Good morning dear People of God. In today’s gospel reading we get to know that ‘ALL WHO WERE AFFLICTED IN ANY WAY WERE CROWDING FOWARDTO TOUCH JESUS' Everyone wanted to get as close as possible to Jesus because they recognized God’s life-giving power at work in his ministry. They recognized Jesus as the Life-Giver, as one who could heal their brokenness.
Contrary in the first reading, Saul, the first king of Israel, takes on the opposite role to that of Jesus. Far from being a life-giver, he shows himself to be a death-dealer. He grew jealous of his young David’s success on the battlefield, especially when people began to compare David’s successes favourable to Saul’s. The jealousy of Saul fuelled his anger, and his anger led him to resolve to kill David. It took Jonathan, Saul’s son, to restrain Saul’s murderous intent. We are told that Jonathan held David in great affection. Jonathan’s affection for David was a truly life-giving power. Because of Jonathan’s affection, David was preserved from Saul’s murderous intent. In this way, Jonathan showed that he possessed something of the life-giving quality of Jesus. There are many Sauls in our world who are driven by jealousy and anger to bring death to others. There are also Jesus figures to be found, like Jonathan, who bring life to those who are threatened by death. We are all called to share in Jesus’ life-giving ministry. As in the case of Jonathan, that will often mean having the courage to stand up to the forces of death.
THE LORD BE WITH YOU.
By Fr Dismas Kuto.
Comments