Optional Memorial of Saint Angela Merici, virgin

 Lectionary: 320

Your name will be forever great, when men say, ‘The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,’ and the house of your servant David stands firm before you.

Today's first reading describes King David's astonishment on hearing the promise God had made to him through his prophet/advisor Nathan. Having selected the formerly Canaanite city of Jerusalem as the capital of his kingdom, and after building a palace for himself and his retinue, he had told Nathan he would build a proper house (temple) for the Lord. Initially Nathan had agreed. 

But the Lord spoke to Nathan that night with another plan. The Lord would build a house for David! And he should not build a temple. That project would be left to a son yet to be born. 

The "house" God would build would be a dynasty of David's sons ruling Israel "forever!" Which is not long when you're thinking of the future; it's only long when you look back over a long history and see how things evolved. Who doesn't expect their city or nation to last forever? 

Our religion is a promise which is always yet-to-be-fulfilled. It is an expectation of future things unimaginable but presently reassuring. We can, and do, bank on it for it is more certain than the banks with their FDIC. 

We "bank on it" in the sense that we keep our promises as Christians by doing justice, loving goodness, and walking humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) This entails the life of the sacraments which flows out into our secular affairs. We deal honestly within the Church and beyond. We keep our vows, pledges, and word. 

We do that because God keeps his word, and "the word of the Lord remains forever. This is the word that has been proclaimed to you." (I Peter 1:25) 

Finally, someone should ask, "Why does God make this promise in the first place?" 

Is it because we are such fine people? So noble, intelligent, clever, charming, beautiful, attractive, or successful? Is it because we're good, faithful, honest, or reliable? 

If anything, it's just the opposite. We have none of those traits as Saint Paul reminded the Corinthians. (I Cor 1:26 ff)

But we can forget all that. As David -- who was in fact successful, good-looking, and powerful -- says in his prayer, 

"Your name will be forever great, when men say, 
‘The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,’
and the house of your servant David stands firm before you.

It's not about us. It's not about me. 

The other day I met a fellow who, feeling suicidal, had checked himself into the VA psych ward. A lot of things were going wrong in his life and suicide seemed like an easy way out. But he loved his wife and her children, and had fled to the hospital. 

He felt enormous relief when I reminded him, "Your life is not about you." And he responded, "We're here to care for others." (It would have been nice had he said he loved God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength but I was happy with the steps he'd taken.) 

We are here to serve God and God's purposes which include that men will say, ""Your name will be forever great!" 

It is an ENORMOUS RELIEF to know I do not have to be beautiful, successful, wealthy, or strong. Nor do I have to be admired, envied, or loved by others. There's nothing wrong with those things per se, but they're neither satisfying nor particularly healthy. They don't mean much at all. 

We're here to praise God, and God sustains us with the daily bread of his Holy Spirit. Others should notice that "The LORD of hosts is God of Israel, and the house of your servant David stands firm before you."

Forever is a long time and David's dynasty in Jerusalem ended abruptly when the Babylonian army sieged and leveled the city. But Jesus is the Son of David and the fulfillment of God's promise, and we have seen enough to know his word endures forever and his dynasty shall never fail.