So let's talk about today's readings 1/14/10

[cheeto1]

January 14, 2010
http://www.usccb.org/images/solidline.gif
Reading I
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.
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 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.
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.”
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!”
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.
Responsorial Psalm
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.
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.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
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.

 

[cheeto1]

“After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield”
– What do you think it was like for the wounded men? They were not rushed to
the hospital by helicopter, there was no hospital. Do you think many wounded
lay on the battlefield, waiting to die amonst the dead all around them? Four
thousand is a lot, and all for the punishment of Hophni and Phineas. Read the
first 4 chapters of Samuel, it doesn’t take long, and you will see the whole story,
not just Samuel saying “speak Lord your servant is listening”, but what God
said to him, and why this attack happened, and why the Israelites lost by God’s
will.

“You made us the reproach of our neighbors”
– This whole psalm is such an appropriate prayer of the Israelites who just lost
this war. But this line shows their wrong attitude. It is not God who did this
to them, God showed great patience. Too great in my opinion, but I’m just a
measly human being. If you read Coplands Haydock commentary on today’s
readings, you will see that Eli should have turned his evil sons over for
execution.

“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
– Why does this story go with the first reading and the psalm? Is it because
Jesus did something great for someone, then asked a favor of him, and he
wouldn’t do it?

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:

 

[Jamie_Burns]

I love to read 1 Samuel 4 at Holy Mass, and watch for the surprise on the congregant’s faces when the Philistines win. Even today we are expecting the Hebrews to rout the Philistines, and it is a shock at verses 10 & 11 to hear about a disastrous defeat, with 30,000 soldiers lost and the Ark of the Covenant captured by the enemy.
Why did God allow his Ark, which had led the children of Israel to victory over the peoples in the times of Josua and the Judges, to be captured by the Philistines (who were not even children of Esau or Ishmael, they were from Crete-see Gen 10:14 & NAB note)?
I think it was because of bad priests. See 1 Samuel 2:12-13. Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas were: wicked, had no respect for the Lord, and had no respect for the priests’ duties toward the people (that last one you have to use NAB or Douay or the Latin Vulgate–RSV Catholic Edition leaves it out!).
In Chapters 5 and 6 we see how God Himself brings the Ark back to the Israelites–through his own actions only-not through any action of the people. It reminds me of the saying “Bad Liturgy destroys Faith”. Priests who do not fulfill properly their duties toward the people can be obstacles to their faith–just as Hophni and Phinehas caused the death of 30,000 soldiers and the loss of the physical symbol of the Israelites’ faith, the Ark of the Lord. But, patient prayer can bring back the fruits of faith, can brighten the “dark night of the soul”.
It is interesting to me that the "arc" of the Lectionary this week leads us from the birth of Samuel, to his call, to the loss of the Ark, to the plea of Israel for a King, to the anointing of Saul. In that progression I see this reading as evidence of WHY the Israelites wanted a king to organize their defense against their warlike neighbors. That is a good lesson as well, but I do blame Eli's sons for God allowing the Philistines to take the Ark.

 

[cheeto1]

In that progression I see this reading as evidence of WHY the Israelites wanted a king …, but I do blame Eli’s sons for God allowing the Philistines to take the Ark.

Why DID they want a king? You made me read ahead, and in the beginning of
chapter 8, it says the reason is because Samuel’s 2 sons whom he appointed
as judges of Israel, were just as bad as Hophni and Phineas, and the people could
just see the whole thing starting all over again. I wonder why Samuel was offended
by this? Should the people just stand by helplessly while another set of 2 bad boys
leads Isreal into suffering and death?

I blame Eli’s sons too, for all the bad things they did. They left God with no choice
but to let the ark be taken. The Philistines probably knew how corrupted Hophni and
Phineas were too. Yet these 2 didn’t learn their lesson by losing the smaller war.
They never asked God why they lost, and they defiantly tried to use the ark as a
good luck charm. This was so gravely disrespectful considering all their evil practices,
that God had no choice but to let the ark be taken. The thing is, Hophni and
Phineas weren’t much punished. They died in the war, but that’s just the same
thing that happened to 34,000 people.

 

[Jamie_Burns]

That 30,000 soldiers died in that battle is evidence that bad priests can lead people into destruction. What happened during Salvation History doesn’t just advance the people of God to end “end point” at Jesus Christ. These things also are moral lessons to all the ages. Yes the Ark was brought out as a “good luck charm”. But it was one that had been efficaciously used before.

They wanted a king because they understood that in this world, a centralized government could easier organize defense against their enemies. A leader, structure. And God had promised Moses that if the people chose a king, even though in the long run it wasn’t a good idea, he would provide one.
In the long run not a good idea because the best course is to trust in God.
Which is a constant theme in the Psalms, and leads us to understanding Jesus’ lessons about “The Kingdom of God.”

 

[cheeto1]

In the long run not a good idea because the best course is to trust in God.

Well, what should the people do to trust God when Samuel’s 2 sons were
corrupt? Ask Samuel to appoint others?

I really appreciate your opinions and information, thanks!