1st book of Samuel 16,1-13.
The LORD said to Samuel: "How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons." But Samuel replied: "How can I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me." To this the LORD answered: "Take a heifer along and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do; you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you." Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him. When he entered Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired, "Is your visit peaceful, O seer?" He replied: "Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet." He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves and invited them to the sacrifice. As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is here before him." But the LORD said to Samuel: "Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel, who said, "The Lord has not chosen him." Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any one of these." Then Samuel asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here." Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, "There-anoint him, for this is he!" Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.
Psalms 89,20.21-22.27-28.
Once you spoke in vision; to your faithful ones you said: "I have set a leader over the warriors; I have raised up a hero from the army.
I have chosen David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him.
My hand will be with him; my arm will make him strong.
He shall cry to me,'You are my father, my God, the Rock that brings me victory!'
I myself make him firstborn, Most High over the kings of the earth.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2,23-28.
As he was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?" Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
"A LIVING SACRIFICE" (Rm 12:1)
"I have come to sacrifice to the Lord." –1 Samuel 16:5
Sacrifice is defined as "a giving up of something for the sake of something or someone else." We Catholics are used to making sacrifices, but do we make our whole life "a living sacrifice," as Jesus would have us do? (Rm 12:1) We can do so by:
- participating frequently in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, fully aware that we are sacrificially giving our all to Jesus,
- attending Mass to give back to the Lord (Ps 116:12) rather than thinking of getting something from Him,
- offering the Lord a sacrifice of praise (Ps 50:14, 23), especially if we don't feel like it, and
- joining our every sacrifice with that of Jesus, including sacrifices of our income (by tithing and almsgiving), our heartfelt thanksgiving (Ps 116:17), and prayer (Ps 141:2).
God reveals that mercy (Mt 9:13), obedience (1 Sm 15:22), and love (Hos 6:6) are better than sacrifice. However, He also is pleased by holy, just, and loving sacrifices (Heb 13:16).
Jesus sacrificed the ecstasy of heaven to come to earth and save us. Yet He didn't sacrifice Himself for us out of duty; rather, He sacrificed for us out of sheer, merciful love (Jn 3:16). He gave Himself for us as a sacrifice (Eph 5:2, RNAB), yet it was a sacrifice He greatly desired to make (see Lk 22:15).
Respond to Jesus by sacrificing your entire life to Him from a heart of love and desire.
Prayer: Jesus, I love You so much. I will continually offer You every moment of my life as "a sacrifice of praise" (Heb 13:15).
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