Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
The readings from First Samuel jump from chapter 4 to chapter 8. The situation has changed. The prophet Samuel is now an old man. Many of the Chosen People had treasured him. He was a good leader, following in the tradition of Moses and Joshua and the several “judges.”
The people were worried about the future. They looked at other nations and noticed that the successful ones had strong kings as leaders. So, they asked Samuel to choose a king for them.
This did not please Samuel. In asking for a human king, he declared that they were rejecting the Lord. God is the King of Israel, he said.
In fact, many of the psalms give expression to this belief. For example: “The Lord is king forever and ever” (Psalm 10:16); “For God is the King of all the earth” (Psalm 47: 8); “For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:3).
Samuel goes into detail, explaining to the people what will happen. If priests are bad (as yesterday’s reading suggested), bad kings will be just as disastrous for the people. Bad kings “will take your sons and assign them to their chariots and horses.” Bad kings “will use your daughters as ointment makers, as cooks, and as bakers.”
But the people insisted, and God told Samuel to give them a king. Most of the kings of Israel and Judah turned out to be “worthless fellows” who abused the people. Only Christ the King knows how to be a king, dying on the Cross to give victory over sin to the people.
Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections