​A little background on today’s first reading before we dive in...

Saul was one of Israel’s kings. In fact, he was the king when Goliath - the famous Philistine - threatened God’s people. When Goliath issued his challenge to the Israelites, they were all too afraid to face him. Then this little young shepherd boy David stops by the camp and decides to take on Goliath by himself. You know how the story ends with David defeating Goliath.

But that made Saul jealous.

This young person showed more courage and strength than Saul and his entire army. Saul became consumed with envy, he resented David for all the attention and popularity he enjoyed for his battle with Goliath, and he was paranoid that David was going to try to steal his throne. So Saul planned to eliminate David. He made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to kill David, and David went on the run from him.

Now we’re caught up with the time when today’s reading begins.

David is hiding with some of his men deep in a cave. Saul took soldiers with him in search of David to kill him. In a moment of Biblical TMI, we’re told that Saul went to pee in the cave. David was hidden back in the shadows, and he managed to sneak over and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. (Not sure how he pulled that off.)

Then David stepped out of the cave to confront Saul. David showed him the piece of his robe he cut off as proof that he was close enough to kill Saul. But he didn’t kill him. David refused to take revenge on Saul, even though some might argue that Saul’s unjust persecution of David gave him every right to do so.

This story has always captured my heart, and I hope it does the same for you.

How often do we take revenge on others? When we’re little kids we’re told that “two wrongs don’t make a right,” but then we get a little older and feel like we’re justified in how we treat others badly because they treated us poorly first. Maybe there are teachers you gossip about with your friends because you don’t like how they’ve treated you in class. Sometimes your friends embarrass you in front of others or hurt you, so you hold a grudge and give them a cold shoulder. Other times you may be unhappy with how your parents are raising you or the rules they insist you follow, so you act out towards them and give them a hard time. Or maybe your brother or sister annoys you or messes with your stuff, so you feel that you have a right to yell at them and get back at them.

Pray with this reading today and search your heart for any jealousy, bitterness, or resentment that exists there. Ask the Lord to help you be more like David, who had mercy on a man who was trying to kill him. With God’s grace, let go of the grudges you harbor. And let’s remember the ultimate example of forgiveness: Jesus, who instead of taking revenge on those who killed Him prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Which is your default? Forgiveness ... or Resentment, Holding a Grudge, and Getting Even?

What do you get from holding a grudge or even retaliating against a fault?

Why is forgiveness so hard for you to choose?

"I forgive (insert name here)."

"I need your forgiveness Lord."

​"I want to love."

Think about someone who you need to forgive and begin the process of forgiving them in your heart. Then think of someone whose forgiveness you need and begin the process of asking them for forgiveness. It's not easy, but it is what Christ is asking of us.

​As we entered back into Ordinary Time this past week, we’ve been walking through 1 Samuel with the first readings at daily Mass. From the beginning, with Hannah and her son Samuel, who God chose to be his high priest, and all the way up until the unveiling of David in today’s reading, we’ve been able to see how God has been shaping the future for his people, Israel. Today’s reading is the account of Samuel meeting Jesse and his sons, including David, who is eventually anointed as king of Israel. As I reflect on the reading today, looking back to the beginning of Ordinary Time last week, I’m struck by how the Lord is faithful to his people.

The story of David being chosen over all of his older brothers, who epitomize strength and kingly stature, is one that you are most likely familiar with. The small shepherd boy who seems to have no business being king is chosen over all the others—showing us how God can doesn’t call the equipped but equips the called. But in the midst of this bigger story, it’s apparent that God has always been working for his people, and not simply trying to make ends meet when certain people fail.

Saul, the king of Israel before David is anointed, failed to follow the Lord’s command. Israel was suffering and leaderless and it could seem like God had to keep readjusting his plan because we kept messing it up. Isn’t this the story of the whole Old Testament? God makes plans for us and we fail, so he has to reload and start again? If we want to make the narrative fit, we could, but we’d fail to give God enough credit. God is so much bigger than our expectations and our plans—he knows when we’re going to succeed and when we’re going to fail, as individuals and as a people. The plans that God has for you are bigger than your successes and your failures. He has been working from the foundation of time to bring about peace and fulfillment in your life. Through every failure, God has been faithful. It may seem like things are falling apart in the midst of your own brokenness, you may be feeling the despair that Israel felt when Saul failed them as king; but through all of it, God has been working a masterpiece that will come to fulfillment in your life. God is always faithful, always working behind the scenes, even when it seems like he isn’t doing anything. It may take time and, like the small shepherd boy David, it may not be what you anticipated, but he will be faithful, nonetheless. 

How have I doubted that God is being faithful in bringing about good in my life?

In what ways am I in need of God working for the good in my life right now? 

How have I believed the lie that my failures are to blame for good things not coming about in my life? How have I let that lead me to blame God?

"You are faithful."

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"Help me see how you are working."

Take what comes to light in prayer today, the ways you feel like you are struggling to trust God, struggling to overcome your failures, or whatever else, and offer it back to God in an act of trust. If you want to find a good, prayerful way to increase your trust, find the Litany of Trust (just Google it) and pray it.