Embedded Files
2 Samuel 23:1-7 David’s final words reflect God’s promise of an everlasting kingdom and a perfect and definitive king. Fidelity to the covenant remained an indispensable requirement for maintaining the Davidic dynasty, and those kingdoms that did evil would eventually fall. (CCC 2579)
1 Chronicles 28:1 The final two chapters concern primarily the final instructions of David to Solomon and to his people. David recalled the words of the Lord with regard to the permanence of his dynasty and the building of the Temple. Ceremoniously, he handed Solomon the blueprints for the Temple’s construction and for the work of the Levites who would serve there. He counseled Solomon to undertake the project with trust in the Lord and his assistance as well as the support of all Israel. He also urged the people to keep the Commandments so the land might remain in their families forever.
Ch 28:9 Those who seek God with a sincere heart will find him, and those who reject him will be deprived of the indescribable blessings that flow from his friendship. This counsel to Solomon acknowledges both God’s eagerness to be close to us and his respect for the choices we make. (CCC 30)
Psalm 42 The deer in search of a stream from which to drink is an allegory of our own spiritual journey. Only God can satisfy the longing of the human heart. St. Augustine’s oft-quoted statement comes to mind here:
“Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in you.”
For the psalmist, his thirst was for the Promised Land; evidently, he wrote these words while in forced exile from his homeland. In this case, the thirst symbolizes feelings of abandonment in the face of hardship and apparent futility. Nevertheless, a person of faith mounts an unfailing hope in God’s ever-faithful love and support. (Cf. St. John Paul II, General Audience, January 16, 2002)
Where is your God?: This was a frequent taunt directed toward the people of Israel by their conquerors and captors throughout history. If the God of Israel was so great, why did he not rescue his people? Christ was confronted with a similar challenge as he hung from the Cross. In truth, God DOES intervene and HAS intervened throughout history as Scripture and Tradition amply reveal, even if there is no apparent outcome.
Deep calls to deep: Prayers of praise and adoration lead us toward an intimacy with God, whom we encounter in the depths of our hearts. The Lord’s Prayer, which Christ himself taught his disciples to pray, begins with three petitions for God to be glorified in as we pray:
“Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done” (Mt 6:10)
These petitions are followed by four other ones, which present both our spiritual and material needs to God our loving Father:
“Give us this day our daily bread,
Forgive us our trespasses…
Lead us not into temptation…
Deliver us from evil.”
(CCC 2112, 2803)
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
Want to go in reverse again?
Come on, it’ll be fun!
1 Chronicles Ch 28 shows David handing over the reins to Solomon
Remember that Samuel and Chronicles are telling TWO DIFFERENT STORIES
They are telling the story AS IT HAPPENS (Samuel)
They are LOOKING BACK on the life of David and Solomon, knowing all of the corruption that is going to happen once the Books of Kings start (Chronicles)
Chronicles knows all the CORRUPTION
Chronicles knows all the DIVISION
Chronicles knows all the EXILE
So today, David is handing over the reins to Solomon saying, “I have amassed all these treasures and wealth so that you can build a Temple for the Lord. Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve Him with a WHOLE HEART and a WILLING MIND.”
Solomon is going to start out SO STRONG
He is NOT GOING TO END STRONG
Remember, the Chronicler (Ezra the Scribe?) KNOWS the story of Solomon
He knows that Solomon is going to have a DIVIDED HEART
He knows that Solomon is going to have an UNWILLING MIND
Solomon is going to start out with GREAT WISDOM
Solomon is going to waste that wisdom on SIN
Solomon is going to waste that wisdom on POWER
Solomon is going to waste that wisdom on ALL THE THINGS that we are TEMPTED TO WASTE WISDOM ON
1 Chronicles 28:9 we have these almost OMINOUS words from King David to his son
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; BUT IF YOU FORSAKE HIM, HE WILL CAST YOU OFF FOREVER.”
That is ultimately what will happen
It is so TRAGIC
AND YET…
We know that while God abandoned Solomon, God DID NOT ABANDON HIS PEOPLE
NOT AT ALL
When we turn our backs on the Lord, He does NOT ABANDON THOSE HE LOVES
HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH!!
