Embedded Files
2 Samuel 21:1-14 A famine resulted from a sin committed by Saul that is not recorded in Scripture elsewhere: The killing of the Gibeonites. David sought reconciliation with the offended nation, and his act severed the genealogical line of Saul except for his grandson Mephibosheth.
Psalm 40 (My personal favorite 😉) I waited patiently...my cry: The Holy Spirit inspires us to pray with the firm hope that our patient prayer will lead us to the true joy of knowing Christ. The hope of the Jewish people was for a messiah who would liberate them from the oppression of their enemies; Jesus the Messiah has already won our salvation, and now we joyfully await his Second Coming. This expectation is a central hope expressed in the Mass:
“We proclaim your Death, O Lord,
And profess your Resurrection
Until you come again.”
Blessed is the man...false gods: Faith involves the free assent of the will to the truth of all that God has revealed. We cannot believe in God and at the same time doubt his Word. To believe means something far superior than the faith we have in another person; God is perfection and truth, who can neither deceive or be deceived, whereas people are prone to falsehood and are never completely reliable in all that they say.
I delight to do your will: The Epistle to the Hebrews puts these words on Christ’s lips as a sign of his complete submission to his Father’s will (cf. Heb 10:5-7). By uniting his human will with his divine will, Christ fulfilled the will of the Father to perfection. (CCC 150, 462, 2657, 2824)
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
Let’s go in reverse again 😁
1 Chronicles Ch 26 tells about the Divisions of Gatekeepers
What are the Gatekeepers?
They will play a very big role when we get to 2 Chronicles
As people are coming to the Temple in Jerusalem, they have strong men aka ABLE MEN
Basically these are men who might be able to be “BOUNCERS” (for our international brothers and sisters, a BOUNCER is like a doorman at a bar or club who maintains order and allows people into the venue and also deals with unruly behavior from those waiting in line and even expels people from the venue for behaving badly)
So we get a list of a number of the “Bouncers” who would come to the Temple in Jerusalem and keep the peace
If there were any ruffians, unwelcome people, or objects trying to get into the Temple, they would stop them
It’s very practical but it isn’t a small thing
They are going to be PROMINENT
These groups of families are going to be very necessary at the end of 2 Chronicles when under the high priest Jehoiada and Hezekiah and Josiah who will need these Gatekeepers to maintain peace and order at the Temple
In Psalm 84 it says, “I would rather be the doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
It says my ONLY JOB is to be the one who is guarding the door to the TEMPLE OF THE LORD
THE HOUSE OF GOD
I’d rather do that than live ANYWHERE ELSE
This is something REMARKABLE
God would give such HONOR to these strong men who are there to simply GUARD THE DOORS
In the history of the Church, we have so many SAINTS who had that CALL
Their primary occupation as monks or brothers in a MONASTERY was to be a PORTER
The PORTER is the person who WELCOMES PEOPLE AT THE FRONT DOOR
There was a man from Superior, Wisconsin who went to Stillwater, Minnesota and his name is Blessed Solanus Casey
At one point, Blessed Solanus Casey became a RELIGIOUS aka a MONK aka a BROTHER
One of his main jobs was to simply ANSWER THE DOOR
Numerous SAINTS have had this role just like the men in 1 Chronicles Ch 26
When this role was done FAITHFULLY, even though it could be MENIAL in so many ways, is SANCTIFYING
EVERYTHING WE DO, WHEN WE DO IT FOR THE LORD IT IS SANCTIFYING
Whether that is ANSWERING THE DOOR
Whether that is PICKING UP A SCREWDRIVER
Whether that is DELIVERING MILK
Whether that is PICKING UP THE GARBAGE
Whether that is TEACHING A CLASS
WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE ARE DOING IF WE DO IT FOR THE LORD IT IS ALWAYS SANCTIFYING
Psalm 40 shows OBEDIENCE is the GREATEST GIFT we can give to The Lord
Giving that YES to The Lord
So we went through the list of Gatekeepers in this list
Also there were other Levitical servants in the Temple
The gatekeepers were NOT Levites, however
The Levites were overseeing the treasuries of the House of God
Over the course of history in Israel, whenever Israel defeated someone in battle, they brought all the spoils of battle to the Temple to be used in the House of the Lord
So that’s what the OVERSEERS did
2 Samuel Ch 21 we have a strange occurrence where rain didn’t fall and there was a famine
So finally David inquired of The Lord
Here is a physical phenomenon and it wasn’t as if David immediately thought there was a spiritual cause
That’s pretty normal for a lot of us
We don’t seek a SPIRITUAL CAUSE for every single physical phenomenon (but in this day and age, maybe we should? 🤔)
So finally, David inquires of The Lord
The Lord answered that actually at some point Saul, in his bloodthirsty house, killed the Gibeonites
Now, this event was NOT WRITTEN ABOUT in 1 Samuel or recorded elsewhere in The Bible
BUT IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE CASE
Remember that the Gibeonites were NOT members of the People of Israel
But in Joshua Ch 9 (around 400 years prior to David’s reign) Israel had SWORN not to harm the Gibeonites
God expected Israel to KEEP ITS PROMISE even though the Gibeonites entered into that promise through TRICKERY (please see Day 83 for a refresher on what happened 😉)
What did King David do?
