1 Sam 24:3-21 / Mark 3:13-19
To overkill means that the amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary.
The analogy that can be used here is like burning the whole house down just to get rid of ants.
In the 1st reading, we get a picture of an overkill when king Saul set out with three thousand men chosen from the whole of Israel to search for David and his men who wouldn't have numbered more than fifty.
Saul was all out to get David's life. But when David had all the opportunity to get even with Saul and even to take his life, David just cut off the border of Saul's cloak.
David knew better that he must not raise his hand against Saul, for as king of Israel, Saul was the anointed of the Lord.
David could have given in to the thirst for revenge but he chose the way of the Lord and not the way of evil.
When Jesus appointed the Twelve, they were to be His companions in that they were to learn from Him the ways of the Lord. They would be sent out to preach and with power to cast out devil.
The power of evil in the world is great, and the destruction it caused to lives is massive.
But like the companions of David and the Twelve apostles of Jesus, we must persevere and persist in the ways of the Lord. Let us remember that we can only overcome evil with good.