2 Samuel Ch 23 shows more stories of David’s Mighty Men
This is one of Fr. Mike’s favorite chapters 😁
David has roughly 37 Mighty Men
But the TOP 3 Mighty Men were the SPECIALISTS of his SPECIAL FORCES
Josheb-basshebeth the Tahchemonite, the chief of the three, who once killed 800 men AT ONE TIME with a SPEAR!! (Take THAT, LEONIDAS!!! This is Sparta, indeed! 😉)
Eleazar, son of Dodo, who rose and attacked those pesky, precarious Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand CLEAVED (STUCK) TO THE SWORD
Shammah, son of Agee the Hararite, who fought for a hill full of BEANS (wonder if these were the same beans Esau sold his birthright for? 🤔)
Everyone else fled, but Shammah stayed there in the middle of the field and defended it from those pesky, precarious Philistines and the Lord brought about a GREAT VICTORY
These three INCREDIBLY BRAVE SOLDIERS are noted here at the end of David’s life
One of the things we need to highlight today is that David could have chosen to be CORRUPTED by the fact that he did WRONG
David could have chosen to be CORRUPTED by the fact that he has been through SO MUCH
David could have chosen to be BITTER AND RESENTFUL by the fact that his life is ending
AND YET…
DAVID GAVE GOD PRAISE
And now, David is giving the MEN AROUND HIM PRAISE
Maybe it is easy to give God praise in certain situations
But at the end of one’s life, to be thinking of SOMEONE ELSE
At the end of one’s life, to be thinking, “Where can I give the people around me, who have cared for me, who have fought by my side, who have lived a life with me, can I tell the world of THEIR GREATNESS? Can I praise THEM in the face of OTHER PEOPLE?”
That is one of the things that WE can do
It is SUCH A GIFT
We don’t have to wait until the end of our lives to do it
On one hand, we can give God praise in EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE
On the other hand is to be able to recognize the people around us and PRAISE THEM
THANK THEM
David could not have done all that he did BY HIMSELF
He is BUT ONE MAN
He could not have united the kingdom
He is BUT ONE MAN
He could not have defeated those pesky, precarious Philistines
He is BUT ONE MAN
He could not have defeated the Ammonites
He could NOT have done all these things BY HIMSELF
So David recognized that he NEEDED THESE PEOPLE AROUND HIM
He needed these people around him to be at the place that GOD CALLED HIM TO BE
So what does David do?
David gives God PRAISE for having anointed him and strengthened him
David recognizes the people AROUND HIM
This is one of the invitations God gives us
To give God PRAISE
To not become RESENTFUL
To not become CORRUPTED by the battles we have been through
BUT ALSO…
To look up from OUR OWN PAIN
To look up from OUR OWN STORY
And recognize here are the STORIES
Recognize the LIVES
Recognize the COURAGE
Recognize the GIFTS
Recognize the SKILLS
Recognize the STRENGTH
Recognize the ACCOMPLISHMENTS
OF THE PEOPLE AROUND US
Today, can we recognize ALL those things WITHOUT BITTERNESS OR RESENTMENT?
There is something MASSIVELY IMPORTANT to learn from the story of the last days of David’s life
There is one chapter left before we get to the Books of the Kings
David is going to stumble one more time
At the end of David’s life, we have TWO MAJOR LESSONS
First, GIVE THANKS AND PRAISE and don’t be corrupted by our BATTLES
Second, is to LOOK UP FROM OUR OWN PAIN AND OUR OWN STORY and to look around us so that we can praise those people around us and LIFT THEM UP
The only thing David COULD DO at this point in his life was to LIFT UP THOSE PEOPLE around him
Maybe he could have chosen to be resentful and bitter
But David gave what he had to give
That is an invitation for all of us
TODAY GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE TO GIVE
If that is PRAISE
If that is THANKS
If that is BLESSING
If that is NOTICE
If that is ATTENTION
GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE TO GIVE
It’s not always easy
PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
PRAY FOR FR. MIKE
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise. We do give you praise in all things. And God, thank you so much for Psalm 42. We are reminded that we can ask the question, ‘God, where are you?’ Actually, we are not only reminded that we have the question, ‘Where are you?’, we get so often assaulted by that question, ‘Where is your God? If you believe in Him and if He’s there for you and if He loves you then point him out to me. Where is He?’ Lord God, in those moments we might be our own accuser. The evil one might be the accuser, or those around us might be the accuser that ask that question. And yet, in this moment, Lord, we know where you are, you are with us. Who you are for, you are for us. And you are beside us at all times and you are beside us at all times. Lord God, we give you praise and we thank you and we make that declaration of faith. That declaration of faith that is even when it is hard for us to know where you are, or hard for us to sense your presence, we have faith. We have faith that you are faithful to your promises and you have said that you will be with us forever. You are with us at all times. Without you, we can do nothing. And so with you, we can do all things. Father, keep us close to you and never let us be parted from you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
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