Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church

Lectionary: 315

So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul’s mantle.

Afterward, however, David regretted that he had cut off an end of Saul’s mantle.

He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master,

the LORD’s anointed, as to lay a hand on him,

for he is the LORD’s anointed.”

I am not a Veteran of military service but have worked as a chaplain in the VA for the past twelve years. I have heard it said that the military is second only to the Church for it's sense of ceremony. They maintain their values and discipline with ceremonies from induction to discharge, from dawn to dusk and throughout the night. I have met few, if any,  Veterans who didn't take these ceremonies and their values very seriously. Flags are raised, saluted, lowered and properly stored. Uniforms, weapons, medallions and their significance are treated with reverence. Nothing is more sacred than the body of a fallen comrade. They will be returned to their homes and families regardless of the expense. I can only wish I found the same zeal among Catholics, both clergy and lay.

In today's gospel, the warrior David shows admirable deference to "the Lord's anointed." By most standards, neither he nor Saul should be called a king at this point in history. They are guerrilla leaders fighting a common enemy and struggling with one another. Saul has the advantage of precedence and age; David enjoys youth, superior abilities and God's favor. He is also devout; he will not violate the Lord's anointed although Saul, the anointed one, has been notoriously indifferent to the Lord's commands.

Three thousand years later, after four centuries of the Enlightenment and the hegemony of Science, we struggle to find the holy in a secular world, and to live like a holy people in a culture that measures, tabulates and assesses everything but the sacred.

Our reverence for people, places, and thing; for language, song, and symbols; begins with a "Davidic" awareness of God's presence and authority. "I am under obedience. God's eye upon me. I know that I am God's representative in this place." 

Reverence need not be scrupulous, as if the Lord is continually looking to withdraw his divine favor. David never learned that kind of lesson from watching Saul's fall from grace. Children, growing up in a sanctimonious household where everything they do -- essentially they themselves -- are judged and found unworthy of God's goodness, balk against such joyless religion. If their religious formation ends there they will leave and never look back. I often meet such men in the VA hospital. 

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul gives simple advice about way of life; especially, "Do nothing to grieve the Holy Spirit." With our daily examen, we pay attention to the Spirit that is guiding us. We recall our conversations and activities and ask, "What spirit was guiding me at that time? Was it pleasant, or fearful, or suspicious, or confident? Eager or reluctant? Is anything weighing upon my spirit? A decision I must make but am putting off? (Perhaps it's not yet time to make that decision.) 

In prayer we return to a confident assurance that the Lord is guiding us, and especially when we can't figure where we're going. 

David showed an admirable, honorable restraint as he dealt with Saul. Anointed by the last of the Judges, Samuel, who had switched his allegiance from Saul to David, the young warrior bided his time. Although he had the vindictive Saul in a stupor at his feet, he would not kill him. He let God arrange for his promise to be fulfilled.  

Saul finally died in battle; but, many years later, King David died of old age in his own bed, with his beloved Bathsheba close by and several old friends. Not many rulers have enjoyed that privilege. Perhaps the Shepherd King won it when he restrained his hand.