Friday – 2nd Week in Ordinary Time – A

In today’s readings, we see how King David, and in the Gospel our Lord Jesus himself, deal with betrayal. In King David’s instance, from the First Book of Samuel, chapter 26, we read how David was being sought by King Saul. David was not yet king, but he was the successor, the one chosen by the prophet Samuel to succeed Saul. Saul had disobeyed God, lost his way, and allowed himself to be intoxicated by the powers, honours, and pleasures of the world. Though blessed by God, he turned his back on the Lord, and in doing so, turned his back on those who loved him most—foremost among them David, his faithful servant, who would have laid down his life for the king.

Because David was so anointed, so successful in battle, and so praised by the people, Saul grew envious rather than grateful. His jealousy overtook him, and he sought to put David to death under false accusations, claiming that David was trying to usurp the throne, which was not true. In today’s reading, Saul pursues David and his men and enters a cave to relieve himself. It is precisely in this moment that David’s guards urge him, “This is your moment” (cf. 1 Sm 26). David is initially enticed, but instead of killing Saul, he shows compassion and merely cuts off a piece of Saul’s mantle as proof that he had spared his life. When Saul exits the cave, David calls out to him, revealing that he could have killed him but chose not to, because Saul was the Lord’s anointed (cf. 1 Sm 26:11). Saul repents briefly, yet his jealousy remains, and he continues to seek David’s life. Later, David again spares Saul while he sleeps, taking his spear and shield as proof (cf. 1 Sm 26:12). God is pleased with David because he would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed, and God himself deals with Saul in his own time.

In the Gospel, we hear how Jesus chooses the Twelve, whom he names Apostles—those who are sent (cf. Mk 3:13–19). He grants them insight and intimacy that no one else had ever received. Among these Twelve, Jesus chooses Judas. Elsewhere he says, “Did I not choose the Twelve of you? Yet one of you is a devil” (Jn 6:70). Jesus knows that Judas will betray him, and yet he continues to love him day after day, even at the Last Supper. Scholars tell us that Judas was placed by Jesus at his side, as if the Lord were giving him every possible opportunity to turn back. Nevertheless, Judas Iscariot betrays him (cf. Mk 3:19). Our Lord’s response to this wound, this betrayal, this pain of heart, is not vengeance, but persevering love.

So I ask you: have you ever been betrayed? Have you ever been wounded by someone you truly loved? Have you found it difficult to forgive? Ask the Lord today for the grace to forgive that person. And if the emotions return—anger, bitterness, resentment—remember that this is because you are human. Forgive them again. And if the pain returns the next time you see them, forgive again, and again, and again. “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother, seven times?”—“seventy-seven times” (Mt 18:21–22). Always. The Lord knows that forgiveness is often a repeated commitment. Those who betray us are human, imperfect, and sometimes intoxicated by the world. We are called to forgive, as our heavenly Father has forgiven us (cf. Mt 6:12).

May Almighty God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—strengthen you this day to follow Jesus and to imitate him, even in the most difficult things. Amen.