Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how God instructed Samuel to look for the one who would replace Saul as the king over Israel, which was none other than David, the faithful king of Israel, who would be placed by the Lord, he and his family forever, to rule over the multitudes of the people of God. God placed His favour on David, because of his faith and devotion to the Lord, and his heart’s intention of love for the Lord was pure.

The Lord had turned His grace and attention away from Saul, because the man whom God had chosen proved himself to be unfaithful and unwilling to devote himself to the Lord. He followed his own personal judgments and desires in acting in leading the people of God. As a result, he brought disobedience and rebellion as consequences to the people, and sin entered the heart of Saul and the people.

Saul was a great man in stature and appearance, as according to the Book of the prophet Samuel itself, Saul was described as being taller than most of his fellow countrymen, and he had that charisma about him, which would in the terms of the world, be seen as qualities and traits befitting a potential leader. And for the people who had been clamouring and arguing for God to give them a king, he seemed indeed to be the perfect man for the job.

But God made it clear in His conversation with Samuel, as He made a choice for His servant the new king of Israel from amongst the many sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that He sees not the appearances nor the outwardly exposition of one’s being, but rather, He sees deep inside the heart, the mind and the soul, searching for the love and devotion that one ought to have for Him.

And from among the sons of Jesse, David who was the youngest was chosen because of His piety and everlasting devotion to God, unwavering and strong even amidst dangers and challenges. Among the people indeed such a choice might not have made any sense, since David was a small person, still in his youth and seemingly inexperienced, but deep in his heart, he was truly a great man beyond many others.

God sees beyond appearances and sees the heart. And similarly, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their shortsightedness and inability to look beyond their rigid following and obedience of the Law of God. They were so focused on following the Law of God to the letter, that they became lost and disoriented, not knowing that obedience of the Law should be done with proper understanding.

They rebuked the Lord and His followers for doing things that were not supposed to be done during the Sabbath day, but if we look at the occurrences throughout the ages, in the Scriptures themselves, there were many occasions where the Law were adjusted in order to accommodate certain needs that could not be done otherwise, including what Jesus our Lord told the Pharisees themselves about king David and his followers who ate the bread of offerings at the house of God when they were really hungry and starving.

All these lead us to the reality that if we truly love God and want to follow Him, then it is not just enough to mouth His commandments or to obey His laws and commandments. We must also have that genuine and strong love for our God, and we must have that devotion in our hearts, that we genuinely believe in His precepts and follow Him in all of our ways with great zeal and sincerity.

Let us all therefore from now on commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and let us all seek to better ourselves in faith, and in all of our words, actions and dealings, let us all be ever more committed to Him, and through us, may the Lord’s good works for our salvation be made ever more evident and concrete for the good of all of us. Let us not be like king Saul who gave in to his desires and pride, but be more like David, who humbly submitted to the will of God. Amen.