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2 Samuel 5:1-25 David was anointed King of Israel with all the tribes united under him. In this role, he was a type of Christ (TYPOLOGY!!), who also bears the title King of Israel although his kingdom is “not of this world” (Jn 18:36). Through special divine assistance, David began building his kingdom by defeating the Jebusites and Philistines who had encroached into the Promised Land. In doing so, he took possession of Jerusalem, called it the City of David, and made it the political capital of Israel. (CCC 2578, 2594)
Ch 5:1-3 This brief description of David’s consecration as King of Israel is the first reading at Mass on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year C.
So what does this Year C mean??
Well, prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church had a yearly cycle of readings that didn’t change from year to year.
While there were certain advantages to the yearly repetition of readings, the Church thought it prudent to provide a much more varied selection of readings from the Bible, creating a three-year cycle.
This was established to put more emphasis on the Word of God and open up the riches of the Bible to the lay faithful.
According to the General Introduction to the Lectionary, “The present Order of Readings for Mass, then, is an arrangement of biblical readings that provides the faithful with a knowledge of the whole of God’s word, in a pattern suited to the purpose. Throughout the liturgical year, but above all during the seasons of Easter, Lent, and Advent, the choice and sequence of readings are aimed at giving Christ’s faithful an ever-deepening perception of the faith they profess and of the history of salvation.”
However, it can be confusing to the average person which year in the cycle it is, especially if that person wants to read the readings prior to arriving at Mass on Sunday.
First of all, each of the three years is dedicated to a different Gospel.
Year A – Gospel of St. Matthew
Year B – Gospel of St. Mark
Year C – Gospel of St. Luke
The Gospel of St. John is typically used for solemnities and during Holy Week, and the shorter Gospel of Mark is usually supplemented with readings from Matthew and Luke in Year B.
One of the simplest ways to determine the cycle year is to add the digits of the calendar year and see if they are divisible by three.
If it is divisible by three, then it is “Year C.” Once you figure that out, the rest of the years are easy to determine.
However, it's important to note that the liturgical year begins in Advent.
(*https://aleteia.org/2019/12/08/how-to-know-if-the-sunday-readings-are-year-a-b-or-c/)
(And now you know, and like G.I. Joe says, “Knowing is half the battle!” The other half is made up of red lasers and blue lasers 😉)
Psalm 27 Military imagery is employed to describe the trials and turmoil of this life; these troubles, however, are counteracted by God’s strength and protection expressed as light. God is our light that overcomes all obstacles and at the same time bestows salvation. He is our refuge and sanctuary; he is our rock that never fails. Because of God’s infinite love and saving power, we need not fear anything in this world or the next.
“The Lord creates around his faithful a horizon of peace that blocks out the clamor of evil,” said St. John Paul II. “Communion with God is a source of serenity, joy, and tranquility; it is like reaching an oasis of light and love” (St. John Paul II, General Audience, April 21, 2004; cf. General Audience, April 28, 2004).
Hear, O Lord...my salvation: The psalmist spells out the kind of perseverance and vigilance that are required of those who believe in the Lord, who calls us to “seek his face.” To focus on seeking God’s face consists in turning every action and prayer into a deed of love, thus bringing the entire Gospel message into every aspect of daily life. This prayer serves as a model prayer in asking God’s guidance and strength in both discerning and fulfilling God’s will. (CCC 2730)
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
King and Bridegroom
In Genesis 2, Adam describes his relationship with Eve, saying, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gn 2:23)
The elders of Israel use this same covenantal and nuptial language when they crown David as their king: “Behold, we are your bone and flesh” (2 Sam 5:1).
The Davidic king is not merely a warlord or an administrator
He is a husband to his people, mirroring the spousal relationship of God to his people
This image looks forward to Jesus, the son of David, who will be the Bridegroom of the Church, his Bride (Jn 3:29, Eph 5:21-33)
At Hebron, the leaders of the tribes install David as king over Israel, publicly confirming Samuel’s anointing of him years before
As his first royal act, David captures Jerusalem, a significant move toward fulfilling the conquest that began with Joshua
Even more importantly, it enables David to establish his capital city on a site of great importance for God’s people
Centuries before, Jerusalem had been known as “Salem,” the city of the same Melchizedek who had blessed David’s great forefather Abraham (Gn 14:17-24)
(*Walking With God: A Journey Through The Bible by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins)
We are coming to the end of the READING OF THE NAMES in Chronicles!!
Soon we will get to the actual story
BUT FIRST…
In 2 Samuel 5 a couple of things happen that you might have noticed or it might have slipped your notice
David has been king now for about 7 to 7.5 years
But he has been king ONLY OVER JUDAH, the tribe he is from
Remember, Ish-bosheth was assassinated so the OTHER tribes are coming to David who is now 30 years old
Remember, David was anointed by SAMUEL to be the king of Israel when he was maybe 15 years old
So 15 YEARS LATER, after David has already been a GENERAL and a LEADER in Saul’s army, leading people into battle
Then David was a guy on the run with his “merry men”
Then David was living amongst the Philistines for a while
Now, he is back in Hebron and is the King of Judah
AND FINALLY, he is the king of ALL TWELVE TRIBES of Israel
David was 30 when he became King of All Israel
David reigned for 40 years
He reigned over Judah while he was in Hebron for 7 years, 6 months
He reigned over all Israel when he was in Jerusalem for 33 years
So that makes 40 years (unless my math skills have abandoned me 😉)
When David became the king of all Israel, he decided to make Jerusalem the capital city
At the time, there were Jebusites living in Jerusalem
They taunted David by saying, “The blind and the lame are going to drive you out, David.”
