Readings

1 Samuel 4.1–11 – And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel, and Israel went out to battle against them; they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.’ So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, ‘What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid; for they said, ‘Gods have come into the camp.’ They also said, ‘Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.’ So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot-soldiers. The ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Mark 1.40–end – A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Reflection

In our two readings today we are presented with two very different pictures of how people relate to God — and, perhaps more importantly, how God relates to people.

In the reading from 1 Samuel, Israel is in crisis. They are at war with the Philistines and have already suffered defeat. In their desperation, they decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the battlefield. The Ark, the sacred symbol of God’s presence, is carried out with great ceremony. There is shouting, confidence, even triumph before the battle has begun. Surely now, with the Ark among them, God must give them victory.

But the result is devastating. Israel is defeated again, the Ark is captured, and many lives are lost.

The shock of this story lies in its uncomfortable truth: the people treat the Ark as if it were a lucky charm, something to be used, rather than a sign of a living relationship with God. They want God’s power, but without the humility, repentance, and trust that faithful living requires. God is reduced to an object they hope will guarantee success.

Contrast this with the Gospel reading from Mark.

Here we meet a man with leprosy — someone excluded, feared, and pushed to the margins of society. He comes to Jesus not with shouting or confidence, but with vulnerability. He kneels and says, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” There is no attempt to control Jesus, no assumption of entitlement. Only trust.

And Jesus’ response is striking. Moved with compassion, he reaches out and touches the man — something that would have made Jesus himself ritually unclean. He crosses boundaries of fear and exclusion and says, “I do choose. Be made clean.”

In this moment, power flows not through an object or ritual used for advantage, but through compassion, relationship, and mercy. God’s holiness is not diminished by contact with suffering — instead, healing and restoration flow outward.

Placed side by side, these readings ask us a searching question: how do we approach God?

Do we, like Israel in Samuel, sometimes treat God as a means to an end — something to help us succeed, to fix our problems, to confirm our own plans? Even our religious practices, good as they are, can slip into that pattern if we are not careful: prayers that are really demands, worship that seeks reassurance without transformation.

Or do we come like the man in the Gospel — aware of our need, honest about our brokenness, trusting not in outcomes but in the character of Jesus?

The good news is that Jesus does not turn away those who come in humility. He does not require perfect faith or impressive words. He responds to honesty and trust. He touches what others avoid. He restores dignity where it has been lost.

For us, in the life of the Church, this is both a comfort and a challenge. God is not something we possess or control. Yet God is closer than we dare to imagine — present not as a tool for our success, but as a companion who brings healing, even when the path is costly.

As we reflect on these readings, we are invited to lay aside any temptation to use God for our own purposes, and instead to place ourselves before Christ as we are — trusting that, in his compassion, he still says: “I do choose.”

Amen.