Living in the Spirit

June 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.

David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
   How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
   proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
   the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. –2 Samuel 1:2, 17-20

David was careful to protect Saul and Jonathan. He may have done it because it was the politically right thing to do as he wanted as few enemies among his nation as possible when he assumed the throne.  I think Jonathan was a genuine friend, and his death surely stung.

As an advocate, I regularly wade through politics. Most relationships in life are steeped in a bit of politics. This morning I joined the people of Surfside, Florida, in mourning the lives lost and forever changed by the collapse of their high-rise apartment. The scene was eerily familiar as it looked like the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. Officials do not know and probably will not know for some time what caused the collapse. The building has been sinking a bit for a while because of the rising water surrounding Miami Beach. That may or may not have had anything to do with the collapse.

Both incidents bring our attention to practicing prevention. A disgruntled white supremacist blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The water rising around Miami Beach is the result of climate change. What does it take for us to learn to share our concerns and work together to solve them? What makes us hold so tightly to our understanding of the world that we are unwilling to deal with other viewpoints?

I was struck by David’s final comments above. He did not want the enemy to know they had succeeded in killing Israel’s king and his son. That does not sound like reconciliation with a neighboring nation was going to happen anytime soon. Christ calls us to love all our neighbors and live in a just world. We can only do that through the power of God’s love.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see ways of reconciliation toward all people. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.