By Beth DeCristofaro
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.
(Samuel 4:10-11)
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and
said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out
his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” (Mark 1:40-41)
Piety
Lord, if you wish you
can make me clean. Help me to “Act
justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with you, my God.” (From Micah 6:8)
Study
It’s chilling, this
passage from Samuel. It is a disturbing
tale of death, destruction and hopelessness even though God’s Ark was present on
the field of battle. And it is in such contrast to the hopeful story of Hannah
we have been reading and Jesus’ healing of a second leper. Yes, God said to Hannah, I will make from
your despair and your faith an instrument to save my People. Yes, Jesus said to the leper, because of your
faith I will save you from a life of pain and desolation. Later in the book of Samuel God speaks to
Hannah’s son, by now the prophet Samuel, and explains that the Chosen People
have given up on God which is why God’s favor has left them. But Samuel will provide for them a king,
selected by God, to begin bringing them back to reacceptance of the covenant.
The people thought
they needed a king. God gave them a king. Hannah and the lepers knew they
needed God. God healed them, drawing
them closer to Himself.
Action
In what ways do we
think we know what we need? Our country
is strong and wealthy compared to most of the world. Take stock of our own lives and see what we
have provided for ourselves rather than trusting and giving our prayers of
plenty and prayers of anguish to God for answer. This month is Poverty Awareness Month. Explore opportunities to live in solidarity
with the poor as you spend prayer time with God exploring your own poverty
which is a doorway opening to a closer relationship with God. http://www.usccb.org/about/catholic-campaign-for-human-development/poverty-education/poverty-awareness-month.cfm
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