THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR A THE CHOICE OF GOD The Israelites went through difficulty and were oppressed by the Philistines. They needed a king and God told Samuel that he wants a king for his people from the family of Jesse. Samuel went as instructed by God and Jesse present his first born; Eliab who was tall, strong and handsome but God rejected him. Jesse brought his second son till the seventh and they were all rejected by God. Jesse did not even think of the little boy David because his own concept of leadership was different. Jesse was looking for a handsome, tall, intelligent and eloquent person to lead the people of God but God had other plans. We too may be surprised how God does his selections. No matter how weak we think we are the presence of God can make us strong. God can use that insignificant person to achieve great things. When God called Gideon (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). He reminded God that he was the least important person in his family and besides from the weakest clan but God still make use of him. When God called Moses in (Exodus 3:3), he was a nomad, a murderer and a stammer but God made use of him. The first four apostles of Jesus were fishermen and were not learned people; Jesus saw their hearts and made use of them of the spread of the gospel message. Jesus also called the Matthew the tax collector and made use of him. God called Zacchaeus and brought salvation to him. God calls the poor, sinners and the despised and gives them the first places at the banquet of his kingdom. From this passage, we must know that appearance is not reality. God judges by faith and character and not by appearances. Most people spend hours before the mirror to look good but spend less time before God to develop their inner character. Like God in our relationship with others, we should look at the heart and not outward appearance. Appearances should never be the foundation upon which we judge others. By human judgement David was too young, ineptitude, vulnerable, naive and had no political genotype to lead the people of God but God saw in him; a good leader, a courageous king, a man after his own heart. God knew the heart of David and what it would provide in the years to come. The elder brothers of David by human judgement were over qualified but they lacked the inner beauty to lead. Even though David was young, he had that inner beauty in him to lead. God saw the condition of his heart and made him a king. We should not be too quick to judge people based on appearances or the rehearsed image they present to us. We should also know that the people we might have written off in our communities based on human judgement, may be the people chosen by God to lead us like David. In our parish, you may feel that if you are not made the Vice Chairman of the Church, then the Church is not complete. If the priest does not dissolve the parish pastoral council and put you in charge because of your influence in the society, because of your financial strength and the people you know then God has done a mistake. If you are not made the CWO president then the women will not be united. Are we not tempted to dig the family background of leaders, their financial strength and even academic qualifications and see them as not up to standard? When God takes a look at their hearts, they are his candidates. God knows the heart of every person and so we should respect the choice of God...
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:47:41 +0000
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