Skip to main content

Advent Series December 14

Image
By

 

+
JMJ

December 14

Yesterday we read about King Saul. At first Saul was a good king, but then he disobeyed God.
God rejected Saul and commanded the prophet Samuel to find a new king for Israel.

“And the Lord said to Samuel…fill thy horn with oil, and come, that I may send thee to Isai (Jesse) the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.” (1 Kings 16:1)

So Samuel went to Jesse in Bethlehem, and who do you think Jesse was? 
He was the grandson of Booz and Ruth! (The "Jesse Tree" is named after this Jesse)

Jesse brought each of his seven sons to Samuel. They were all large men and very impressive, but God told Samuel that He did not judge by the outward appearance.

And when all seven sons had come, Samuel asked Jesse if these were all his sons. Jesse replied that he had one more; a boy, who looked after the sheep.

Samuel told Jesse to bring him, and when he was come, God said that he was the chosen one. And the boy’s name was David.
So Samuel took the oil and anointed David, but it would be a few years yet until David actually became king.

In the meantime, Saul continued to rule Israel, but he was often depressed and out of sorts because he had lost favour with God. Hoping to find some peace for his troubled mind, Saul looked for someone who could play the harp.

And it was told to Saul that the boy David could play. Hearing that David played the harp, King Saul sent for him. 
At first Saul loved David. When Saul was sad David’s music made him feel better. 

David was a gifted musician, and his songs were prayers to God. They can be found in the Old Testament in the book of Psalms. The Hebrews call the Psalms, “Hymns of Praise”. The psalms of David are sung during the Divine Office by priests, monks and nuns. 

Time passed and the Philistines began to attack Israel again. David’s brothers joined Saul’s army and David returned home to take care of the sheep. One day, the armies of the Israelites and the Philistines were assembled for battle. The Philistines had a HUGE man in their army; a giant named Goliath. 

The Philistines challenged the Israelites to send out a man to fight Goliath. Whoever won the fight would win the war. 
Now Goliath was BIG. Depending on the unit of measure at that time, he was anywhere from 8 to 12.5 feet tall! His armor alone weighed a total of 273 pounds! (See Haydock Catholic Commentary pg 361)

The Israelites did not know what to do! For 40 days they deliberated, but no one would volunteer to fight Goliath! 

Then Jesse sent David to bring food to his brothers at camp. When David got there, he heard about the problem they were having. Right then and there, David offered to fight Goliath, for he trusted in God. 

So taking his sling and five smooth stones, David went out to meet Goliath.

Seeing young David, Goliath cursed him, but David said to him, “I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts…this day, and the Lord will deliver thee into my hand, and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from thee…” (1 Kings 17:45-46)

David took a stone and using his sling, hit the giant in the forehead. Goliath crashed to the ground. Then taking the giant’s own sword, David cut off his head. And taking his head, David carried it away. (Remember the promise of God in Genesis 3:15? Here is another example of “head crushing”)

From that time on, David lived with King Saul and did not return home. And David became close friends with King Saul's son, Jonathan so that they were like brothers. 

Time passed and David grew strong. Saul put him in charge of leading his armies.
David won many battles, and the people sang; 

“Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands”

When Saul heard this, he grew angry, and jealous of David. Saul even tried to kill David, but Jonathan helped his friend escape. 
Many times after that, Saul tried to kill David, but David would not fight the king or do him any harm. 

Finally, Saul came to a sad end. In despair, he killed himself during a battle, falling upon his sword. This brings us to the end of the first book of kings.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Tradition?

By
 + JMJ What Is Tradition? The basic premise, from my perspective, is that what was taught before cannot be contradicted by the 'present' magisterium, only deepened and expanded upon. I recall the Roman theologians called the SSPX protestants while the SSPX called them modernists.  I believe this was all surrounding the concept of Traditon. SSPX's Understanding of Tradition One accusation made against the SSPX is that they don't have a correct understanding of 'Tradition'.  This is how the SSPX understands Tradition: I finally profess that Tradition is not a dead memory, but the living transmission of the doctrine received from the Apostles. It remains living, in distinction to Revelation, which is closed. It is so both in the activity of the Magisterium of the Teaching Church and in the profession of Faith of the Church Taught, of which the sentire cum Ecclesia is the result of the teaching of the Magisterium. Tradition may be called ‘living’, not in the sense t...
Post a Comment
Read more

SSPX.ca: What is the position of the SSPX on Vatican II???

