16/01. Saturday, Week 1

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1st Reading: 1 Samuel 9:1-4, 12-19; 10:1

Saul is anointed by Samuel as king of Israel, at God’s inspiration

There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the boys with you; go and look for the donkeys.” He passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them.

When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people.” Then Saul approached Samuel inside the gate, and said, “Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?” Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.

Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he said, “The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage.”

Gospel: Mark 2:13-17

Jesus calls a tax collector to be a disciple, and dines with him

Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples – for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

Bible

Who is fit to lead others?

Each of us is called to exercise leadership of one kind or another, by the grace of God. We are meant to inspire other people by our kindness and our love for truth and justice, precisely those virtues to which God calls us. Today’s readings describing the vocations of king Saul and of the apostle Matthew, invite us to reflect on the types of people God calls and the different kinds of leadership they provide.

In king Saul we see the most likely person, and in Matthew the least likely person, called into positions of responsibility. Saul was a tall young man, we are told, standing head and shoulders above his people, royal in stature. By contrast Matthew, as a tax collector under the hated Roman occupiers, was an outcast, barred from synagogue and Temple. He was barred from all contact, even at table, with law-abiding fellow-Jews. It is not that Jesus chooses only the riff-raff for religious leadership, but rather that He whose word penetrates between soul and spirit, sees the value and potential in people whom others too quickly discard. Others may see in the tax-man Matthew only a half-pagan, friendly with the foreign oppressors, but Jesus recognizes him as a man of compassionate heart, optimistic and kind to others. He was also aware of Matthew’s faults, and in explaining his choice to the grumbling Pharisees, said, “I have come to call sinners, not the self-righteous.”

Of all the norms for leadership, the most basic is a desire to share our gifts by leading. Leaders ought to recognize and support the good qualities in others. After calling Matthew into his little circle, Jesus also dines in Matthew’s home with his friends and colleagues. Matthew’s training is already underway, friendship is being deepened, confidence being established. What a model of leadership to be followed by all in the Church, but above all by the bishops and the pope.

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