Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.
The people didn't understand why the Lord had allowed them to experience defeat at the hands of the Philistines. In response, they decided to take matters into their own hands. If he wouldn't come with them into battle on his own, why, they would force him to come, without first consulting him. This seems like an instance of the phenomenon of religion being co-opted for political goals. It wasn't even necessarily the case that the goals were bad or wrong. They desired to preserve their tribal identity and freedom in the face of opposition from a hostile foreign power. Nevertheless, the involvement of their religion was superficial. First, they wondered why the Lord would allow their circumstances when they hadn't bothered asking him about them until they had already experienced negative outcomes. Second, even after experiencing defeat they didn't actually interact with the Lord meaningfully. Instead, they simply brought the ark, as though it were a sort of magical token that would give them power, rather than the dwelling place of God in their midst. It could not have been the case that this was done with due reverence. God and his presence weren't their primary concern, which was rather that they win the battle that was imminent.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The political usage of religion can generate hype and enthusiasm. We feel supremely validated when it seems that even God is on our side. By contrast, when we are primarily concerned to ensure that we are on God's side it necessitates reflection and self-criticism, in order to avoid self-deception by our egos. Such an introspective attitude, one in which individuals are willing to realize they are wrong, is inimical to the mutual hype machine of politics, in which no one will ever concede that mistakes were made, since the political agenda is, to them, unassailable.
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
.in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.
While the hype surrounding the presence of the ark might have seemed to be a useful good in itself in order to rally the forces of Israel for battle it not only didn't help but probably left them in worse shape than they would have been on their own. They imagined they had forced the hand of God in assisting them. When they discovered that they had not they were left high and dry. The hype was an illusion. The only power they had was their own, and it was insufficient. On top of that, the magnitude of the defeat seemed to indicate punishment from the Lord who did not appreciate the way religion had been twisted to other ends that day.
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
In contrast to those who thought they could force God to play on their side and aid with their plan was this leper from today's Gospel reading, who left his ultimate fate in the hands of Jesus. He obviously believed in the goodness of Jesus, in the fact that, all things being equal, a cure was not unlikely. But this did not mean he came before him with a demanding attitude, as though his cure was in fact the most important thing in the world. Even in the instance where the woman touched the hem of the garment of Jesus and received healing without first asking, she was in fact still demonstrating utmost humility before him, since to touch the ark of God's presence more directly was fraught with danger.
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
Perhaps part of the discrepancy is that we often try to force God to do what we imagine we deserve. But when we are humble and open to his will we are able to realize that everything we receive from him are free gifts that we have not earned. Why is the Lord so insistent that we keep this aspect of his blessings in mind? Perhaps it is just that he wants us to recognize what he does for us, not as payment, but as love.
Songs In His Presence - Prayer Of Augustine
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