By
 + JMJ With all the mis-information about the SSPX rejecting the Second Vatican Council, I thought it would be useful to publish an article that focuses on the real issues that the SSPX has identified. Update: Why Did the SSPX Consecrate Bishops? ( Neither Schismatic, Nor Disobedient link ) In the linked document the SSPX outlined the key motivation and core issues with Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium (see above link for full document): 4. The Society Acted Precisely Because of the State of Necessity in Which the Faith Finds Itself  In the present situation of the Church, if the Society of Saint Pius X had not carried out the consecrations of July 1st, it would have found itself facing an inevitable alternative: either to disappear gradually, or to accept, at least in fact, the new liturgy as well as the false doctrines of Vatican II and the post-council. Without the consecrations of July 1st, the Fraternity would have found itself, in a few years, without bishop...
1 comment
Read more

Thoughts on: Finding Common Ground Between Rome and the SSPX

By
 + JMJ In the ramp up to the consecrations the noise floor in the intergnat grew to a constant din.  This was one of the few the peeped its signal over the noise. https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/finding-common-ground-between-rome-and-the-sspx The key issue is contained in this paragraph: In the lead-up to the planned July 1, 2026, episcopal consecrations,  the SSPX rejected Rome’s offer  of doctrinal dialogue on the grounds that “we both know in advance that we cannot agree doctrinally, particularly regarding the fundamental orientations adopted since the Second Vatican Council.” Fr. Pagliarani also said that his previous attempt at dialogue in 2019 was shut down by Rome because of an assumed irreconcilability. It seems that, from the Society’s perspective, and perhaps from Rome’s too, their positions are incompatible. If memory serves, Rome killed any opportunity for an open discussion by stating that Vatican II was not up for debate. So it was a still-birth and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The News is an Addiction ...

By
 + JMJ People seem to be mesmerised by train wrecks.   They just can't turn away as the disaster creeps forward along train tracks towards the crossing where a car, truck, bus, trailer awaits its destruction. Trads have been watching the train wreck that is this crisis of the Catholic Church for decades. The trade war between the Canada and the US has reminded me that the news is addictive.   The first time I was addicted what from 2009 to  2014 when I was closely following the Rome / SSPX discussions.  I was at work watching a live-stream as Bishop Fellay disappeared into the Vatican. The lead-up to this moment had been intense as the 'resistance' got freaked out and the cultural cracks between doctrine and conspiracy theory widened. In the decade since then other things have emerged, wars, rumours of wars, conspiracies, celebrity Catholics etc. Now we have a new addiction and its name is Trump. Lately, no matter how much I try, I find myself wonderin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thoughts on the Thoughts of a former SSPX priest

By
 + JMJ Well Gary Campbell, former SSPX Priest and now laicised has posted a new article on WherePeterIs. https://wherepeteris.com/thoughts-of-a-former-sspx-priest-on-the-july-1-consecrations/ These words stuck out: Heck, they have built a five-star hotel, wine bar, and Walmart on the opposite bank of the Rubicon! They are not in danger of entering a state of schism, for they are  already  in a state of schism. I believe he doth protest too much. All the actual facts indicate that the SSPX was not in a state of schism before July 1st and an examination of the decree of excommunication highlights the either ineptitude of those in charge or a desire to leave the barn door open. The chasm between an act of disobedience and act of schism remains just what is has always been - an inconvenient barrier that person(s) in Rome seek to bridge but appear incapable of succeeding. The SSPX re-stated that they recognize the Pope as the Vicar of Christ and feel obliged by conscience...
Post a Comment
Read more