In our readings today, there is a lot to think about in terms of how we view and treat others. This is especially so, in that each person we encounter, no matter their position, circumstance, or whether they are pleasant or perhaps less than pleasant, they are still children of God and are therefore precious in His sight. This is perhaps especially so, for those we encounter who may not be the easiest to deal with. How often have we perhaps observed a parent with a small child who is unruly or perhaps being a bit obnoxious. It is likely that even the parent knows this and is hopefully in some form trying to address it, but woe to the person who perhaps calls out the child on this, because they will see first-hand how protective that parent is regardless. So it is with our Lord, he knows our faults, but loves us and protects us just the same, and while He undoubtedly has a plan for helping us to grow into something better, He is fiercely protective of us nonetheless.
In our first reading, David seems to have been given the opportunity to deal with Saul permanently after Saul had made so many attempts to do him harm. At first glance, this might seem like an opportunity that was divinely given, and perhaps it was. However, not for the reason of David actually doing Saul harm, but instead for him to take the opposite path, and see Saul as someone still belonging to the Lord as His anointed, and so deserving of consideration and mercy based solely on that fact. Saul had tried to kill David on several occasions, so from a purely human perspective David seems to have been given a golden opportunity to address this, yet he sees beyond the human perspective to recognize the divine value in evidence, and so acts accordingly. David knows that it is up to the Lord to decide Saul’s fate and it is not for human beings to intervene and thwart the Lord’s timeline or plans for one of His creations. This is perhaps one of the best examples in the Old Testament of the foundations for the Catholic perspective on the sanctity of all life from conception until natural death – it is all to be in God’s time and not our own, and all should be treated with the same mercy and care, as they are all God’s creations and children.
As God’s creations, we are called to see more than just the physical person, but instead, the being who is both flesh and spirit. If we view other people in this way, our own calling to be new creations of spirit take on a significantly new dimension. We are in fact called then to look beyond the trivialities of fleshly existence, and instead to focus on what we are each called to become more of as we mature in our spiritual journey – mature beings of spirit. Those who are more oriented toward that dimension of their nature, rather than just the baser fleshly aspect. In nature, there are many examples of what could be used as a metaphor to illustrate this, but I think perhaps the best is that of the lowly caterpillar, who at first crawls about in search of sustenance to satisfy its simplest form of existence – purely day to day physical survival. Yet once it enters the chrysalis and transforms to a new being that while still flesh, now has an entirely new beauty and form that allows it to no longer simply crawl along, but instead can soar above much of what it used to have to labor to pass through. This is the smallest example of what we also seek, to break free of the fleshly bonds that tie us to the most rudimentary existence in our journey on earth, and instead begin the process of freeing us to soar above all that.
The path though is not an easy one, because it requires us to embrace what is completely counterintuitive to much of what we have learned over the years crawling through this life. To stop the infantile thought process of tit for tat behavior and to have the grace and detachment from our lower form to allow us to instead see others from a new perspective that is unmoved by what may be at times their own limitations and lack of spiritual development that manifests as unpleasant or uncaring behavior that previously we would have sought to address in like fashion for the sake of some pathetically fleshly form of perceived justice or fair play. Instead, we must now embrace each of those we encounter with agape. The same higher form of love that Christ himself embraced each of us with on the Cross. This form of love does not mean we even necessarily like the other person, that is not required, what we do instead is love them in the highest form that allows us to still seek their good above all else, no matter what they may say or do to us. We can sincerely pray for them, and seek for them to evolve into something better, and feel pity for them as they continue to struggle at a baser level. This elevated perspective and form of subsequent interaction is what we strive for and is key to walking that narrower path that leads us to our Lord. We cannot hope to do this on our own, we must continually pray for the grace to be granted us to move ahead, and for help in reconciling the things we need to in our own development to make this possible. God will guide us, like any good Father, and will help us in this if we simply allow Him in.
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The Deacons Bench 