Mass Readings and Meditations “The Word among Us” Monday, 3 February
2014
Meditations: 2 Samuel 15: David Flees from Jerusalem
13 A messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the
Israelites have gone after Absalom.” 14 Then David said to all his officials
who were with him at Jerusalem, “Get up! Let us flee, or there will be no
escape for us from Absalom. Hurry, or he will soon overtake us, and bring
disaster down upon us, and attack the city with the edge of the sword.”
30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping
as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot; and all the people who
were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.
2 Samuel 16: Shimei Curses David
5 When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the
house of Saul came out whose name was Shimei son of Gera; he came out cursing.
6 He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; now all the
people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left. 7 Shimei shouted
while he cursed, “Out! Out! Murderer! Scoundrel! 8 The Lord has avenged on all
of you the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the
Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, disaster has
overtaken you; for you are a man of blood.”
9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this
dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” 10 But
the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is
cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why
have you done so?’” 11 David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own
son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Let him alone, and
let him curse; for the Lord has bidden him. 12 It may be that the Lord will
look on my distress,[a] and the Lord will repay me with good for this cursing
of me today.” 13 So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along
on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, throwing stones and
flinging dust at him.
Footnotes:
a. 2 Samuel 16:12 Gk Vg: Heb iniquity
Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr
Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction. (2 Samuel 16:12)
How easy it is to think that when someone sins, it means he or
she doesn’t love God! How easy to assume that this person has a permanently
hardened heart or has completely turned against the Lord! But King David is the
perfect example that this is far from the truth. David pleased God, warts and
all, because he continued to pursue a relationship with him, despite his sins.
So pleasing was David’s desire for holiness that God chose to have Jesus born
through his line.
David remained faithful to God—not through never sinning but
through repentance and humility. Shimei cursed David and threw stones at him,
and when David’s nephew, Abishai, offered to “lop off” Shimei’s head, David
rebuked him. “Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David,” he said
(2 Samuel 16:10). David knew he was a sinner, so Shimei’s curses
came as no surprise. But at the same time, he surrendered himself to God,
trusting that the Lord would be gracious to him. Such humility and faithfulness
must have pleased God very deeply.
Guess what? You please God! We have all sinned. Maybe our faults
are not as grave as murder, and maybe they are. Whatever our sins may be, we
all have our own list of offenses against God that deserve strong judgment.
Like David, we know these offenses, just as God does. But what God wants,
rather than to curse us, is to see us face our sins in the same way that David
did. He wants us to acknowledge them, turn from them, and earnestly seek his
forgiveness and healing.
Even when David was suffering the consequences of his faults, he
trusted that God is good and that he can do nothing but good. No matter what we
do, God is ready to sweep away our sin and strengthen us against temptation.
Fix this truth firmly in your mind. And when your feelings tell you that God
doesn’t love you, remember David. Remember God’s mercy. Remember: he is pleased
with you!
“Father, remind me today of your unshakable love. Help me find
joy in your mercy and redemption.” Amen!
Psalm 3: 2 many are saying to me,
“There is no help for
you[a] in God.”Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one
who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from
his holy hill.Selah
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the
Lord sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set
themselves against me all around.
7 Rise up, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of
the wicked.
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 3:2 Syr: Heb him
Mark 5: Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac
1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the
Gerasenes.[a] 2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out
of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs; and no
one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been
restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the
shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night
and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising
himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down
before him; 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with
me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8
For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then
Jesus[b] asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we
are many.” 10 He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11
Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12 and the unclean
spirits[c] begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” 13 So he
gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine;
and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the
sea, and were drowned in the sea.
14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the
country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to
Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the
very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen
what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they
began to beg Jesus[d] to leave their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into
the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be
with him. 19 But Jesus[e] refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends,
and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown
you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus
had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
Footnotes:
a. Mark 5:1 Other ancient authorities read Gergesenes; others,
Gadarenes
b. Mark 5:9 Gk he
c. Mark 5:12 Gk they
d. Mark 5:17 Gk him
e. Mark 5:19 Gk he
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