The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to prayerfully meditate on the image of the Kingdom as demonstrated by David and as lived by Jesus.
Kingdom in the Capital
In the reading from the Second Book of Samuel, David is anointed King of all Israel and Jerusalem is made capital of the Combined Kingdom.
* [5:6–12] David’s most important military exploit, the taking of Jerusalem, is here presented before his battles with the Philistines, vv. 17–25, which took place earlier. The sense of vv. 6 and 8 is in doubt. Perhaps the Jebusites boasted that Jerusalem was impregnable, using a metaphorical or proverbial expression that claimed the city was defensible even by people not suited for military action. The saying then received a different sense (v. 8), to the effect that “the blind and the lame” were David’s enemies. Mt 21:14 and Lk 14:13 seem to play off, and transform, this saying.1
Psalm 89 praises God’s Covenant with David.
* [89:26] The sea…the rivers: geographically the limits of the Davidic empire (the Mediterranean and the Euphrates); mythologically, the traditional forces of chaos. See note on Ps 89:11.2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is confused with Beelzebul.
* [3:22] By Beelzebul: see note on Mt 10:25. Two accusations are leveled against Jesus: (1) that he is possessed by an unclean spirit and (2) by the prince of demons he drives out demons. Jesus answers the second charge by a parable (Mk 3:24–27) and responds to the first charge in Mk 3:28–29. * [3:29] Whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit: this sin is called an everlasting sin because it attributes to Satan, who is the power of evil, what is actually the work of the holy Spirit, namely, victory over the demons.3
Angela Maynard is reminded that Satan is a powerful force and is often disguised making it difficult to realize he is always at work.
* [3:22] By Beelzebul: see note on Mt 10:25. Two accusations are leveled against Jesus: (1) that he is possessed by an unclean spirit and (2) by the prince of demons he drives out demons. Jesus answers the second charge by a parable (Mk 3:24–27) and responds to the first charge in Mk 3:28–29. * [3:29] Whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit: this sin is called an everlasting sin because it attributes to Satan, who is the power of evil, what is actually the work of the holy Spirit, namely, victory over the demons.3
Don Schwager quotes “The cross of Christ as victory,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"It is not difficult, therefore, to see how the devil was conquered when he, who was slain by him, rose again. But there is something greater and more profound of comprehension: to see how the devil was conquered precisely when he was thought to be conquering, namely, when Christ was crucified. For at that moment the blood of him who had no sin at all, was shed for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28, 1 John 3:5). The devil deservedly held those whom he had bound by sin to the condition of death. So it happened that One who was guilty of no sin freed them justly from this condemnation (Hebrews 2:14). The strong man was conquered by this paradoxical justice and bound by this chain, that his vessels [booty] might be taken away. Those vessels which had been vessels of wrath were turned into vessels of mercy (Romans 9:22-23)." (excerpt ON THE TRINITY 13.15.19)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Samuel 5:1-7, 10 comments that considering David’s inconsistent history, how can we understand what seems like an unconditional statement that God was with David? God’s love for David did not rise and fall with David’s actions. The Lord knew him inside and out. David had potential for greatness and he had his weaknesses. But even when David was mired in sin, there was still some part of him that wanted to please the Lord. Even when he disobeyed, his heart was open enough to hear the call to repentance and see the error of his ways.
That can be a lesson for us. Like David, we have been blessed by God, but his love for us isn’t won by our good behavior. Even when we’re lost in sin, God is still beside us, always prepared to take us back. That’s when our hearts need to be like David’s—ready to hear and respond to God’s call to repentance, always trusting that he is with us. “Lord, thank you for your unfailing love for David. Help me to be like David in my response to you.”6
Friar Jude Winkler shares the history of David and Saul’s family on his path to choose Jerusalem, midway between the northern and southern tribes as the capital of the United Kingdom. Beelzebub is a play on the words for the “Lord of the Flies”. Friar Jude reminds us of the understanding of St. John Paul II on the nature of the unforgivable sin of rejection of the mercy of God.
The post by Franciscan Media about Saint Frances de Sales calls him a Champion of Prayer. In the Salesian tradition, prayer, even in this fairly elementary method, never remains notional but always draws the one praying toward active growth and alignment of the will with the divine prompting.
The final movements of this interior process include thanksgiving, the offering of one’s affections and resolutions, and supplication. Then, with his typically encouraging spiritual pedagogy, Francis assures that the fruits of the meditation will not fade by proposing that we collect a souvenir or “spiritual bouquet.” As a prayer coach, St. Francis de Sales encourages us to jump in and swim in the grace of God. Amen!7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes that Jesus’ life and teachings offer us a foundational example of God’s all-inclusive love that we are asked to emulate.
Jesus is shockingly not upset with sinners. This is a shock so total that most Christians, to this day, refuse to see it. He is only upset with people who do not think they are sinners: these denying, fearful, and illusory individuals are the actual blockage. They are much more likely to hate and feel no compunction. Formerly, religion thought its mission was to expel sin and evil. Through Jesus, we learn that sin lies in the very act of expelling. There is no place to expel it to. We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us. We either carry and transform the evil of human history as our own problem, or we increase its efficiency and power by hating and punishing it “over there.” The Jesus pattern was put precisely and concisely by Paul: “for our sake he made the sinless one a victim for sin, so that in him we might become the uprightness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). I admit, that is counterintuitive for most people. Only mystics and sinners seem to get it.8
Our contemplation of salvation history, in prayer, awakens the Spirit to gratitude for God’s grace and mercy.
References
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