Monday, February 04, 2008

David's Ignatian Spirituality

Something in today's first reading (from 2 Sam) made me sit up and take notice in a particular way. In the story, King David's son Absalom "won the primary" (so to speak) by his masterful art as a politician. He would position himself on a chariot outside the city gates, and give an ear to the people heading to town with their lawsuits, telling them, "You really do have a good case. Too bad none of my father's functionaries will give you a fair hearing." To others, he would offer over-the-top greetings. (He was, literally, a "kiss-up." Hey! It's in the Bible, you can read it yourself.) Anyway, Absalom effectively swept the country, and it was his father, King David, who was on the run from the amassed armies of Israel.
As David and his retinue crossed the Mount of Olives, the king in deep mourning for his son's betrayal, a relative of the late King Saul started keeping pace with him, hurling rocks and curses all the way. Naturally, one of David's retainers wanted to shut the man up. Forever. But David would not let him. He said, "If God told him, 'Curse David,' who are we to interfere?"
What a remarkable perspective! Instead of seeing things in a pure "cause and effect" framework based on the material aspects of what was happening, David seems to have habitually "found God in all things" (as St. Ignatius would put it some three thousand years later).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Maybe if we look hard enough we can find God in the nunbashers. I mean really look hard. IMS