So David basically busts in there and takes over the city
It seems very simple for David and his men to make Jerusalem his stronghold and call it “The City of David”
So David became great
Hiram, the King of Tyre, sent messengers to King David with cedar trees, carpenters, and masons
They built David a house
Tyre was on the coast
So this King of Tyre sent resources to build ANOTHER KING a PALACE
There is something REMARKABLE when ONE KING recognizes the POWER AND GREATNESS of ANOTHER KING
Once David has taken rule over all Israel, the people around him notice his greatness
In this chapter, King David does two things: one great, and one not-so-great
The great thing involves those pesky precarious Philistines
They heard David was the new anointed King of Israel
They decided they wanted to pick a fight
David does what?
HE INQUIRES OF THE LORD whether to fight the Philistines head on
God says YES
Then there is a SECOND battle
David INQUIRES OF THE LORD AGAIN whether to fight the Philistines head on
God says NO
God tells David to attack from the rear and fight them that way
Have you noticed a pattern yet?
The consistent thing we have seen when it comes to David is that when he does something RIGHT, he is ALWAYS ASKING GOD FIRST
This is one of those things that SO MANY OF US have our days where we have our routine and just do it out of habit and we know what to do
This is fine
But do we ever STOP and ASK God, “Lord, is this where you want me to go?”
We talked about it days ago when we ask God, “Do you want me to fight this battle or not, God?”
“God, do you want me to just lay low?”
“God, do you want me to fight a different battle?”
“God, do you want me to avoid this fight?”
These are all things we can pray and ask God for direction
BUT…
Even when it comes to the DAILY MOVEMENTS of our lives, we can ASK GOD
We see a person and ask, “God, do you want me to reach out to that person right now?”
We see a family and ask, “God, are you calling me to reach out to this family right now?”
It’s one of those things where God doesn’t always speak in a CLEAR VOICE
Sometimes, God just gives us AN OPENING as long as we give God THE QUESTION, as long as we give God the ROOM FOR GRACE
David does that CONSISTENTLY
It is one of David’s KEYS TO GREATNESS
ON THE OTHER HAND…
David is going to start descending into DISOBEDIENCE as well
2 Samuel 5:13, 16 talks about David’s many wives and concubines
David took more wives and concubines from Jerusalem after he had come from Hebron and has many children from them
This is SO IMPORTANT
This is in DIRECT DISOBEDIENCE to Deuteronomy 17:17
God had said through Moses, “The king shall not multiply wives for himself lest his heart turn away”
AND SO…
We recognize that many people would have seen this as David being BLESSED
To have many children is to be BLESSED
It was true THEN
It is true NOW
AND YET…
We are going to see soon in the coming chapters as King David gets more and more established is that most of David’s problems don’t just come from his enemies outside of Israel
Most of David’s problems come from THIS FAMILY
This family he has been building through all of his different wives and concubines
We are going to see the seeds for David’s DESTRUCTION
We are going to see the seeds for David’s DOWNFALL
Yes, David is STILL A GREAT KING
Yes, David is still doing well whenever he INQUIRES OF THE LORD
BUT DAVID IS NOT PERFECT
We will see this VERY CLEARLY
You and I are called to be EVEN GREATER than King David
David was not baptized like us
David did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of him like you and I do
YES, DAVID HAD THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD UPON HIM in the anointing
But David did not have the same Spirit of God that WE HAVE THROUGH BAPTISM
So in many ways, we are GREATER THAN KING DAVID in God’s eyes
We are now God’s ADOPTED CHILDREN
What we shall later be has not yet been revealed (1 John)
WE TOO HAVE OUR STRENGTHS
WE TOO HAVE OUR WEAKNESSES
Just like David was not one monolithic PERSON OF GREATNESS or one monolithic BROKEN PERSON, we are also a MIXTURE OF GOOD AND BAD
The big decision we will all have is do we continually come before the Lord and ask, “Ok God, what battle do you want me to fight?”
“God, where do you want me to help?”
“God, where do you want me to serve?”
“God, where do you want me to repent?”
“God, where do you want me to move forward?”
“God, where do you want me to stand still?”
It’s when we ask God those questions that, JUST LIKE DAVID, things are blessed
When we say, “I know what you said, God, but I’m just going to do my own thing,” that’s when things are NO LONGER BLESSED
That’s when things GET DIRE
All of us are a mixture of both the strength and weakness of GRACE and the FALLEN HUMAN NATURE
PRAY FOR FR. MIKE
PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise. We thank you and we give you honor and glory. My gosh, Lord God, thank you. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for letting us see in Chapters 1-8 of the Book of Chronicles the ways in which you have unfolded this family. You have gone back in and helped us review, Lord God. You have helped us review the lives of your family, the lives of the Jewish people. Those fathers and sons, those sisters and daughters, those people that you have called out of nothingness to be yours, to be a people peculiarly your own. Lord God, we ask you please to help us to be yours as well. Because you have called us from obscurity. Lord God, you have called us from nothingness into being. You have called us from being into being YOUR CHILDREN. We are so grateful for you, Lord God. Please receive our praise. Receive our thanks. Please be with us this day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
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