17 January 2024 - Homily for Wednesday of the 2nd week of Ordinary Time - St Anthony of Egypt - 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

We celebrated one of the Desert Fathers this past Monday, on January 14: Paul the Hermit. Today we celebrate the most celebrated of the Desert Fathers: Anthony of Egypt, who was born in the middle of the 3rd century.  St Athanasius of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church and Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, wrote a biography about St Anthony of Egypt, making him very popular in the Early Church. Anthony sold his large inheritance at the age of 20 and moved to the solitude of the desert. The movement of the Desert Fathers, of which Anthony of Egypt was a founding Father, comprised a path of faith in simplicity and silence. It reminds all of us of how important our prayer life is to our faith, how we are to search for quiet moments where we are to find God’s presence.  

The Desert Fathers felt called to go back to the simple, bare-boned roots of the Christian faith. In that context, we hear the story of David in Goliath in our first reading today, in which a confident professional warrior sees a young boy approaching him to fight. Goliath curses David in the name of his pagan gods and describes how he is going to destroy him. David, on the other hand, came into this meeting with Goliath having confidence that the Lord would protect him and keep him safe. David tells Goliath that he comes against him in the name of the Lord. While David has confidence in God, he also does his part. He doesn't just sit back and let God do all the work. David had work to do as well. But, instead of the weapons of an ancient warrior, David brought stones and a sling that a shepherd in Ancient Israel would normally carry to protect his flock. We think of how at times on our journey of faith we may feel vulnerable and ill equipped, needing to put our trust in the Lord. 

When we approach goals and problems in life, we are called to see God's presence in what we are undertaking. Nothing is impossible for God, but when we try to take matters in our own hands and ignore God's will for us, we will realize that we cannot do it alone and on our own initiative no matter what the battle is.