Saurday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 310

There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish,

who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror,

son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite.

He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man.

There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul;

he stood head and shoulders above the people.

So begins the story of King Saul. He was a handsome young man, a ferocious warrior, and a capable military commander. He had the favor of God, the support of the judge Samuel, and the enthusiastic confidence of his people. But he had one tragic flaw, a trait as fatal as Oedipus' conceit and Leer's arrogance. He supposed he knew the ways of God. 

It's a mistake children make of parents, to which the parent replies, "I don't care what other parents say or do, you are my child and I am your parent!" I suppose there are husbands and wives who say something similar to their spouses, "You cannot and will not compare me to anyone else!" And parents have to reckon with their children because each one is born with personality and is not like other children. 

Several years ago there was a phrase making the rounds, "What would Jesus do?" It was marketed as WWJD, and taken seriously by many people. I was never comfortable with the slogan. 

What would Jesus do if he were alive today? If a first century Jewish Palestinian rabbi were in this situation? What kind of question is that? 

Jesus is alive today. He gives us his Holy Spirit to guide us daily and hourly. Why don't we ask, "What does the Holy Spirit tell me to do on this, the eighteenth day of the twenty-first year of the twenty-first century?" 

It is easy to second-guess what people should have done in the United States in 1941 to avoid the Second World War; or 1860, to avoid a civil war; what the Pope and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux should have done in 1096 to avoid the Crusades. But we weren't there, we cannot fully comprehend the situation, and we don't know what the Holy Spirit counseled at that time. We can no more second-guess them than we would ask, "What would Pope Urban II do in this situation?" 

True, there are general principles about how to raise children, how to address one's spouse, and how to approach God. They are useful and not to be lightly dismissed. They are handy tools but they cannot replace the face to face encounter with the Beloved. 

The Lord invited Saul to lead the people with Him, and Saul took charge as if he could replace God. Despite all the signs, he would not accept David at his right hand as an equally capable and loyal commander. And then he did as his enemies did, allowing his soldiers to pillage and steal, instead of putting all the captured treasure under the bann. Losing God's favor he became suspicious and paranoid, which finally led to his defeat and death. God removed him in favor of David, his loyal servant. 

Saul's is a tragic, familiar story of one blessed by God but unable to discern the difference between God's favor and his own merits. Like many of today's world leaders, he thought he was indispensable and irreplaceable, that he would live forever. 

Learning from his story, we approach the Throne of Mercy each day, asking the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and desires, our impulses and choices, and to be with us even when he tells us to stand down.