7TH SUNDAY HOMILY Readings. OT. King Saul and many troops lethally pursue David, but David gets the drop on them when they’re asleep. Yet he spares his ‘enemy’ Saul’s’ life. Why?
In the Epistle, it speaks of weakly doing things as limited to just the flesh (fallen state of humanity or caught in its residue). However, the new spiritual man has a power to direct his choices for Gods glory. Why not be empowered for more than what carnality brings? Live in the Spirit!
The Gospel-/Jesus surprises His disciples: By faith one can even pray for an enemy and even love them. Let’s try doing that!
Upon hearing the first reading today, of Saul being so tired and out asleep that David snuck up to be right over him—I ask you: Do you sleep with your bedroom doors locked or home alarms on? Safety must be a big concern to you—i.e, you don’t want to wake up at night with a stranger in your room, I’d suppose. It seems like a sensible home strategy and particularly if you are a deep sleeper sometimes, not to be awoken by strange noises or door creaks.
King Saul and an army had marched relentlessly in the deserts and mountains looking for David. Saul was on a campaign of hatred to take David’s life. Finally, he and his troops got extremely exhausted and all fell into a deep sleep in some open caves. They were so far gone in ZZZland (slumber) that David could come out of his hiding, sneak into their camp, and stand right over Saul’s defenseless body to be able to quietly take his life. But David did not do it, even against the demands of his sidekick there to go pierce Saul up to death and be rid of this enemy. Instead, David took Saul’s spear and jug as evidence he was there in the cave with that opportunity. David got over to a high, protected spot and shows Saul and his waking army later that the king’s life was spared by David. Here is an example of loving one’s enemy. David had loved Saul, even against all odds or sense. Why? He explains in this reading that it was primarily over the respect David still had for Saul’s office. You remain the Lord’s Anointed, Saul, so I cannot do this act. Hatred or jealousy will not consume me, not like I have seen it overtake you, my king, against me. What you I tended to do to me– kill me, get me out of the way– I will not do to you.
David shows that the Spirit’s beginning work in his life is not just courage and strength, as he displayed in defending Israel against Goliath, but David also grew in gifts of holy restraint and in discernment and patient trust in the Lord. David shows us modern people –three millennia later–a lesson in not hating, Nor in acting hastily, nor being harsh, or way too sure of our own opinion as the only right one. That describes the attitude and demeanor of a lot of people today. They are so puffed up in self-centeredness, entitlement and the critical harsh spirit to others–that it’s sickening. It’s hard to find Christians not doing it, too–we’ve become so like the world, who’ve converted us, not we to them, in the example of Christ in us.
I have seen it shown brashly in email or social media comments exchanged. Some political thing happens and the multitudes of haters and rash judgers are jumping in the social media bandwagon. In another example of that, a very good performance was recently given, but it had its few faults or of choice of some talent, and the hundreds of social media comments were so negative about the faults of the show but they missed applauding how great the event really came off. In a third case, I read a long stream of angry commenters online bashing somebody, thinking they were entitled to do it against this person. They really weren’t—it discouraged me—since it was an incident within our own parish family. Online life can be the dickens!
Getting back at someone or having revenge at someone or openly scorning someone does not square with Jesus’ Gospel today. It just doesn’t—not even in ‘minor’ social skirmishes. Our Lord says to take some time and patient discernment–in a turn-the-other-cheek method, rather than escalating a situation. Why won’t we take Jesus’ wisdom here? But instead—the fallen human response is: No, we can’t do that, Jesus!! It’s in my rights to fume and fight! But Jesus says back: Do you prefer the warring about over than you’re following Me? I would know how enemies can act quite badly, see My life’s story, but we should answer their poor actions or behavior done to us as back with love, not hate nor scorn.
Since we now have Jesus’ life in us, we can be spirit-led and not enslaved to sinful passions. The epistle calls us to be the spiritual man, or as I heard in a moral theology description–we can live in a divinized, elevated humanity. Living this way is more than occasionally taking the higher road, so to speak. It’s to be in the narrow path of the Lord as much as possible, rather than taking the wide path of destruction, which leads nowhere. So says the Scriptures. Believe it. Live it.
We hear in the second reading today how’s there’s the natural and the spiritual part of us, as the Christian. The earthly bound and the heavenly minded sides within our humanity; we get tempted easily by sin, but we do have the image of God already upon us, and we can live as we are created and designed to be, morally. God has entered your soul at baptism, so you are that divinized human or an anointed, blessed person as for God’s goodness to flow through you. This calls for openness to an ongoing conversion; we have to be open to the Spirit change. Our changed nature is to be in becoming the child of God that we are (1st John 3:2), and thus we should not act upon some of the sinful passions, or our impulses and out-of-control emotions that may go on in our lives. If we do, then we just get out of control and we start ruling all kinds of insults, hatred and foolishness around! Yet you know, in our culture today, this behavior is rampant. Don’t get on that bandwagon, for the devil’s leading it! Don’t let yourself go for the dickens and share all sorts of negativity, mean criticism and high-minded, self-righteous opinions—as if you’re wanting to play god for a while. Don’t bite that apple.
Jesus tells us today to rebuke that nastiness; go and bless, not curse! Pray for those who mistreat you and if someone strikes you, bear another blow before you’d start fighting back. Return love for hate, faith for fear, beauty for ashes. Can you even love your enemies, like Him on the Cross with us and our sins putting Him there? Can you stop judging and condemning, and rather forgive and open doors of mercy? That’s from the Truth of Jesus. Fr. J. Barry
3/ Onto the homily draft floor…. (this good stuff didn’t make it in)
Now –let’s talk about how exhausted someone can get even in just doing much GOOD. I think of young parents who may often look tired but it’s over their generous care for their child. I think of a grandma still working in two cleaning jobs into her late 80s, just to provide a needy grandchild some monies for their nursing school education bills. I think of a new deacon giving some weeknight time after work and lots of weekend assistance in a parish with only a sickly pastor doing the tasks– but this man stepped up to serve in Diaconia. This deacon sacrifices his time and some good sleep or recreation to help that aged pastor.
I can think of Jesus asleep in the boat in that story about the storm and why he stayed asleep in the boat –he was humanly exhausted. There is that “good tired” of working steadfastly for God. Even in a storm Jesus was not yet roused until His apostles did so awake Him in a panic . So there is a tired that knocks out even a big King Saul, exhausting himself in all his own strength and enraged waste of energy.
Let us not give in to sins that waste ourselves. Let us love, even the ‘unlovable’ or ‘undeserving.’ Because Jesus would ask us to use our energies that way.
If you who use up energy in the wrong passions could learn to transfer it for the power to do good. Then the Word of the Lord would be heard.
More Extra?
We hear in the first reading today and in Samuel 26 that King Saul was so enraged for the capturing of David, and for the purpose of eliminating him from being a future king. Saul was marching his army just relentlessly and without rest in search of David in the desert of Zin. He had with him 3000 men in search of David.
We have such enraged people today,
Are you the fuel to keep it burning on for worse or the water to douse it out?
David showed mercy and respect to whom he called “the Lord’s anointed.” David says: Yes, Saul may be awful — but his position is to be respected AND because God had chosen Saul.
David was a man of integrity and honor here. David said: ‘I will not take the life of someone who has God’s anointing!’ Of course, David knew that he had the anointing to be the future king, but still he respected the office that was in Saul’s holding, and David was in no hurry to take Saul’s place.