But Samuel said Saul: “Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD?
Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he, too, has rejected you as ruler.”
When the prophet Nathan exposed the King's sins of adultery and murder, David immediately repented. Unlike his predecessor, Saul, he did not claim that he obeyed the LORD "and fulfilled the mission on which the LORD sent me."
Nor did he point to the complicity of others, as Saul did when he said that his soldiers "took the sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the LORD their God in Gilgal.”
David trembled with fear that the Lord might "drive me from before your face, (and) take from me your holy spirit." (Psalm 51: 13)
Jesse's son remembered that Saul, his mentor whom he loved like a father, had lost his wits. He had become paranoid and obsessive when the Lord withdrew his Spirit from him. The talented, commanding leader of the people had died, apparently by his own hand, during a battle with the Philistines.
David's authority as king, indeed his very identity, was rooted in the preference God had shown him. Should that favor be withdrawn, he would certainly go mad. The stresses of power, with its isolation and privileges, with its daily, continual problems to be addressed and crises to be resolved, would drive anyone insane. Without God's daily guidance, strength, and regenerating energy, David feared for his sanity.
Millions of people today face that crisis as their lives fall apart. The Lord pledges enormous grace to us in Baptism; it is the source of our identity. It describes our mission as God's sacred presence; we are sent from Jerusalem to testify to what we have seen and heard.
That divine election, however, is demanding, as Samuel reminded Saul. We can't do things the way everybody else does. We can't conform to the expectations of others, even those pious others who tell us how we should sacrifice sheep and oxen to the Lord.
"Obedience is better than sacrifice,and submission than the fat of rams."Without that fundamental relationship with God, every other relationship totters on unstable foundations. Without it, many people lose their wits.
The story of Saul is a tragedy for the ages. David learned the lesson and repented when his sin was exposed. Punished with the death of Bathsheba's son, he recognized the stern but merciful hand of God.
Our religion teaches us to do penance. We have our penitential seasons of Advent and Lent; and the Sacrament of Penance. Confessing our sins to a priest, we experience the intensity of God's very personal light in the darkness of our private sins. He knows us; He always knew us; He forgives and welcomes us home again.
Within the folds of that sacrament we often repeat the words of our ancestor David,
Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my iniquities. A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.