SHOW YOURSELF A MAN…

1 Kings 2:1-4,10-12

1 When David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4 that the LORD may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.’
10 Then David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.11 And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was firmly established.
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Mark 6:7-13

7 And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;
9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
10 And he said to them, “Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.11 And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them.”
12 So they went out and preached that men should repent.13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.  

MEDITATION

THE FIRST READING: David realized that it was time to hand over the reigns of his Kingship to Solomon his son, whereupon he ennumerated to him the required fundamental prescripts such as: the written law; his authority to give and execute orders; to walk in the ways of Lord; to heed the revealed truths and to live by the teachings and testimonies of God. 
David essentially held up the Torah, the written law, as well as the unwritten sacred traditions that have been handed on to God’s people as the nesserary ‘tools’ that Solomon must embue to correctly reign and lead the people to God.

THE GOSPEL READING: To date the Apostles were privileged to enjoy the personal sanctuary, care, leadership and watchful eyes of Christ whilst they were instructed about the kingdom of God. Jesus thought it prudent that the twelve should take to the road, to live and apply the gospel. The twelve can be said to have been ‘thrown to the wolves’ when Jesus ordered them to place their faith and trust in God’s Divine Providence alone!

Catec 302 Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created “in a state of journeying” (in statu viae) toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call “divine providence” the dispositions by which God guides his creation toward this perfection: “By his providence God protects and governs all things which he has made, “reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and ordering all things well”. For “all are open and laid bare to his eyes”, even those things which are yet to come into existence through the free action of creatures.”

To be sure, there are and will continue to be times when it seems as if we are alone, isolated or abandoned. Maybe we have accumulated much baggage that we continue to appeal to, when confronted with the gospel truths as taught by the Church, because we have rejected the wisdom or guidance of those who truly care about us. Christ desire that we be stripped from hurt, memories and baggage, that hold us back and prevent doors from opening to us, so that His mercy, love and forgiveness may be reinstated in us. We are called to show ourselves to be a real man or woman, who is prepared to face the world in a dignified way, and to give expression of our complete dependency on Gods wisdom, love and mercy abiding in His teachings. 

LET US PRAY: 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

10 Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed art thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Commentary. Henry R SYLVESTER 
Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.