People want power

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for today presents texts which illustrate decisions we make based on our understanding of the will of God which may be based more on our needs and plan than the path which Divine guidance would have chosen. The corrupt sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, are priests of Israel. In battle with their neighbours, the Philistines, who according to Friar Jude Winkler, possessed superior military power, they decide tp bring the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield. The text records that the initial effect of this on the Philistines was to remind them that the Israelites had escaped Egypt through the intervention of their God and the Philistines  became afraid. They resolved to take courage and fight. The fight resulted in the death of Hophni and Phinehas and the loss of the Covenant, the sign to Israel that God was with them. The Gospel of Mark tells of another decision in which the Nature of the Divine is misunderstood by people. Jesus chooses to be in physical contact with the outcast unclean leper to show the love, mercy and healing of God knows no boundary of uncleanliness or unworthiness. Those rejected are welcomed. The decision of the leper to break the "Messianic secret" and tell all of his healing risked misunderstanding in the people that Jesus was the King, like David, who would defeat the political enemies of Israel and restore the power to them from Roman occupation.