I received an email this morning asking for a reflection on the first reading for this Friday morning's mass (the readings for December 24th). Here it is:
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2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: "Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in?
"'It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'"
Dawg's thought:
There was something about the way the Lord works that has caught my eye. The Lord reminds Nathan that David, at one point, tended to flock as a shepherd, and now He calls David to be shepherd to the Lord's people. In a way it revealed to each of us that we are in need of a shepherd, and it also reveals what a true King would be.
As I have gotten to know the scriptures more and seeing how it pertains to my life, God calls each of us in our own unique way to build the Kingdom. Not only that, but in how the Lord calling us, He is already doing and show us.
To Peter, he would become a "fisher of men" after living his life as a fisherman his call. Already at that moment, Christ was being a fisher of men, calling the twelve together.
In the same way in today's reading, God uses the earthly kingship of David to reveal the heavenly kingship of Christ. Christ will be the in the line of David, and His kingdom will be "firm forever". Here we see the lineage that is defined, but also the the fact that God Himself will be Father of the New King.
If His kingship is to stand firm forever, then we, as subjects under this new King, are made for an Eternal Kingdom. Why then do we spend so much time living our lives working toward establishing an "earthly" kingdom? I think about how many times I have been a shepherd of distractions and sin. How many times have I tried to be the shepherd of my own life versus allowing Christ to be the true Shepherd.
As the Christmas season draws near, let us prepare our hearts to receive a King Who will reveals Himself as a Shepherd laying down His life for His sheep. That is what a true King will be. In our baptism as "priest, prophet, and king," let us be "kings" who lay down our lives for the True King.
Take care and God Bless.
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