Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 320

Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you. 

And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth;

you have made this generous promise to your servant.

Do, then, bless the house of your servant that it may be before you forever;

for you, Lord GOD, have promised, and by your blessing the house of your servant shall be blessed forever.”

Our first reading yesterday, from 2 Samuel, described Nathan's unexpected blessing to King David, that his descendants should reign forever in Israel. Today we read of David's response. He immediately went to prayer. The Divine Author says he "sat in the presence of the Lord." I suppose a king may do so.

Like the Virgin Mary a thousand years later, he praises God, "...you are God and your words are truth." He has received this astonishing promise. We might suppose a question naturally springs out of his heart, "Can this be true?
People unexpectedly seeing a long lost brother, sister, or child might say the same thing: "Is this happening? Can I believe my eyes? Am I dreaming?"

King David immediately grabs at what he knows, "The Word of God is true!"

In our time, under a siege of half-truths, alternate facts, and baldfaced lies, Christians must affirm our belief in Truth. God speaks truly to us; we speak truly among ourselves; we speak truly to the world. We have no need for exaggeration or deception; we can speak carefully and faithfully. We know that people rely on us to speak the truth; we should be recognized as honest men and women.

We also have a Spirit who affirms us in truth; that is, we have a intuition of what is true and reliable. That knowledge of truth may not be infallible. We have not been permitted to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But because we can talk over our concerns with friends and family who share our religious and spiritual values, we're not so likely to fall for telephone scams and conspiracy theories. The Bible teaches us to "test every spirit" and to beware of impetuous decisions. If an opportunity seems too good to be true, we know we don't need it. "No, thank you!" 

When the day comes that we cannot believe in government, business, entertainment or religion to speak the truth, our civilization will collapse. We will not dare to cross bridges for the builders may have cut corners. We will not enter private homes or public buildings. Food and drink will be tainted by the merchants who only look out for their own interests. Labeling will mean nothing. 

You can see this line of thought must descend into suicidal chaos.

Our existence begins with the Word of God, and the belief, "You are God and your words are truth."

David continues, "Do, then, bless the house of your servant that it may be before you forever..." 

The house is a biblical expression meaning David's royal descendants. But it finds many metaphorical echoes in our religion. Psalm 27 teaches us to pray: 

One thing I ask of the LORD;

this I seek:

To dwell in the LORD’s house

all the days of my life,

To gaze on the LORD’s beauty,

to visit his temple.

For God will hide me in his shelter

in time of trouble,

He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;

and set me high upon a rock.

This house is the temple, the Church, our Mother Mary's Love, our parish, our immediate family, and the Kingdom of God. Our sacraments, weekly liturgies and daily prayers are built on the rock of our faith, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. 

It is easy to wring our hands and worry that society doesn't honor marriage or family. Divorce, adultery, and abortion hang like nuclear clouds over us; they are dark, poisonous, and apparently fatal. But we have God's word to David, which is fulfilled to Mary, and revealed in the Resurrection from the Dead. With David we sit in God's presence, confident of our right to be here, assured of God's abiding care.