Reading 1: 2 Samuel 6:12B-15
“…Then David, girt with a linen apron, came dancing before the LORD with abandon, as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn. The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place within the tent David had pitched for it”
Gospel Mark 3:31-35
“…Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Reflection:
In the first reading, King David “came dancing before the LORD with abandon” as he brought the ark of God or ‘ark of the covenant’ into the tent he had pitched for it. This is one of my favorite scriptures because David loved the Lord without reserve and cared not what other people thought of him. The fact that he, King of Israel, ‘came dancing before the Lord with abandon’, offended people, even his wife Michal, who thought his – leaping and dancing (2Samuel 6:16) – was beneath the dignity of a king. But he didn’t care; he loved the Lord. God had testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do my will’ (Acts 13:22). Loving the Lord ‘with abandon’ is pleasing to the Lord!
The Gospel for today is often misunderstood. In His earthly genealogy, Jesus Christ, is a descendent of King David (Matt. 1:1), through Joseph in fulfillment of the prophecies. Regarding Jesus, God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well please.” Indeed, He came to do God’s will with complete ‘abandon’.
So, when Jesus appeared to be disrespectful when told that his mother and brothers were outside asking for him, He was in fact, testifying to the obedience of Mary, the only person in the scriptures greeted not by her name but, by “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”. She believed and obeyed God with total ‘abandon’, saying “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) She was in fact, the ‘new ark of the covenant!’ bearer of the Word Incarnate, standing at the door step of this house. Our Lord Jesus could not help but use this opportunity to point out that those who do the will of God – and no one had ever done it more perfectly than His Mother – are his brothers and sisters and mother.
In the verses preceding the first reading for today, while David and his men were bringing the ark of the covenant back to the city of David, a deadly accident occurred and David was afraid to take the ark any further so, he left it in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite (2Samuel 6:11) where it remained for three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. Mary is Mother of the Church and we are members of the Mystical Body of Christ which is the Church, therefore Mary is our mother. Like Obed-edom, every family would do well to invite the ‘New Ark of the Covenant’ into their home with expectant faith that the Lord will bless all the household while the ark resides there.
