Madly in love!

WORD 2day: Friday, 4th week in Ordinary time

February 4, 2022: Ecclesiasticus 47:2-13; Mark 6: 14-29

We are given to meet two extraordinary persons in the Word today - first, David who was treated by God as a 'friend,' and second, John, who was declared that among those who are born of women, there is no one more blessed than him. They were both men of God, one called to rule and the other called to teach; one called to govern and the other to direct and counsel hearts to the Lord.

There is, above all, a comparison that makes these two stand out - they were both considered strange or even mad. David considered the Lord his Master, shepherd and king and therefore when it came to expressing his love for the Lord, he would go to any extent, at times even his wife laughed at him, we  are aware. The Baptist was indeed a strange man and that is how everyone knew and saw him - a skin-clad man who was living on locusts and wild honey.

They were both mad, yes mad in their love for God and what pertained to God. Did they have their shortcomings - yes they did. One was an emotionally driven man and the other was a sociability-challenged man. But when it came to their dedication to God and the mission that God had entrusted to them, they were totally and absolutely committed. Nothing else mattered to them; not their public image, nor their social acceptability, or their personal projects, not even their own lives!

This is the hallmark of a true person of God - being madly in love with God.