SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 17TH JANUARY 2024

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II

1Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51; Ps.144; Mark 3:1-6

Anointing makes the difference

After Samuel had anointed David king, David was not automatically fixed in the palace or adorned with royalty. The anointing of David meant the presence of God in his life in an extraordinary way. This extraordinary presence led David to doing extraordinary things – things that neither those of his age and ability nor those senior and stronger than him could do. It therefore means that the anointing of David made him a vessel for the Lord.

We find this well demonstrated in the first reading of today. David was sent by the father Jesse to give food to his brothers at the battle field and seek how the battle was going. The fact that David was hitherto at home means that he was not considered fit to be encrypted into the army. Even when David opted to face goliath, his brothers tried to prevent him; king Saul discouraged him. But David was moved by the fact that Goliath was insulting the Living God when he challenged the children of Israel. For David, he simply wanted to glorify the name of the Lord by bringing down this goliath.

A veritable sign of an anointed child of God is that he or she is always interested in bringing glory to the name of the Lord. No true child of God uses the grace of God for personal aggrandizement. The fact is, the more selfless we are in using our gifts, the greater the works that God will perform through us. David boosted to Goliath, not trusting in his strength but on the fact that “greater is He that is in him than he that is in the world”. David was not making sense until Goliath fell down and died. David was later encrypted into the army not because he met the criteria but because God suspended protocols for his sake. Maybe all of these would have been achieved through the instrumentality of Saul if he had not disobeyed the Lord.

When we read further, beyond the first reading of today, we see that Saul became jealous of David when the women sang David’s praises more than that of Saul. Consequently, Saul tried to kill David. Beloved, we cannot estimate how far the Lord will take us if we are docile to him; neither can we tell how far things will go wrong with and for us if the Lord rejects us. Therefore, in all that you do, say and conceive, always consider what will bring you approval in God’s presence.