Control and responsibility

Two key themes in today’s first reading (2 Samuel 24:2,9-17) are control and responsibility.

*****

The reading begins with King David ordering a census and then realizing that it was the wrong thing to do.

Why was it wrong? Partly because he was numbering the People of God as if they were his own possession rather than God’s and partly because he was counting “men fit for military service” as if manpower were more important than the power of the Lord in any conflict.

David wanted a better feeling of control and ended up going beyond his limits.

So too you and I usually prefer to feel in control of ourselves and of our destinies, but sooner or later we find that our ability to control life is limited.

To be sure, we must be prudent and diligent in our choices and in our efforts as we go through life, but we cannot maintain control of everything in our lives forever.

Ultimately, we must come to terms with limits and acknowledge ourselves as being in the hands of God.

*****

The reading ends with David’s taking responsibility for his sin, a sin that has brought harm to the people:

It is I who have sinned;
it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong.
But these are sheep; what have they done?
Punish me...

This is not an easy thing to do. Too often we are tempted to shift responsibility or even shift the consequences of our failures onto others. Even David did this: choosing a punishment that impacted the people (pestilence) rather than one that would have threatened him personally (three months of flight from his enemies).

As children and servants of God,
it is important for us
to accept the limits of our control
and to take responsibility,
placing ourselves always in the hands of God:
whose power and mercy are infinite.

(Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, have mercy on me – a sinner.)