2022-Feb-20: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

2022-Feb-20: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

1 Samuel 26

In this passage, Saul forgets that David had earlier spared his life and in return, he had forgiven David ( 1 Samuel 24:16-21). The people of Ziph seeking favor from Saul betray his presence and Saul comes with 3000 men to kill David who only has 600 men. The last time Saul stumbled into a cave where David was hiding this time David emboldened by God actively went seeking Saul in his encampment. But David, aware of the sinfulness of Saul refuses to kill him - saying Saul was anointed King by God and only God could take his life. He noticed the deep sleep over the entire encampment and chose only to take Saul's spear and his jug of water as proof that he came close to Saul without harming him. They both went their own ways, probably never to meet in person again. David wanted to be in the grace of God and therefore awaited his proper time to be anointed King of Israel.


Psalm 103

Psalm 103, one of 73 psalms attributed to David, is an individual song or hymn of praise to the Lord evoking intense immediacy and importance. Most likely it was written by a later psalmist but is associated with David, given his unique human-divine relationship
As humans, we make sense of the present and produce visions of the coming future by telling stories of the past. Part of what it means to be human is to remember. Put another way, forgetting is inhuman. This is what makes a disease like Alzheimer’s so insidious.
The psalm has inspired many gospel songs including one by Andre Crouch that has these lyrics: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. He has done great things. Bless his holy name.”

1 Corinthians 15:45-49

St Paul compares and contrasts the historical Adam (“the first man, Adam”) with Jesus Christ (“the last Adam”). Both Adam and Jesus are progenitors, the former of the physical human race, the latter of the spiritual (Jesus being the firstfruits of the resurrection).
Adam, created in the image and likeness of God and had His very life-breathed into him, became a living soul but he died as all humans die. Jesus, God incarnate – and the life of God was within Him for He Himself was God, became the life-giving spirit who conquered death and gave us eternal life.

Luke 6:27-38

This reading continues the Sermon on the Level Place of last week (Luke 6:17-26). The thriving of all creatures in God’s realm requires a different ethos from those we customarily follow in society. 
Those who follow Jesus are to live as Christ lived, mercifully and generous beyond expectation, beyond comprehension without reciprocal reward here on earth. A leveling of the playing field here on earth.

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