The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our experiences of needing to seek refuge from anxiety about circumstances and choices we have dealt with on our journey.
Refuge in Shawn's Place
The reading from the First Book of Samuel tells how Jonathan Intercedes for David.
* [19:4] Jonathan reminds Saul that David has served him loyally and done nothing to earn a traitor’s death. Cf. 24:18–20.1
Psalm 56 prays to trust in God when under persecution.
* [Psalm 56] Beset physically (Ps 56:2–3) and psychologically (Ps 56:6–7), the psalmist maintains a firm confidence in God (Ps 56:5, 9–10). Nothing will prevent the psalmist from keeping the vow to give thanks for God’s gift of life (Ps 56:13). A refrain (Ps 56:5, 11–12) divides the Psalm in two equal parts.2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus brings refuge to a multitude at the lakeside.
* [3:7–19] This overview of the Galilean ministry manifests the power of Jesus to draw people to himself through his teaching and deeds of power. The crowds of Jews from many regions surround Jesus (Mk 3:7–12). This phenomenon prepares the way for creating a new people of Israel. The choice and mission of the Twelve is the prelude (Mk 3:13–19). * [3:11–12] See note on Mk 1:24–25.3
George Butterfield comments that today we celebrate St. Sebastian and St. Fabian. Both saints were martyrs. St. Fabian served as the pope. There is great contrast between his life and that of Saul.
King Saul is given a great victory primarily because of a shepherd boy and he immediately turns on him and wants to kill him because of jealousy. The more jealous he becomes, the more egregious is his behavior. His own family doesn’t understand it. The shepherd boy just wants to serve his king, but the king is so lacking in self-esteem that he cannot allow any popular praise for the boy. St. Fabian is so not like Saul. He becomes known for humility and hard work. He accomplishes so much but his most impressive feat, to me, is that, when he dies, everyone praises him, even those folks the Church considered heretics.4
Don Schwager quotes “Faith works by love,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The 'faith that works by love' (Galatians 5:6), is not the same faith that demons have. 'For the devils also believe and tremble' (James 2:19) but do they love? If they had not believed, they would not have said: 'You are the holy one of God' or 'You are the Son of God' (Mark 3:11-12; Luke 4:34,41). But if they had loved, they would not have said: 'What have we to do with you?' (Matthew 8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28)" (excerpt from Letter 194, To Sixtus)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7 asks us to remember that when our thoughts condemn us, Jesus is interceding for us. When all we can recall is the laundry list of our sins and failures, he asks the Father to shower mercy upon us. In the middle of the night, when we are plagued by worries that we haven't done enough, haven’t done it well enough, or haven’t done what God wants us to do, Jesus is at the throne of God, appealing for an outpouring of peace and grace in our life. What a friend we have in Jesus!
Think about it. On your worst day, Jesus is at the throne of God speaking up for you. “This is our friend,” he might be saying. “This one was washed in the waters of Baptism and made holy through my own perfect obedience.” On your best day, he is there still, rejoicing with the Father, pointing out your faithfulness, your obedience, or your love for others. Most of us, on most days, are somewhere in between those extremes. But Jesus does not swing between interceding and not. He is always merciful, always faithful. And he is always interceding for you. “Jesus, thank you for your constant intercession for me. Lord, I trust in you!”6
Friar Jude Winkler contrasts the covenant between Jonathan and David with the paranoid jealousy of Saul. The transgressions of David may seem to outnumber those of Saul, but he rebelled by refusing to accept the decisions of the Lord. Friar Jude shares the meaning of the Son of God as expressed in the Gospel of Mark.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces writer Sophfronia Scott who has journeyed and “conversed” with the writings of Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915–1968) for many years. She contemplates what we can learn from Merton’s deep connection to God, particularly through nature. It looks like a complete oneness with all of creation. Since her baptism in 2011 in the Episcopal Church, she has often thought about that oneness and about what belonging to Christ means.
How can we use nature to cultivate an awareness of God? How do we enter a space of reverence, where there are no walls and no ceilings and yet where we find a room we share with Creator Spirit? Merton had pondered this as well that first day walking in the forest: “And I thought: if we only knew how to use this space and this area of sky and these free woods.” [1] [2]. Considering his reflections on that pivotal day and then how he lived and wrote afterward, I think the answer to this cultivation question comes in three pieces. He began by going out every day and walking the earth in a sacred manner—meaning reverently, with his whole being open to the feel of the earth underneath him and of the air around him. Merton often walked barefoot so that he could better appreciate connecting with the ground. The second piece involved an ongoing acknowledgment of the weather. The third seemed to be about learning all he could about the “rooms” of his outdoor home, including the names of the flowers and trees that furnished it and the birds and animals who resided there. The assembled wisdom of these pieces brought Merton to the unity of creation and his place in it: “How absolutely central is the truth that we are first of all part of nature, though we are a very special part, that which is conscious of God. In solitude, one is entirely surrounded by beings which perfectly obey God.” [3] [4]7
As we ponder our relationship with Jesus in our solitude today we pray to be open to refuge in His peace and consolation.
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