Saturday 18th January 2020. Read 1 Samuel 9:1-21,10:1, Psalm 21 and Mark 2:13-17.
_“Then
Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said,
‘Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you
shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of
their enemies round about.’” *(1 Samuel 10:1)*_
Today’s
first reading gives us the ancient origin of the sacraments. The moment Samuel
took a vial of oil and poured it over the head of Saul, he instantly became the
king of Israel. The pouring of the oil over Saul’s head was in itself a prayer
and this type of prayer is called a sacrament.
A
sacrament is something we see physically happening yet imparting a deep
spiritual effect in our lives. It is an outward sign of inward grace and grace
itself is unmerited favour. Baptism is a sacrament, it is a prayer in
action, likewise, Ordination is a sacrament that turns a man into a priest. By
his anointing at ordination, the priest is bestowed with powers that make him
capable of standing in the place of Christ yet does not lose his humanity.
Oil is
also used at Confirmation which turns a baptised Christian into a soldier of
Christ. And at the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, oil is used to bring
about healing as St. James himself wrote: “Are any among you sick? They should
call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them
with oil in the name of the Lord. ...” (James 5:14-15).
It is not
just the pouring of oil but the fact that God’s divine hand is upon it and upon
the one performing the anointing. Note that it was God himself who said to
Samuel, “Here is the man who shall rule over my people.” (1st Samuel 9:17).
In our
Gospel passage, we see the touching story of the call of Levi, a tax collector
by Jesus. Levi was not even a fan of Jesus, he was sitting in his tax office
carrying out his duty when Jesus passed by and said: “follow me.”
Do you
notice that like Saul in our first reading, Levi did not do anything that made
him qualified to be called? We do not merit our choice. We did not choose our
parents, neither did we choose our date and place of birth. We do not merit our
calling, so it is not a right; it is a privilege. While Levi became a great
apostle eventually, Saul ruled Israel in a manner that God himself regretted
choosing him as king.
The
mysterious thing about anointing is that it does not remove a person’s habit,
thoughts, desires and sinful inclinations; it only gives the person an
opportunity to grow deeper in spirit, deeper in holiness, wiser in personality
and closer to God. Anointing does not take away temptations, it only reminds us
how we ought to struggle against sin. Anointing itself does not make us saints,
rather it gives us many opportunities for repentance.
We all
were anointed on the day of our baptism, confirmation or Orders. Like Levi, we
were chosen not because of any special quality we had but just because God
wanted it. The question is: “How well are we making use of our anointing?”
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to live up to the demands of my anointing. Amen
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. (Saturday of the 1st Week in
Ordinary Time. Bible Study: 1 Samuel 9:1-21,10:1, Psalm 21 and Mark 2:13-17).
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