Saturday, January 20, 2024
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
War and peace
A man with his clothes torn and dirt on his head said to David, “Many of us have fled the battle, many of us have fallen and are dead, and among the dead are King Saul and his son Jonathan. Then David seized his own garments and tore them into pieces.
So much of the story of David in the Bible hinges on his emotions. He FEELS stuff. Peace, terror, joy, sadness, confidence, anger and much more fill his heart and fill his life. He speaks and sings it all out. The men and women around him watched, and loved him for it.
As do we.
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished, separated neither in life nor in death, swifter than eagles, stronger than lions! How can the warriors have fallen – in the thick of the battle, slain upon your heights!
Now we feel, along with him, David’s grief over the king’s death, and in a more personal way over his best friend Jonathan’s death, as father and son were killed together arm in arm in an awful war. At the end of his life Saul’s defeats far outnumber his victories, as his relationship with God withered and he sought guidance from witches.
David’s victories will far outnumber his defeats, but he too will turn away from his relationship with God. David, however, always turned back. He was a “man after God’s own heart.” And his emotions are what led him, over and over.
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother! Most dear you have been to me, more precious have I held love for you than love for women.
Many of us have relationships which are closer than close. But I wonder how often we express our love to each other. I assume much in my closest friends, and when I take them for granted, my emotions turned inward gradually separate me from God and those I love the most.
Speak up! Write a psalm. Say, “I love you.” Text your partner and your friend, “Hey Margaret, I love you!” And then follow that up with a whisper in her ear when you get home. “I love you.”
Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
What we see most often, more than God’s face, is God-with-skin-on, and this is the gift God teaches us over time to appreciate, not depreciate, to praise and thank, not take for granted. Very slowly our grandsons Miles and Jasper are learning this art of gratitude. Our grandkids Jack and Aly have growing in that appreciation too, even as they spend their teenage years finding their own way.
I’m not a teenager anymore. And I have no business ignoring this fact of life: that after so many years of life together, Margaret is my God-with-skin-on. My examen is generally filled with reviews of moments when I remembered that, and moments when I forgot.
Without God’s forgiveness, it’s hard to get back up in the morning. With God’s forgiveness, I remember how close he is all the time, how much He loves Margaret and how much He loves me.
Our emotions lead the way to and from our home in God. They rip us apart and sew us together again. One day at a time.
Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.
(2 Samuel 1, Psalm 80, Acts 16, Mark 3)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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