21 January 2016
Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
When the other guy has more, my thousands aren’t enough… Saul is distracted by what does not matter. First, he was thinking about sheep more than obedience. Now, he is thinking about the praises the people are bestowing on David more than the victory he shares in over the Philistines. If Saul was attentive to the Lord who looks at the heart and not just the surface of things, then he would not be jealous of David or his ‘tens of thousands’ at all.
Memory is again the answer to such distractions. Often what we need is to be reminded of what is truly important. So, God sends people, sometimes He even sends our children to remind us. So it was with Saul. Jonathan comes and reminds him. “When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel through him, you were glad to see it.” (1 Sm 19:5) ‘You were glad! Don’t you remember?’
We are to be ministers of reconciliation like Jonathon. Do we speak well of the Davids when the Sauls are angry? Who amongst our family and friends could be spoken well of to another because the relationship is broken? Does it seem useless? If the Lord tells us put water in the jars, it may be heavy and time consuming, but by this point we know what eventually happens when we do whatever He tells us. (Jn 2) Today may the Lord grant you the grace to help remind others when they forget how good are those from whom they are estranged.