1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Let us fetch the ark. 

Raising children can be demanding at times. As a parent, you want to help them grow in virtue, but they just want their own way. You teach them to say “please” and to be polite, but they shout “please” like a magic word to get what they want. They overlook your larger purpose—and the love that lies behind it.

This relationship of parent and child illustrates God’s patient work with Israel. God chose a people, formed them in his commands, and gave them a homeland, but he also had a larger aim. He wanted them to walk in his ways so that they could be a light to the surrounding nations. Often, however, the Israelites missed this bigger purpose.

That’s what happened in today’s first reading. In the desert, God had showed them that he could provide everything for them; they needed only to rely on him. But once they arrived in the Promised Land, they started fearing their enemies and stopped obeying the Lord. They put up pagan idols in their homes (1 Samuel 7:3-4). They looked to the nations for wisdom rather than looking to the Lord. Even the priests sinned and used their authority to enrich themselves (2:12-17).

Then, when Philistines attacked, the Israelites said, “Let us fetch the ark” (1 Samuel 4:3). They thought they could use the ark—the home of God’s presence and the sign of his covenant with them—like a “magic wand,” without keeping the covenant. The results were disastrous: Israel was defeated, and the ark was lost.

Just as God loved Israel, he loves us. He calls us to be his children and to obey his commands from our heart, both for our own blessing and so that we can be a light to the world. That’s his larger purpose behind his covenant with us. But too often, we don’t see the big picture. We bargain with God. We obey him to avoid punishment and get the blessings that we want. This is a bit like trying to “fetch the ark” to win some small prize. All the while, the greatest prize, God himself, is in the ark.

God himself is with you today. Like a good parent, he didn’t give up on the Israelites, and he won’t give up on you.

“Lord, thank you for your patience with me. You are my treasure.”

1 Samuel 4:1-11
Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25
Mark 1:40-45