First Reading
1 Samuel 16:1-13
The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”
Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
Gospel
Mark 2:23-28
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
REFLECTION
by
One Bread, One Body - Reflection for January 21, 2014
THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP
"Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David." –1 Samuel 16:13
The Lord told Samuel to end his pity-party and go raise up a new leader for God's people (1 Sm 16:1). We also need to raise up new Christian leaders.
Samuel replied to the Lord: "How can I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me" (1 Sm 16:2). When we focus on the Holy Spirit and leadership, we will be a threat to the devil, and we too will be in danger.
The Lord promised Samuel: "I Myself will tell you what to do" (1 Sm 16:3). When we obey the Lord, we will quickly crush Satan under our feet (Rm 16:19-20).
The Lord told Samuel to anoint not those who appeared to be leaders but the one chosen by the Lord (1 Sm 16:7). Likewise, the Lord chooses as leaders today "the world's lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who were something" (1 Cor 1:28).
Don't waste your time worrying and complaining. Spend your time praying for the Holy Spirit to be stirred into flame (2 Tm 1:6) in the lives of simple, grassroots leaders. No matter what Satan does to discourage or intimidate you, keep obeying the Lord and inviting people to receive the fullness of the Spirit in their lives. By continually praying for as many leaders as possible to receive the Spirit, you will join the Spirit in renewing the face of the earth (Ps 104:30). Come, Holy Spirit!
PRAYER: Father, give us several new Pentecosts and new leaders in Christ.
PROMISE: "The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath." –Mk 2:28
PRAISE: St. Agnes is said to have been more joyful at her martyrdom than the most exultant brides have been at their weddings.
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