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| “Saint Agnes” by Andrea del Sarto, 1524-1530 |
Reading I: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”
Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.
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Commentary on 1 Sm 16:1-13
As the story of Samuel the Seer continues (he is not yet called a prophet), we find him deeply troubled over God’s decision to remove Saul as King of Israel. God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint the next king, whom God has now found.
After going through all of Jesse’s sons, the Lord finally instructs Samuel to anoint the youngest, David, who is not present but tending the sheep. Choosing the youngest over the eldest, which flies in the face of traditional rights of inheritance, is consistent with previous Old Testament acts (see Abel to Cain, Genesis 4:2-5; Isaac to Ishmael, Genesis 21:19-13; Jacob to Esau Genesis 27:28-40; Joseph to Rubin Genesis 37:3-11 and 49:3-4, 22-26) illustrating the Lord selecting individuals suitable to the task rather than the traditional seniority tradition. [4] This anointing is the first of three David will receive. The other two will come after the death of Saul.
“The grace and strength of heaven rushes upon David and raises him up as king. The anointing of the Spirit is symbolized by pouring oil upon his head (Isaiah 61:1)(CCC 695). from that day: David enjoys an ongoing presence of the Spirit, unlike earlier figures whose possession of the Spirit was intermittent and temporary (e.g. Saul, 1 Samuel 10:6; 16:14 and Samson, Judges 14:6, 19, 15:14, 16:20).” [5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
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Commentary on Ps 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
Psalm 89 is lament of the community. These strophes, however, are a hymn of praise celebrating the identification of King David as king of Israel. The song alludes to his future role as a champion in battle.
CCC: Ps 89 709
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Gospel: Mark 2:23-28
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
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Commentary on Mk 2:23-28
In this passage from St. Mark’s Gospel, the Lord has another conflict with the Pharisees over laws they have implemented. In this case, the laws are about doing no work on the sabbath. The disciples of Jesus were hungry, and as a result gathered and ate grain on the sabbath. Strictly speaking, this was labor (Leviticus 24:9) and that is what the Pharisees were objecting to.
Jesus responded by reminding them (the Pharisees) about a story from the first book of Samuel (1 Samuel 21:2-7). In that story restrictions not included in Mosaic Law, but established by men, were relaxed at need. The example can be seen as a link between Jesus’ own genealogy (coming from the line of David) and his mission as Savior, the Anointed One, the Messiah. It also teaches a more pragmatic lesson about the sabbath being created for man, and not as the rules of Pharisaic law had restricted it.
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Reflection:
Jesus is once again taking issue with the overly restrictive interpretation of Mosaic Law practiced by the Pharisees in the passage from St. Mark’s Gospel heard today. He challenges their notion that, in order to please God, one must abstain from tasks labeled as “work” under the Law, even if those tasks fell into the category of sustaining a person’s life. The Lord makes his famous statement: “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” Unfortunately, in secular society the idea of the sabbath has been almost completely lost.
There was a time, and not that long ago, when our sabbath, Sunday, was seen as the Lord’s Day, a day of rest. The predominately Christian society of the West saw the day as one set aside for going to Mass and leisure time spent with family and friends. It was seen as the appropriate way to keep the commandment: “'Take care to keep holy the sabbath day as the LORD, your God, commanded you” (Deuteronomy 5:12ff), and: "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day” (Exodus 20:8). As with many of the secular expressions of our faith, this one has fallen prey to the idea that Sunday was a great day to make money and holiness has nothing to do with it.
For the most part we have lost our reverence for the day. We have accepted that when we need to work on Sunday, we work. The time set aside to give thanks to God for his creation has been, for the most part, abandoned as an anachronism. This should be seen as a lapse of discipline for those of us who see our faith as guiding us, rather than us guiding our faith.
While the Pharisees took the idea of making the sabbath a day only for God to the minutest detail, we are still bound to give our Father the obedience he asks for. We, as a people of faith, should do our very best to keep the sabbath as the Lord’s day, and not simply another day of commerce or labor. Granted, the secular world no longer respects the idea of “a day of rest in honor of the Lord.” That is the reason for the Vigil Mass. However, we should do our best to keep the day holy. While the sabbath was made for humanity, it is still a day when we must respect God’s will.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Saint Agnes” by Andrea del Sarto, 1524-1530.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Jewish Study Bible, © 2004 Oxford University Press, New York, NY, p. 591.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, The First and Second Books of Samuel © 2016, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA., p. 38.
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