Homily: First Friday of Ordinary Time
First Friday of Ordinary Time (1 Sam. 8:4-7, 10-22a) “Keeping Up with the Joneses”
There has been a temptation in human history for nations to want a strong leader who will solve all the problems of a society. Quite often people ask how despots come to power. The answer is that, at first people want a strong leader because they see security in this.
The typical government for many centuries was a monarchy. The King or Queen would be seen to be a person put in position by God. They would have absolute power. Someone once said that dictatorship is the most efficient form of government. That is probably true if you have a benevolent dictator. It is not so true if you have a corrupt dictator.
The people of Israel longed for a strong King who would draw the nation together. The Israelites were constantly being abused by their neighbors. They longed for this to stop.
Samuel points out that having a king is not a guarantee that all will be well. He points out that with a king comes taxes. A king will draft young men into his army. The king will live in luxury and his court will have to be kept up. He will need palaces to live in which will cost money.
Even after Samuel points all this out, the people still want a king. They feel inferior to other nations since they do not have a monarch. As we read on in the story of Samuel, we will see how he anoints King Saul. Saul seems like an ideal ruler at first but once he gets power and wealth he wants more. When there is a threat that he will lose his thrown he resorts to violence to keep it.
All of this seems to be a reminder to all of us that we need to be careful what we wish for. Things often turn out different than what we expect.
Reflection Questions:
What is the best form of government? What is the worst form?
Would the church be better off if it were a democracy? Would it be worse off?
Dear Parishioners,
This evening we will seat three new pastoral council members. Neil Young, Dan Sharp and Allison Possin have agreed to be on the council. We are glad to have these new faces. Every year people rotate off the council and people join. This is a healthy situation. We always need new ideas.
We are said to see Bill Peiffer and Corey Schultz complete their service. Bill has been a big help with our live streaming. Cory was instrumental in getting our St. Vincent DePaul up and running.
Please pray for the council. There are always new challenges that arise. We are glad that there are people to lead us.
May Our Lady pray for us,
Fr. Mark