2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Saul is dead. Samuel is too. This is both good and bad news for David. He now has a chance at the throne, something he has wanted, but he needs to show he is better than the sons of Saul, the heirs. These two books of Samuel read like many other stories of ancient battles in kingdoms where witches and gods play a part. Flip back a few chapters to the Witch of Endor for a taste of that. Throughout, you can also see the evolution of the gods themselves. This is not a history book, but archaeology tells us these people were living simple lives and worshipping in simple, personal ways. The god that didn't want a statue was on the rise, but monotheism was not yet the dominant paradigm.

David honors the past and the work of the people on the land in their "bounteous fields". God is not at the center of this eulogy. He praises the friendships more than the weapons. He also uses the moment to mention to "tell it not in Gath", or the enemy might think they have the upper hand with a kingdom that has no king. David plays the part of unifier for now.

Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15, 2:23-24

Many centuries separate the authors of this book and the time of Solomon. Orthodox Catholics might have this in their Bible, others don't. It doesn't offer much wisdom. It mostly says it's a good thing to be wise, somewhat like a father today stumbling over a speech to his teenage kids. If you have argued with someone about why there is evil in the world you'll recognize these lines. It reflects the melding of Hebrew and Greek philosophies and new ideas of life after death that were entering Jewish culture. In this passage, we get an interpretation of the Garden of Eden story.

Mark 5:21-43

We get a little more insight into Jesus interacting with people this week. This isn't the first of it in the book of Mark, but we've skipped those verses. In a different year, the calendar would have covered 1:41 for example. In some translations, and personally I consider them the correct ones, Jesus is angry with people bothering him for healing. Some of this was written out in later translations, and much more of it was cleansed by time we get to Matthew and Luke. For example, compare Mark 3:1-6 and Matthew 12:9-14. In this passage, he could be a bit annoyed with this woman and she is worried that he will be.

As for the reaction of the people, we see them not understanding who Jesus is. This will continue in the coming chapters. The miracles amaze the crowds, but he keeps having the same problem of not being understood by those in his inner circle.