Homily for January 30, 2018.
“The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’
And the Cushite answered, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who
rise up against you for evil, be like that young man.’” 2 Samuel 18:32.
Our first reading today contains the tragic end of David’s Son, Absalom. The
story of Absalom is very well documented in the Bible not so that we may
imitate him but that we may learn from him what becomes of those who allow
their greed for power and over-ambitiousness go unchecked.
Absalom’s problem began with pride. Upon returning from a self-imposed
exile as a result of killing his brother Amnon (for committing incest with his
sister Tamar), Absalom started feeling like the most righteous person in the
world. He got a widow to make peace with David and obtain forgiveness by force.
Using what I would describe as highly Machiavellian moves, Absalom
started winning the hearts of the people towards himself. For four good years, Absalom
acted like the Minister of Justice to those who had suits. He would tell them
how David could not hear their cases and how he wished David could be replaced
with someone like him.
When Absalom felt he had gathered enough supporters, he decided to
declare himself a king thereby waging war against David. Absalom’s greatest
mistake was to assume that all those who were singing his praises and fanning
his ego were actually on his side. He took the advice of Ahitophel and publicly
went in to his Father’s concubines. Unknown to him, Hushai was a good friend of
David but pretended to be Absalom’s adviser. Husahi gave the advice that
brought Absalom down!
Well, well, well, the summary of this story is that power and authority
come from God. No matter how good we judge ourselves to be for leadership,
without God’s hand of approval and support, our craze for power; our “dirty
politics” lands us into the same situation as that of Absalom. No one ever
became a successful leader by usurping power! If the throne is not meant for
you, the crown will never size your head.
Our Gospel passage today contains the healing account of Jarius’ daughter
and the woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years. In all of
the drama that ensured, the lesson we need to take home is ALL POWER BELONGS TO
GOD. Who has the final say? No one but God alone.
There were already mourners in Jarius’ house, they had concluded that the
little girl was dead and they even went as far as telling Jarius not to bother
Jesus again. They did not know that Jesus himself is God who created heaven and
earth and is in charge of all life on earth. The raising of the little girl to
life teaches us that God alone is all powerful. And so, in our quest for power,
we should never push God aside.
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, free me from self-pride and over ambition. Amen
*Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. (Tuesday of the 4th week in Ordinary Time. Bible
Study: 2 Samuel 18:9-19:3 and Mark 5:21-43).*
Fr. Abu.
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