Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

2 Samuel 18,9-10.14-21.24-25.30-32; 19,1-3

Absalom happened to run into some of David's guards. Absalom was riding his mule and the mule passed under the thick branches of a great oak. Absalom's head got caught in the oak and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule he was riding went on. Someone saw this and reported to Joab, 'I have just seen Absalom hanging from an oak.' Joab then said, 'I cannot waste time arguing with you!' And, taking three darts in his hand, he planted them in Absalom's heart, while he was still alive, deep in the oak-tree. Ten soldiers, Joab's armour-bearers, then came in close, struck Absalom and killed him. Joab then had the trumpet sounded, and the troops left off pursuing Israel, since Joab held the troops back. They took Absalom, flung him into a deep pit in the forest and raised a huge cairn over him. All the Israelites had fled, dispersing to their homes. Now, during his lifetime, Absalom had made and erected a pillar to himself, which is in the Valley of the King. 'I have no son', he said, 'to preserve the memory of my name.' He gave his own name to the pillar, and today it is still called Absalom's Monument. Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, 'Let me run and tell the king the good news that Yahweh has vindicated his cause by ridding him of his enemies.' But Joab said, 'Today you would be no bearer of good news, some other day you may be; but today you would not be bringing good news, since the king's son is dead.' Joab then said to the Cushite, 'Go and tell the king what you have seen.' The Cushite prostrated himself to Joab and ran off. David was sitting between the two gates. The sentry, having gone up to the roof of the gate, looked out from the ramparts and saw a man running alone. The sentry called down to the king and told him. The king said, 'If he is alone, he is bringing good news.' The king said, 'Go and stand over there.' He stood to one side and waited. Then the Cushite arrived. 'Good news for my lord the king!' the Cushite shouted. 'Today Yahweh has vindicated your cause, by ridding you of all who had risen up against you.' 'Is all well with young Absalom?' the king asked the Cushite. 'May the enemies of my lord the king', the Cushite answered, 'and all who rise up to harm you, share the fate of that young man!' The king shuddered. He went up to the room over the gate and burst into tears; and, as he wept, he kept saying, 'Oh, my son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! Oh, Absalom my son, my son!' Word was brought to Joab, 'The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.' And for the entire army that day, victory was turned to mourning, the troops having learnt that the king was grieving for his son.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

God had punished David for his sins. Absalom, who is marked by grave faults, does not feel remorse for his sins, much less asks for forgiveness. The story of the day of the battle in which Absalom is defeated and killed therefore appears as the logical end to a life lived with cynicism and cruelty, with its back turned on God. The unhappy image of Absalom, still alive, suspended between heaven and earth, entangled in the branches of an oak by his abundant hair, with his heart crossed by three darts thrown by Joab, is striking for its rawness. Joab once again appears to be a combination of cunning, opportunism and ruthless courage. Despite David's explicit orders, Joab has not even the slightest doubt of ensuring Absalom's death, perhaps because it might have ended an abnormal situation in the kingdom that had negative personal consequences for him as well. Joab would certainly have preferred not to do so by his own hand, in order to avoid a disagreement with David. He tries cunningly to convince the soldier who had informed him of Absalom's situation, but fails. The good soldier, out of loyalty to David and because he knows Joab's ability to betray him and unfairly reproach him before the king, declines the proposal, accusing Joab of his duplicity of mind. Joab must take responsibility for the killing of Absalom. David is shocked at the news of his son's death: he retreats alone upstairs and bursts into tears, repeating Absalom's name aloud with the tender name "my son." His pain is such that he confesses that he wished to die in his place. The text notes that the "victory that day was turned into mourning." Death is never a victory. The Lord always wants man to live and for the sinner to convert.