Feast of St Thomas Aquinas

“Who am I, Lord God, and who are the members of my house, that you have brought me to this point?

King David is one of those “great” men of history, with many great qualities and some awful ones. Foremost of his good qualities, he loved the Lord.

David remembered where he came from. He was the least of Jesse’s sons. When Samuel came to Bethlehem to find a king to replace Saul, he looked among the sons of Jesse. But Jesse had a house full of  fine young men and they didn't even call David from the fields. But the old judge insisted they should bring him in. No sooner did David enter the room than Samuel heard God say, "This is the one! Anoint him!" (1 Sam 16:12)

David was still a stripling when he miraculously defeated the Philistine warrior Goliath. Suddenly a hero and conquerer, he successfully led soldiers through one battle after another. They wiped out the Philistine problem that had plagued Israel since Joshua's time. He out-lived his rival Saul and then captured the impregnable city of Jerusalem. Despite the prior claims of Saul’s family, David finally won the allegiance of the Israelites and was crowned king.  After years of continual warfare David suddenly found himself and his kingdom at peace. Clearly, the favor of the Lord lay upon him.

Remembering his humble origins, David knew God had blessed him. And now, through the prophet Nathan -- Samuel was long dead by then -- God swore that a descendant of David would rule in Jerusalem forever.

In a meritocracy like the United States where recognition and success are supposed to be attained by talent, energy, and hard work even Christians stumble on the doctrine of election. We just don’t think it’s fair that God blesses some more than others. If "all men are created equal" then the differences between us seem to be wrong. It's not fair that some are born richer, smarter, healthier, more popular, more beautiful or more influential than others. If some people have more of this world's blessings, they must have earned them without God's intervention.

In the face of an ever widening gulf between the rich and poor, some people say God's favor -- which is supposed to be equally distributed -- is some kind of invisible grace that cannot be seen, touched, or measured. It's "spiritual."

Others resist the doctrine saying: "I have succeeded. I am a self-made person! I deserve and have earned everything I have.” With that attitude the advantaged person refuses to use his blessings for the good of others. If he gives anything to anyone for any purpose, his ego goes with it.

But the middle class conceit of “talent, energy and hard work” rarely explains worldly success or achievement. Has Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods really earned that much money? Or was there some other mysterious principle at work that tilted the billiard table and sent hundreds of millions of dollars rolling into their pockets? Do Americans really deserve this lavish, wasteful life style? Has the Wall Street trader or the billion dollar banker demonstrated that much more talent, genius or energy than the migrant field hand? If, on a scale of one to a thousand -- Tiger Woods being a thousand and a dead dog being zero -- I rated ten as a golfer, shouldn't I be paid one percent of his salary to play golf?

David knew where his blessings came from. He knew that God had chosen him for a purpose, even if he could  not imagine what that purpose might be. On those occasions when he did forget -- and there were several -- God punished him severely, as we shall see.

Let us not forget who has bestowed such unearned, undeserved and overwhelming favor upon us. Let us remember that every blessing comes with great responsibility. It's not about me! It's not for me.
Any thoughts on the subject! I welcome compliments, comments, critiques and carps.