Sunday Homily, July 19, 2015, 16th Ordinary Time, B
Readings:
2 Samuel 29.
Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. (a beautiful psalm)
Ephesians 2, 13-18, He is our peace.
Mark 6, 30-34, Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.
Background on Samuel and Ephesians:
The Old Testament, like the New Testament, is written in parable-like stories. Very seldom does our liturgical calendar present to us a complete story. The intention of our OT reading today is to make us aware that the words and deeds of the Messiah would fulfill the words and deeds of King David. So, I’ve chosen for you from the OT a very short but complete story about King David’s words and deeds.
A few words on David: he was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse, yet God directed the prophet Samuel to anoint him as the king of Israel to replace a conceited and jealous King Saul. Almost immediately David accepts the challenge given by the giant Philistine soldier Goliath for an Israelite soldier to face him in man-to-man combat—winner take all. With a sling in his hand David embedded a stone in the forehead of the Philistine. King Saul begins to fear David’s popularity; but Jonathan, the king’s oldest son, makes a sacred covenant with David to protect one another that extends to their descendants. Our OT reading happened 10 or 12 years later.
In Ephesus, Paul reminds the Jews who have become Christians that God is rich in mercy. God has brought them life through the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. It is by grace that they have been saved.
Homily:
The dilemma in the parable of the first reading is that the crippled son of Jonathan in fear and shame has ended up in Lo Debar, a spiritual slum. He is a forgotten person with seemingly no way out and no place to go. The wisdom of the this parable is that Jonathan’s son responds to the goodness and kindness that flows forth from the covenant Jonathan had made with David, ‘He now eats at the table of King David, like one of the king’s sons.’ The parable ends by telling us that being crippled in both feet no longer brings shame to him; but rather it is now how and why Jonathan’s son was able to accept the wisdom of the parable. King David gave him a way out of Lo Debar, and a place to go to be refreshed.
In today’s Gospel reading, Christ is the Good Shepherd; all who come to him to receive his Spirit filled words are spiritually healed, for he has made a covenant with God to last for all eternity. A forgiven humanity are always invited to eat at the Lord’s table. Christ fulfills King David’s words and actions! He has embraced us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be Christ to others.
So, take the opportunity to welcome this coming week someone who is lonely, or forgotten; someone who is spiritually crippled or afraid, for ‘the Spirit of the Lord is upon you to take the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to give sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim this year as the Lord’s year of favor.’