In this first reading today, we see a story most of us are probably very familiar with. David and Goliath. Sometimes we focus on David, sometimes we focus on Goliath. I want to focus on Saul and the Israelites for a moment. Notice what they are doing. They are quaking in fear. Staying on the sidelines, afraid to set foot on the battlefield. They had been on the field fighting until they saw Goliath. Then they retreated. Afraid.
David did what needed to be done, right? He stopped at the edge of the dry riverbed and picked up five smooth stones. While the warriors of Israel stood on the sidelines, this youth walked out into the middle and with a sling and a rock put an end to the terror of the Philistines. That’s all it took. A sling and a rock, AND the simple trust in God to set one foot in front of the other.
We all have a Goliath. For some of us, it’s loneliness. Some it’s addiction. Some it’s a disordered desire. Poverty. Depression. Fear. God is asking us to not sit on the sidelines in fear. To trust and take one step in front of the other. Yes, be equipped Pick up your five stones.
Our Lady, the blessed mother, in a private revelation once said the five stones we need to combat the devil are:
- Confession
- Eucharist
- The scriptures
- Praying from the heart
- Fasting
“Prayer, Fasting, the Mass, the Bible, and Confession are the true medicines that restore us to health once again, the way through the Red Sea, leading us to the other shore and driving Goliath out of our way so that we might find peace. It is through them that we can have the courage to know that God is with us and will fight our battles for us. Because David picked up all five rocks, but it only took one of them to drive Goliath into the dirt.” (Fr JOZO ZOVKO OFM, The Five Stones of Medjugorje)
Because David’s real triumph was not in defeating the giant of the Philistine army. It was in allowing God to equip him, picking up the stones, and following God’s call into the battlefield. Once David stepped forward in faith, God did the rest.
A reflection on the readings for Wednesday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time: January 19th, 2022