Deacon Tom Anthony

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

 This Sunday in the Sacred Scriptures we read about the Anointing of David by the God through the Prophet Samuel as part of the Second Scrutiny (the alternate Scripture Readings for the Elect). God chose David to be the next King of Israel; to be lifted up to the greatest of heights and to be His Chosen One among all of the Israelites. David was nothing special from his first appearance. He had no great skills, talents, or wisdom that made him stand out from anyone else. He was very handsome but nothing beyond that was revealed that would indicate his destiny through the intercession of God. He tended his father’s sheep which was the lowest of tasks that one could do.. Even when Jesse was ordered to bring forth all of his sons to be presented to Samuel, David was made to stay behind and work. He was the smallest of his brothers. Surely Jesse knew that something important was going to happen since he and his sons were being summoned before Samuel himself. Even after being commanded to do so, Jesse left David behind, thinking that he wouldn’t be missed. Surely whatever the importance of this meeting, it couldn’t involve the youngest and least important son David?

God tells us through Isaiah that, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways.” This is demonstrated through the choosing of David  for anointing. God tends to call forward the most unexpected people for special service. He does this to demonstrate how people and this society judges people are counter to his message and how He judges people. We all are equal in the eyes of God and are loved the same way because we are his children. Embracing this love and letting it transform our lives gives us all the capability to rise up to the highest of heights physically, mentally, and spiritually. The expectation and judgements of this world pale in comparison to our creator. God sees everything and knows everything. Inside each one of us is a potential and greatness waiting to burst forth from its solitude and inaction.

We all have felt the presence of God at one time or another. It might have been small or it might have been great but it was there with the potential to always be greater. We experienced it and liked it. How do we get that light to shine brighter and burn stronger? We must recognize it for what it is and invite it to immerse us in its glory. Recognizing it means walking towards it. Walking towards it means trying to focus on everything that is good. Evil and bad acts must be avoided with a serious attempt at reconciling this physical life with our creator. When we focus on something it means that there is an importance to it. The greater the significance to us, the more it will be central to our thoughts and actions. If we want to be with God then we have to collaborate our actions with our thoughts. Anyone can think about God. Not everyone can acknowledge God and make him a teacher, best friend, and the most important relationship one has.

All of our behaviors and what we do can be summed us as an action or a reaction dictated by our thoughts and feelings. If these actions and reactions keep God as the central theme then only good can come out of them. Good can never bring about evil or a negative result. With that being understood, it can be argued that the more that we act or react to the presence of good, which is from God himself, then only good will result. Sometimes this can be difficult but, as it is with everything that we do, the more we practice something the better we get at it. It can be difficult at times, especially when we get in our own way but the light is always there to guide us.

We can all place ourselves in the position of the Blind Man in the Gospel Reading today. Much of our lives were spent in complete darkness. This was before our acceptance of God and the beginning of our Salvation Story. Recognizing God and his love brings us forward into a new state of being. Our eyes are open and we can truly see things for what they are. There is excitement and rejoicing. Yet this also brings forward a challenge. The question is: What next? Are we going to allow this understanding and jubilation to change our lives for the better or are we going to run back into the darkness. If we do not let the experience affect ourselves then we become like the Pharisees who were then ones that remained spiritually blind while the ignorant blind man who was disdained by all while lifted up through Christ.

Deacon Tom