This is David’s declaration in today’s frst reading, in the view and hearing of the camp of Saul, who had become his enemy. It saddens me many days when I hear or read our nation’s, our society’s public discourse framed in harsh terms that one would hurl at an enemy. It saddens me that we have such easy recourse to terms, postures, and actions quick to label and then treat individuals, groups, political parties or individual politicians as “enemy.” It troubles me when it becomes clear that competing or complementary visions, ideas or answers to challenging questions slip into competing for who will be “right” and who will be “wrong” to such an extent that everyone becomes distracted from and incapable of seeking the “true.”
“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven … Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ” Luke 6: 37, 36
In today’s frst reading, Saul is on the run from David, believing that he has become his enemy. He assesses the situation without recourse to the Spirit of God who had anointed him. He measures the human equation without any consideration of the God whose servant he has been and is. He feeds on his own fear, and listens to those who are willing to feed that fear.
Faithfulness to God can be a risky proposition. It was for David. It was for the earliest communities of believers in the Resurrected Christ. In Jesus’ own witness to the Father in word and action, he risked everything to prove there is no enemy beyond God’s reach, no power against which being “right” is of any lasting value, no promise of true meaning if it is not aligned with his power over sin and death.