rather than evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?,” is still very relevant today. Jesus had the courage to do good, even when it would cost him.  Jesus was essentially asking if it was possible to love someone in deeds on the Lord’s day, if it was possible to save or redeem. Jesus’ opponents didn’t respond because they knew how ridiculous their response would seem. After Jesus was gone, however, the Pharisees went out on the Sabbath, on the Lord’s day, and began to conspire with the Herodians (with whom they would ordinarily not interact at all, because of the Herodians’ licentiousness and relations with the Romans) about how to put Jesus to death. Despite their idolatry of the Sabbath, they hypocritically thought nothing was wrong in using the sabbath to “do evil” and to “destroy” life. Jesus had come to do good, but they were plotting evil; he was seeking to enhance the injured man’s life, and they were seeking grounds to end Jesus’. But Jesus was courageous enough to look them in the face, to look death in the face, and help this man whom he had come to save.
• What are the motivations of courage? We can see three of them in today’s readings.
  • The first is faith, like we see in David, who believed in the power of God. A slingshot and five stones were nothing compared to Goliath; but a slingshot, five stones and God was plenty.
  • The second is charity. Jesus had compassion on the man and it led him courageously to act in his favor. Love can make even a petite woman a mamma bear to defend her children.
  • The third is righteous indignation. Jesus was angry at the hardness of heart of those who didn’t care about the man in the synagogue. Likewise our holy anger can get us to stand up against the victims of injustice and act.
• As we continue to pray during this Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, we ask the Lord for the gift of courage to persevere in cooperating with God the Holy Spirit’s work to try to make us one body, one spirit in Christ. The pursuit of Christian unity needs faith. We need to believe in what Jesus prayed on Holy Thursday, that it is possible for us to become one just as the persons of the Blessed Trinity are one, so that the world may believe that God the Father sent the Son and loves us just like he loves the Son. We need charity, real love for God and real love for our separated brothers and sisters. This love will certainly help us to surpass any sense of “otherness” instead of fraternity as well as help us mercifully look at whatever needs to be forgiven. The third is righteous indignation against the evil one who always seeks to divide us from each other and from God, who seeks to scatter, confuse and isolate. We also need a holy anger against those who behave as if God wants us divided and who preach, teach and work to turn people against our brothers and sisters and to feel justified in perpetuating the centuries of Christian disunity. If David could defeat Goliath with five small stones because he fought in the name of the Lord, we can courageously work together for Christian unity because not only would we be working in the Lord’s name with the power of the Holy Spirit, but we would be advancing and honoring God’s name.
• In today’s Psalm, we prayed, “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.” We called him our refuge, fortress, stronghold, deliverer, and shield. Every Mass is a boot camp where he trains our hands for battle by joining them in prayer and in communion. Let us ask him today as we receive him to fill us with the faith, charity and holy anger to lead us to fight the good fight of faith like David did, like Jesus himself did!

The readings for today’s Mass were: 

Reading 1
1 SM 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

David spoke to Saul:
“Let your majesty not lose courage.
I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine.”
But Saul answered David,
“You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him,
for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.”

David continued:
“The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,
will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine.”
Saul answered David, “Go! the LORD will be with you.”

Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi
and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag.
With his sling also ready to hand, he approached the Philistine.

With his shield bearer marching before him,
the Philistine also advanced closer and closer to David.
When he had sized David up,
and seen that he was youthful, and ruddy, and handsome in appearance,
the Philistine held David in contempt.
The Philistine said to David,
“Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?”
Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods
and said to him, “Come here to me,
and I will leave your flesh for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field.”
David answered him:
“You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar,
but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted.
Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand;
I will strike you down and cut off your head.
This very day I will leave your corpse
and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field;
thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God.
All this multitude, too,
shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves.
For the battle is the LORD’s and he shall deliver you into our hands.”

The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters,
while David ran quickly toward the battle line
in the direction of the Philistine.
David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone,
hurled it with the sling,
and struck the Philistine on the forehead.
The stone embedded itself in his brow,
and he fell prostrate on the ground.
Thus David overcame the Philistine with sling and stone;
he struck the Philistine mortally, and did it without a sword.
Then David ran and stood over him;
with the Philistine’s own sword which he drew from its sheath
he dispatched him and cut off his head.

Responsorial Psalm
PS 144:1B, 2, 9-10

R. (1) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
My refuge and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten-stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Gospel
MK 3:1-6

Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

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