THE POWER OF TRUST: APPEARANCE IS NOT REALITY. (Homily for January 19, 2016. 2ND Tuesday Ordinary Time, Year C.)


Bible Study:  1st Samuel 16, 1 to 13. And Mark 2, 23 to 28.


Having rejected Saul as king of Israel for his refusal to trust and obey without excuses, God instructed Samuel to go to the House of Jesse and anoint a new King of Israel. At first, Samuel is scared that if Saul gets to know a new king is being anointed while he is still alive, Saul might look for a way to kill him. But then, God himself assures Samuel asking him to simply pretend that he is going to offer a sacrifice in Jesse’s house. Once again Samuel showed the depth of his trust by obeying God. Samuel was not more afraid of Saul than he was of God. He did not mind if Saul gets to hear later, he obeyed, carried his horn of oil and went to the House of Jesse.

On getting there, Samuel again showed the depth of his trust in God by refusing to be carried away by appearance. He was attentive to the voice of God all through. Jesse presented his sons one after the other to Samuel. They were all looking tall, handsome and well-built but God was not interested in externalities anymore!  But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16, 7.

God is not so interested with our external looks and appearances or the things we do to get the attention of people. As we shall see Jesus and his disciples were walking through the fields and were picking heads of grain and it was a Sabbath. When Pharisees accused him of doing something unlawful, he said: “the Sabbath is meant for man and not man for the Sabbath.” Jesus and his disciples were hungry and he knew picking grains to eat was not a sin, he refused to pretend just make himself look good before anybody. Jesus was not concerned about externalities or what people were saying about him, he was only concerned about doing what is right before God.

It takes trust on our part to serve God wholly with our heart rather than try to look good before others. It takes trust in God to seek God’s perfect recommendation rather than seek the recommendation of people. We tend to become people pleasers rather than God-pleasers, we do things not because it is right but just because we want people to rate us high. This was the attitude Jesus condemned in the Pharisees and the very reason why God did not pay attention to the other sons of Jesse.

In fact, Jesse presented seven sons to Samuel, and God rejected all of them. Samuel asked, “Are these all you have?” It was only then they remembered David. Imagine, they knew something was happening, and none of them even bothered to call David in. He was so insignificant before their eyes but not before the eyes of God. He had won God’s favour and he would become the greatest king Israel ever had, so great that Jesus Christ himself would call himself Son of David.

Despite the fact that David looked small and did not have the stature of a king able to fight a battle, Samuel trusted God enough to anoint him. He knew it is God who will make up for the obvious physical defects. We must trust God like Samuel and let our reason take holiday at times.

Let us trust God and not be carried away by external appearances. Things may not look so good but continue to trust God. You may be out there like the disciples in a storm and You see Jesus walking on water beckoning on you to step into the water and walk towards him. Just do not let your trust be shaken. Do not carried away by the storms you see, God truly cares about you, he loves you deeply and he wants only the best for you. Trust and obey his voice.

Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, teach me to trust more and obey completely. Amen.


God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.

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