2 Sam 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30-19:3 / Mk 5:21-43
What can match the agony of a parent who sees his child die? This was King David’s agony as we learn in today’s reading from the Book of Samuel. His son Absalom had led a rebellion against him, had humiliated him publicly, and had come very close to seizing his throne. Absalom’s hatred for his father was palpable, but when news of his death came to David, the king wept bitterly, "My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son."
There is nothing rational or calculating about a parent’s love for a child. That love simply is and simply endures. We should pay close attention to the quality and power of that love for it is the merest shadow of the love that God has for us. Remember Jesus’ words from the gospel, "If you with all your faults know how to give good things to your children, how much more does your heavenly Father know how to love you."
Trial and hardship can incline us to forget many of life’s most important lessons. More than any other, this is the lesson we must never forget: Our Father loves us with a love that will never end — no matter what!
