“God’s Will be Done” by Colleen O’Sullivan

“God’s Will be Done” by Colleen O’Sullivan

Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

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? I have not dwelt in a house from the day on which I led the children of Israel out of Egypt to the present, but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.  In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel, did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:  Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’… 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.  It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever.   (2 Samuel 7:4-7, 11c-13)

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David, my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever and establish your throne through all ages.”  (Psalm 89:4-5)

Piety

Lord, may I remember to seek your will before I rush to put mine into action.

Study

Statue of King David (c. 1600),
Nicolas Cordier, Borghese Chapel, 
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore,
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Today’s reading from 2 Samuel is a play on the word “house.”  King David might be suffering from a guilty conscience.  After all, he commissioned for himself a splendid palace, built from the cedars of Lebanon.  No one else has such a fine home, not even God, David has to admit.  The more he ponders the inequity of this, the more it doesn’t seem right.  God has nothing but a cloth tent for a home.  The more the king considers this, the more convinced he becomes that he should rectify this inequity.  He’ll build God a house of God’s own!  Then he won’t have any reason to feel guilty about living in such elegant surroundings himself.

As the Scripture passage says, however, this isn’t what God wants at all.  God has never had any fancy dwelling place.  His tent under a scrap of cloth has served him well ever since the day Israel escaped the Egyptians through the parted waters of the Red Sea.  God sounds a little indignant as he speaks to Nathan in a dream, giving him a message for the king.  I’ve never complained about my living quarters.  I’ve never desired a luxurious palace for a dwelling place.  I have always wanted to be able to move with my people, and what I have now has served me well. 

No, I don’t want David building me anything.  Just the opposite is true.  I’m going to build a house for David.  Not a house of bricks and mortar (or cedar), but a dynasty that will stand forever.  I am going to establish a royal throne that will be for all ages.

And about building me a permanent dwelling…  That’s not for this king to do.  I have in mind a future king whose mission will include that. 

Sometimes I wonder about the human beings I’ve created.  Do they never pray for discernment of my will before they start making plans?   So many of them carry on as though they are their own little gods.  David built himself a house fit for a king, but I’m going to construct a house fit for the King of Kings. 

It seems a bit ironic that when the King of Kings enters our world, his shelter is the rudest of animal stables. Real greatness has nothing to do with living in a mansion, cedar or otherwise.

Action

The Scripture doesn’t explicitly spell out David’s motive for being about to build a beautiful house for God, but he very well might have felt guilty about the inequity between his magnificent palace and God’s cloth tent.  However, he was about to rush into something that wasn’t what God desired at all.

When you have a few minutes today, reflect on some time when you forged ahead with a big project without first discerning God’s desires in the matter.  How did it turn out?

It can be challenging to know whether we’re listening to our voice or the voice of God, but things generally turn out better if we at least try to discern what God is saying to us or asking of us.