He called the Gibeonites and says, “I realize this happened. What do you want me to do for you?”
He does NOT say, “Here is what I’m going to do. Saul killed all these people of yours so I offer you this.”
HE ASKED THEM WHAT HE COULD DO FOR THEM
Here is King David who approaches the Gibeonites NOT AS THE KING, but AS SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO SERVE THEM
King David, EVEN WITH ALL HIS FLAWS, does highlight and express that he is IN MANY WAYS the FORESHADOWING OF JESUS
TYPOLOGY!!
Jesus said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve.”
The Gibeonites say silver and gold won’t help
Killing men of Israel won’t help
But they do ask for 7 members of Saul’s family to be delivered to them to be executed
SO THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS
You may look at that and think it’s messed up
But there is an element of JUSTICE to this
There is also an element of RESTRAINT to this
Now it isn’t JUST in the sense that these are Saul’s DESCENDANTS
They are NOT SAUL
But remember yesterday when we learned that OTHERS SUFFER BECAUSE OF OUR SINS?? (I just had an epiphany, Jesus took ALL THAT SUFFERING caused by our sins on HIMSELF to SAVE US 🤯)
So that’s what happens here, OTHERS ARE GOING TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF SAUL’S SINS
David is entering more and more into battle
We learn about David’s next battle with those pesky, precarious Philistines
David’s Mighty Men face many giants
David is growing WEARY in battle
David is growing old
There is something SO POWERFUL that David is STILL WILLING to go into battle
Remember in the beginning of 2 Samuel Ch 11 David AVOIDED BATTLE
He AVOIDED doing what he was CALLED TO DO
But even in his old age David goes into battle because THAT IS WHAT HE OUGHT TO BE DOING
David can REPENT
David is LEARNING HIS LESSON
David can GO BACK INTO BATTLE
BUT…
Here is another case where HUMAN WEAKNESS is on display
David is NOT the man he used to be
David used to be a MIGHTY WARRIOR
David has to come face to face with the fact that HE IS NOT THE MAN HE WAS
David does not have the STRENGTH he used to have
David does not have the ABILITY TO FIGHT that he used to have
David does not have the ABILITY TO SUSTAIN HIS FIGHTING IN BATTLE that he used to have
That is something SO POWERFUL for so many of us
As we continue to GROW
As we continue to MOVE FORWARD
Fr. Mike, when he was a young priest, he would start the day early and end the day really late
People would tell him that he wouldn’t be able to keep that up
Fr. Mike knew this, but the time had yet to come where he isn’t able to keep that schedule
But now, that day has come 😉
We realize, “Ok Lord some of the strength of my youth is gone. Some of the battles you called me to fight as a younger person I am not able to do as an older person.”
There is something HUMBLING about that truth
There is also an opportunity for HUMILITY in ourselves to recognize that TRUTH
“I am going to do what I can do because I can’t do what I can’t do.”
David is a great example here
His Mighty Men tell him to not to lead them into battle this time
He can direct them from behind a place of safety
That humbling note of, “You are not the man you used to be.”
The humility to say, “You’re right. I will only do what I can do because I can’t do what I can’t do.”
That is ALL OF US
EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
That is ALL God expects of us
With God, we can do ALL things
But without God, we can do NOTHING
WE NEED THAT GRACE
WE NEED THAT HELP
WE NEED THAT HUMILITY
To TRULY know
WHAT CAN I DO, LORD?
I’LL DO THAT
WHAT CAN’T I DO, LORD?
I’M NOT GOING TO BE BOTHERED BY THAT
I WILL HUMBLY SAY, “LORD, THY WILL BE DONE.”
OBEDIENCE OVER SACRIFICE
PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
PRAY FOR FR. MIKE
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we thank you and we give you praise. And it is true that sacrifice and offering, you do not desire. You have given an open ear and an open heart. What you desire is obedience. What you desire is for us to have a heart like yours. What you desire is mercy, not sacrifice; obedience, not sacrifice in so many ways. That when we do offer you sacrifice, it is only out of obedience. It is always simply a gift to you and done in response to your invitation. Lord God, we ask that you please always, always make us obedient to you. Help us to always say yes to you and to never ever stop saying yes. And even in the moments of disaster, even moments where we have said no to you, even moments of great sin in our lives, help us in that moment to take the very next good step and that next good step being to simply say yes once again. Help us to say yes to you and to never stop saying yes. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse