The battle described in the first reading contains the most tragic defeat that the People of Israel could suffer: “The ark of God was captured…” (1 Samuel 4:11) Why did this happen? The ark had been the source of defeat for numerous enemies before, but this time did not aid the Israelites in battle one bit. Perhaps this was a lesson that God does not respond to attempts at magic. He is not to be conjured by those such as Eli’s sons Hophni and Phineas whose mistreatment of their neighbors was a scandal for all, and who seemed to have no regard for God’s Will. It is not the ark detached from fidelity to the covenant which worked miracles. Rather, it was clinging to the faithful God that had saved so many.
So, in the Gospel we hear of someone suffering from leprosy seeking a cure. Yet, he does not ask for a magic trick that would leave him without any relationship to God who heals. Rather, he gets to the heart of the matter from the very beginning: “If you wish…” (Mark 1:40) The leper is not first concerned with his own plight. Rather, his attention is primarily on the will of Jesus. And so, actually caring about Jesus’ will, this man is able to recognize and receive Jesus’ mercy.
We may be tempted to treat God as one who is merely one to dispense help when we are in trouble. After all, God does want to help us. Yet, let us not seek to use God for our own ends. Let us never think that God will be manipulated or instrumentalized by us. Rather, let us pray for the grace of obedience, of attention to God’s will, of a heart that cares about God’s heart. Then we will know the depths of the help that God’s mercy offers: the fullness of the salvation that God wants for us.