A Homily for Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Friday, January 23, 2026
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
1 Samuel 24:3-21; Psalm 57:2, 3-4, 6 and 11; Mark 3:13-19
Audio Recording
There’s a moment in today’s First Reading that is thick with tension. Try to imagine how David felt when he saw Saul, the king who has been hunting him down with 3,000 of his men out of jealousy, walking into the very cave where he and his men are hiding.
As an aside, if you want to visualize this era better, I highly recommend the series on Amazon Prime called House of David. It shares consultants with The Chosen series and really brings the humanity of these figures to life. Seeing David as a flesh-and-blood man makes the readings leading up to Saul’s fall and David’s rise as King of Israel even more impressive.
Returning to that cave, upon seeing Saul enter, David’s men whisper to him, “God has delivered your enemy into your grasp!” It would have been easy justice for David. But after sneaking up and cutting off a piece of Saul’s mantle, he stops. His conscience strikes him. He realizes that even though Saul is acting like a villain, he is still the Lord’s anointed. David chooses mercy over vengeance, entrusting justice to God rather than forcing his own hand.
This reading connects beautifully — and perhaps more dramatically than we realize — to today’s Gospel when Jesus goes up the mountain and calls the Twelve. We often gloss over their names, but look closely at who He brought together. It wasn’t just that they were individually flawed; some were socially incompatible.
For example, He chose Matthew, a tax collector who collaborated with the Roman occupiers, and He chose Simon the Zealot, a man dedicated to violently overthrowing those same Romans. In the outside world, these two were natural enemies. They were “David and Saul” all over again. Yet, Jesus called them into the same small group. He forced them to live, eat, pray, and travel together.
Why? Because the school of mercy requires difficult classmates. You cannot learn to love your enemy if you only have mercy on your friends.
By calling them “to be with him,” Jesus was also teaching the Twelve to be with each other. He was teaching them that their identity as His followers was more important than their strong political or social differences. Before they could preach or drive out demons, they had to learn to sit at the same table without driving out each other.
So, what does this mean for us today?
First, we should consider restraint in our conversations. It’s easy to be at odds with others when they don’t see eye-to-eye with us, isn’t it? Living in a close community like Sun City Center, we hear rumors or learn about things that are embarrassing to our neighbor. The temptation to spread around another’s dirty laundry is rather like finding someone “in the cave.” You have the power to expose them or make a witty comment at their expense. But David teaches us that just because we have the ammunition, we don’t have to pull the trigger. Sometimes, the holiest thing we can do is stay silent and avoid discussing those things that polarize us or are potentially scandalous.
Second, think about family grievances. Many of us carry hurts from the “Sauls” in our families — perhaps a dispute over an inheritance or a long-standing grudge. We may know we are right, just as David was innocent. But being “right” doesn’t demand retaliation. We can choose to break the cycle of bitterness, forgiving others and handing that judgment over to God.
So today, if you find yourself with the upper hand over someone, remember David in the cave. Remember that we are called to be with Jesus more than we are to be against others. Let us act with mercy in all circumstances, keep our hearts clean, and leave the judging to God.
God bless you.