WE DEPART FROM GOD BY DISOBEDIENCE

THURSDAY, SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME   

1 Sam 18:6-9,19:1-7; Ps 56:2-3,9-14; Mk 3:7-12

The Growth of Disobedience

According to our Lord in the Gospel of Saint Luke 16:10, “He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” The same applies to obedience. If we obey the word of God in minor issues, we will obey him in weightier matters. But if we neglect the word of God in minor issues, then we have already begun the path that would lead us to neglect his word in grave issues. We fall little by little daily. By neglecting to pray as we ought, we are already preparing ourselves to commit mortal sins. Due to the slippery nature of our moral path in life, we must renew our resolution to attend to the word of God daily. We must cultivate and attend to the presence of Jesus Christ with us daily, through his Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The injunction to watch and pray is so that our attention may not be hijacked by external interests and engagement. The safety of our heavenly treasure lies in our attention to Jesus Christ, which we must make every effort to grow daily. Our enemy and his cohorts understand the importance of this faithful vigilance and attendance on the heavenly bridegroom; so, he uses every means to distract us from focusing and growing in our attention and love for Jesus Christ.

King Saul’s neglect of God’s word in his life caused him to gradually part ways with the Spirit of God, for he gradually removed his attention from God and his demands on him as the king of Israel. His gradual departure from God took a physical and major manifestation on the occasion when the women gave more praises and glory to David than to him. “On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced, the women sang: ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’ Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking.” The incident occasioned the arousal of jealousy, which Saul could not overcome. “And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.” The reason Saul could not overcome the temptation to jealousy was his lack of attention to the word of God. Hence, once the foundation of our spiritual life, attention on the heavenly bridegroom, has been destroyed, we become vulnerable to all sorts of wicked spirits attacking us on a daily basis. Saul fell on the incitement of the spirits of anger and jealousy, because he forgot that only the word of God confers the kingship of Israel on anyone God pleases to give it. From anger and jealousy, he degenerated to committing murder. “Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David.”

Just as a loss of focus on Jesus Christ, the Word of God, sees us spiralling into mortal sins, a refocusing of our attention on the Son of Man brings us into better illumination with the light of truth and healthier spiritual life. In the Gospel, the great crowds of people who sought the Lord received healing and enlightenment through his authoritative proclamation of the Gospel. “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania, and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him.” All come to him to receive grace and truth, for in him is the fullness of life. All who were tormented, enslaved, and distracted by demonic spirits came to him to regain their freedom and bearing in life. If we have come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we must make every effort to remain in his company and not be distracted by the illusions of this world, which the evil spirits use to lure our minds and hearts away from his presence. They work doubly hard on the task of distracting souls from Christ today because they know he is the Son of God made man for our salvation. “And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.” May we live daily to attend to the heavenly bridegroom, so that the Holy Spirit may transform us into his bride.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.