January 20, Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Daily readings: 2 Samuel 1: 1-4. 11-12. 19. 23-27, Mark 3: 20-21
The first reading of today gives us one of the reasons why God considers David a man after His own heart (cf. 1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). Saul hated David for a long time and wanted to eliminate him. He made many attempts to do so, and David had to run away and hide from him. However, upon Saul's death on the battlefield, David mourned for him. David expressed profound grief at his death. One understands why there is such grief over the death of Jonathan, his friend.
David’s lament sent a strong message to the people of Israel. David, as a true Israelite, never rejoiced at the death of Saul, the Lord’s anointed. The text challenges all of us to never think ill or rejoice at the downfall of our enemies. David thus becomes a great role model for our community life and the leaders of the nations in the world today. We should never pay evil with evil. David teaches us to overcome evil with good!
Jesus goes home with his disciples. It is a rare sight. But the people gathered around him as usual, and they could not even eat on time. The people spread the message that Jesus was out of his mind. The family members of Jesus begin a rescue operation. The family members here could point out his cousins mentioned in Mark 6:3 (James, Joses, Judas and Simon). They missed a point over here. It happened once before, when Jesus was lost when he was 12 years old.
Finally, they found him in the temple. He was busy with his Father’s business. Now his family fails to take note of his messianic mission. They wanted to protect him. Jesus didn’t need their protection. His mission cannot separate from Jesus. Our identity as disciples of Jesus inevitably demands a mission to witness him living in love. Our mission distinguishes us from others. We, too, are extensions of Jesus’ mission in the world. The moment we stop witnessing him in our lives and actions, we cease to be his disciples.
Today we have two wonderful examples: Sts. Sebastian and Fabian, who gave their lives to bear witness to Jesus,. St. Sebastian was a member of the imperial army and a secret Christian. During Diocletian's persecution, he died a martyr. The faithful elected St. Fabian as the first layman to be the Pope. He decreed that the faithful should receive Holy Communion at least three times a year: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost.
Call to Action for Catholic Living: Let us learn to forgive and pray for our enemies in light of David's example and his capacity to sing praises of Saul and forgive.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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