‘You are a more upright man than I,’ he said to David ‘for you have repaid me with good while I have repaid you with evil.
I was never good at turning the other cheek!
I know there are evil people in the world. I would like to say that I can love them, and I would like to say that I could eliminate evil, but I don’t have the power. We are anointed at many times in our lives. One of my Knight of Columbus friends spoke recently of the number of times he had received the Sacrament of the Sick. He called it Extreme Unction. In marriage the couple is anointed in the Sacrament of Matrimony. At Baptism we are anointed. Priests are anointed at Ordination.
Now this does not mean that we are allowed to perform evil on Muslims, Jews, atheists or anyone else who is not anointed. What the author of Samuel is saying is that we are not gods. We are not in charge of others because this is way above our pay grade. There is only one Creator and He is in charge. Now we have a duty to stand up to evil in the world. David stood up to Saul and Saul admitted that David would be a better king. Nonetheless, scripture shows that the lesson Saul learned did not take root in his mind.
How is this message taking root in our minds?
When I was working full time, I had a co-worker take extra breaks and hide when someone else needed help. He got fired not because of me but because he got caught. Chaucer said that if you live in a glass house that you shouldn’t through stones is a perfect lead into making sure, we are doing the right thing and not accusing others when we are imperfect ourselves.
David realized that other people are sacred in God’s eyes and that he, like any human, was not a god. Regardless, David stood up to evil when he cut a piece of Saul’s garment as proof that David could have killed Saul but because Saul was anointed by God, David could not hurt him. David was only trying to defend himself.
We have the right to peacefully protest and vote someone out of office in an election. God is the God of Justice. It is one of the many characteristics of God that we can understand. God screams at injustice and so must we.
We have many opportunities to promote justice in our daily lives. Avoiding gossip is one. Using a cell phone in a emergency at work. Working when we are supposed to work and treating others as if they are also God’s anointed.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please Pray for Pope Leo XIV. Please Pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for the conversion of Russia and the salvation of the Ukrainian and Russian people and their soldiers. Pray for the Holy Land. Pray for peace! The impossible could and can happen. (Saint Rita) Never deny God! Pray for justice for immigrants! Pray for justice for our President and all government officials!
