I HAVE FOUND MY SERVANT
God is looking inside us. We are called to honor the Lord in the
way we treat each other and celebrate God in our life.
In the
Responsorial Psalm we pray, "I have found David, My servant; with My holy
oil I have anointed him, that My hand may be always with him, and that My arm
may make him strong" (Ps 89:20-21). Samuel asks Jesse if he has more sons.
Jesse replies, "'There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.'
Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet
until he arrives here.' He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a
splendid appearance. The Lord said, 'There - anoint him, for this is he'"
(1 Sm 16:11-12)!
The
Lord's words to Samuel in today's first reading should echo loudly in our ears:
"Not as man sees does God see" (1 Sm 16:7). The Lord is interested in
who we are inside. God sees inside David and makes him king of Israel. God is
looking inside us, too. His power is our guarantee. God's strength is our
boast. We should be happy to be the people He has chosen. This is our history,
and God's Spirit is our life. Our destiny on earth is the expression of God's
divine will, for He is our God and we are His people. God does not care about
external appearances but, rather, what is in our hearts.
God's
ways are not our ways and His values are not our values. One of the
characteristics of God as manifested in the Bible is that He is different.
Think about our process for presidential elections. There are long, drawn out
and very expensive campaigns in which the candidates try to sell themselves to
the American public. Unabashedly, they proclaim their qualities and virtues.
And, that is only for the primaries! The primaries are followed by even more
intensive and expensive campaigns, marked not only by self-proclamation but,
sometimes, by vicious attacks on the opponent. Theoretically, the process is
supposed to produce the best person for the job. Whether it does or not, we
leave it to political analysts.
In
stark contrast is God's approach to His choice of a king to succeed Saul. God
sends His prophet, Samuel, to the little, out of the way town of Bethlehem. He
does not tell the prophet to search out a famous governor or mayor, someone
with experience or even with wealth or education. He tells him to choose the
least likely son of Jesse, one whom Jesse himself did not even consider as a
possibility - his youngest son, David, who would become the greatest king in
the history of the Israelites.
"Not
as man sees does God see" (ibid). Characteristics of God in the Bible
reflect that He is different. Jesus and His ministry on earth turned things
up-side down. Today's Gospel reminds us of the story about David and his men.
When they were fleeing for their lives, they sought food from the priest. The
only bread he had was the holy bread offered in the Temple. None but the
priests were allowed to eat it. In their hunger, David and his men ate of this
bread. Jesus reminds the Pharisees, in Mark's Gospel, that the Sabbath was
given for our benefit, to refresh and renew us in living for God. It was
intended for good only. Withholding mercy and kindness in response to human
needs is not part of God's intention but, rather, that we rest from unnecessary
labor. We are called to honor the Lord in the way we treat each other and
celebrate God in our life.
We have
been chosen by God to be a kingly and priestly people. This choice has been
freely made by God. It is not as if God looked around to discover the most
qualified people, the most intelligent or the most influential and wealthy. It
was God Who made David king and it is God Who has made us His people out of His
own goodness. We do well always and everywhere to give thanks and praise to God
for His goodness to us.