Building the case

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer some reminders that God is present and working in the people around us. Our attentiveness to this can be sharpened as we meditate on the struggle described in the First Book of Samuel between Saul and David which is described by FriarJude Winkler as a murderous paranoia within Saul. The choice of David over Saul, by Samuel, the people, and perhaps even God was clear to the first king of Israel. Amy Hoover of Creighton University links the messages of Jonathan to his father Saul about David to a reminder for the king that God who protects, as in Psalm 56, is acting for Saul through David. Concern over our own position, our pride and our privilege can blind us to actions of others to help and support us. It takes time and reflection to see sometimes how those we may have viewed with suspicion were really not our detractors but people who were trying to help us out. Commentators of the Gospel of Mark, including DonSchwager and Matthew Charlesworth SJ understand a preference for the Evangelist to present the Son of God (Mark 1:1) through actions of healing and casting out demons as present today in an episode where great crowds are pressing Jesus to touch Him for healing. The opening of Jesus ministry at His Baptism by John and the ending of His Life in the proclamation of the centurion (Mark 15:39) are among the declarations enumerated by Matthew Charlesworth SJ of Jesus nature as Son of God. The Gentile Greco-Roman audience of the Gospel of Mark and the Jewish tradition of the Apostles understand this title in different ways. The Presence, acknowledged in this salutation, is brought to our attention today in the action of those people, believers and not so much, we encounter daily.