Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

“He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

The story of David in the two books of Samuel (as well as the first two chapters of the first book of Kings), is assuredly the most extraordinary story in the Old Testament. It is a story filled with violence and death, jealousy, betrayal, lust and all seven of the deadly sins having their way. It would make a great HBO serial drama since they seem to revel in such things. But at its heart dwells the one thing that sets it apart from all the other lurid dramas of human failing, selfishness and weakness. That is David’s constant faith in God throughout it all and his own dedication to that same God and God’s goodness. In David’s long and tumultuous life he would fall into various and serious sinful behaviors. But he would always soon fully acknowledge his sin and seek repentance before the Lord.

That is because at heart, David was an honorable and, in the words of the old expression, a God-fearing man. He put his trust in God and only in God and was blessed for it despite his failings. In today’s first reading late in the first book of Samuel, we witness the first of two times when David would show his true spirit in sparing the life of Saul. David’s deep integrity of spirit would not allow him to take advantage of Saul who had made David his enemy. David knew that he was not. Saul is the image of the one who gives himself over to his own dark spirits, abandoning God in the process. Saul who had also been chosen by God from humble beginnings, unlike David did not remain faithful, disobeying God’s command regarding the Amalekites. Then he became jealous of David’s successes and sought to kill him, forcing David to flee. It is sad to see Saul here break down in guilt and remorse over his actions yet still not be able to overcome his demons. He would meet an even sadder end.

David would suffer many failings and many penances. After hearing Nathan’s story of the evil rich man and flying into a fury of righteous anger declaring that the man deserved to die for what he had done, he would have to also hear Nathan then tell him, “You are the man!” and listen to how God would punish him for his great sin against Uriah the Hittite with Bathsheba. After his son Absalom’s death and his great grieving, he would have to hear his commander Joab tell him that he was disgracing his own people and that his men would all leave him if he persisted in his misplaced grief for his traitorous son.

But throughout it all David’s integrity and faith in God remained absolute. David’s story is filled with the vicissitudes of human life. It has many great points and many low ones. Literally plucked from obscurity in the fields where he meekly tended his father’s sheep, he became the greatest king that Israel would ever know. All because he remained humble and faithful to God who he put before all. He did what God asked him to do and repented for his sins.

We too need to pray that we always remain faithful to God’s commandments, especially the commandment to love one another, never allowing our failures to defeat us. We need to strive, every day, to maintain our integrity before the Lord. If we seek to surrender to God’s will and do only what we know to be God’s will, we can do no wrong and live in peace, allowing God to guide us in every way. Our fears will diminish as well as our anxieties and worries about tomorrow since we have faith that it is all in God’s loving hands. We begin to live for the day and become more aware of God’s love all around us. We seek this through daily prayer and meditation and by always striving to bring to every situation, every encounter the peace and joy that reins in our hearts when we give them to God as it so reined in the sacred heart of Jesus.

We will probably not be chosen for the heights that God chose David, but that doesn’t matter at all if we simply unite our will with God’s. For then we will journey to the spiritual heights God calls each of us to and one of the many mansions in the Father’s house. We will finally hear, with the greatest joy, the Lord say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”