Unity and division

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today contain themes of unity and division. The passage from the Second Book of Samuel tells of the petition to David to unite the northern and southern tribes of Israel under his rule as king who FriarJude Winkler notes as shepherd of my people Israel (2 Samuel 5:2). The attributes of rule by a king in ancient times were too often oppression and submission of the people. David acts to make Jerusalem the political and religious capital of the united Israel. He maintains a standing army and needto impose taxes on the people to support the kingdom. The role of shepherd to guide, protect and encourage the growth of the flock is expressed in Psalm 23. The focus on the Lord who is the source of our sustenance, peace and security is in tension with attending to the political and temporal decisions of human leaders who share with all people some division of their attention between Love, service and self aggrandizement. Patrick Borchers of Creighton University identifies the compartmentalization of our lives into time for God and time for other action. The danger in not attending to the ways in which we are moved away from God is the capture of the our lives by the rule of Satan under an oppression and submission which may lead to, an end suggested by Don Schwager, of falling into apostasy (giving up the faith) out of cowardice or disbelief. We pray with the psalmist to petition God “You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!”(Psalm 89:26)