The Feast of St Anthony | Wednesday 17 January 2024

Today is Wednesday the 17th of January, the feast of St Anthony, in the second week of Ordinary time.

Paul Zach sings, ‘Nothing to Fear’.

When you pass through the waters I will be with you
And the depths of the river shall not overwhelm
When you walk through the fire you will not be burned
I am the Lord, I am the Lord
And there is nothing to fear, nothing to fear
There is nothing to fear, nothing to fear
For I am with you always
In the depths of your sorrow I wept beside you
When you walked through the shadow I drew you near
And yesterday, today, tomorrow, always the same
I am the Lord, I am the Lord
And there is nothing to fear, nothing to fear
There is nothing to fear, nothing to fear
For I am with you always
And there is nothing to fear, nothing to fear
There is nothing to fear, nothing to fear
For I am with you always
What can separate you from My perfect Love
What can separate you from My perfect Love
What can separate you from My perfect Love
Do not fear
Do not fear
Do not fear



Today, we will hear the story of David and Goliath from the First Book of Samuel in three parts, with reflection space in between.

1 Samuel 17: 32-33, 37, 40-51

David said to Saul, ‘Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’ David said, ‘The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you!’ Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

At this stage of his story, David, who later becomes King of Israel, is an unknown youth looking after sheep. What do you make of his offer to take on the Philistine’s top professional soldier single-handed? Is he brash, foolish, boastful, or entirely confident in God? Or perhaps a mixture of these?

The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.’ But David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.’

Goliath clearly doesn’t think much of David! Yet David throughout this passage tries to draw the attention away from himself and onto God, and what God will do. Where, do you think, is his confidence in God coming from?

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

As with so many bible stories, with God’s help the weak are able to triumph over the strong, the overlooked against those judged powerful by worldly standards. Where can you see this same pattern occurring in your own life?

Before this time of prayer comes to an end, speak with God, as one friend speaks to another, about what you have noticed during it.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.