January 16, 2014

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 308
Reading 1 1 SM 4:1-11

The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.

Israel was shocked that they were defeated in battle by the Philistines.

When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”

So they decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant with them to lead them into battle.

So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.

When the Ark arrived, the Israelites were so happy that they made the earth shake with noise.

The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”

When the Philistines heard the noise, they were frightened.

They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”

But they did not back down.  

The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.

And the Israelites were defeated.  The Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines.

If you read the entire account, it is because of the sins of the people that the Israelites lost the battle and the Ark of the Covenant.  But, the focus of this account is the death of Hophni and Phinehas.  They were priests of the people who would abuse their power for their personal pleasure and gain (1 Samuel 2:12-17).  And Eli, the high priest and their father, did not lift a finger to prevent them.  Therefore, on this day, Hophni and Phinehas and all of Eli's male descendants died.  As did Eli, when he heard of the death of his children, he keeled over, dead.  Go back and read the whole thing.  It is very interesting.

Responsorial Psalm PS 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25

R. (27b) Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.

R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.

R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.

God is not found in the company of sinners.  God's mercy is shed upon those who love Him and keep His Commandments.  Those who live in sin are on their own against the snares of Satan.

Gospel MK 1:40-45

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”

This is how we should approach the Sacraments.  With humble fear and faith in God's promises.  

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”

Jesus Christ works through His Sacraments to make us free of sin.

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

The man was so happy that he forgot that he was told to keep it secret.  As a result, Jesus Christ was swamped with people wanting to see Him.  And it was impossibly for Him to move about freely anymore.