16 January, Friday — Be Careful What You Ask For

Friday of Week 1 in Ordinary Time

1 Sam 8:4-7,10-22
Mk 2:1-12

“When that day comes, you will cry out on account of the king you have chosen for yourselves, but on that day God will not answer you.”

Just to switch things up, let’s reflect on today’s First Reading instead of the Gospel, as it was reflected upon previously.

The First Reading is actually very rich and worth our time in delving into. The people of Israel had a close relationship with God, but they were not satisfied. They wanted to be like other people; they wanted a king to rule over them. In essence, they rejected the treasured relationship with God and settled for something far less valuable, and extremely inadequate. Even when Samuel warned them about what a king would do to oppress and enslave them, they did not care. Indeed, they were very shortsighted.

You may be shocked how the people of Israel threw away the golden prize and settled for one of clay.  Why would they do that! Before we go deriding them for their myopic thinking, we should reflect on our own behaviour first.

If you are reading this, it is safe to assume that you believe God has our good in mind; otherwise, He would not send His Son to come and save us. So, it is safe to say that God wants the best for us and offers the best to us. He also gave us free will, to choose between good and evil. Yes, He loves us and tries to guide us in the right direction; but, if we are obstinate and refuse to listen, then when we fall, we can hardly turn to God and ask, ‘Why didn’t You warn me?’

How does this apply to our lives, in the current culture? Well, first and foremost, God still loves us and gives us choices daily. There are voices of good and evil, that of God and the world. It is up to us to choose who we listen to and follow. I won’t bore you with listing all the choices we face daily, it is up to you to reflect what applies to you currently. 

Whatever you choose, keep in mind Samuel’s warning to Israel and indeed to us. If we choose unwisely, and do not say to God, “Thy Will be done”, eventually He will say to us, “thy will be done”.

So, brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to be careful what we ask for, because we might just get it.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)

Prayer: My most loving Lord, please grant us the grace of wisdom to choose You above all else, to follow You with our whole heart.

Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for Your infinite patience with us, with our weakness and brokenness. Despite it all, You still love us beyond our understanding. Help us to love You in return.