Happy Gaudete Sunday!
Ornament: Harp
King Saul falls away from the Lord. A young boy named David is annointed to be King and as he grows he defeats giants and loves the Lord. Even though he doesn't live perfectly, he continues to serve him well throughout his life.
If you remember our very first day of reading about the Jesse Tree, you will remember David, the youngest of Jesse's sons, who was out in the field with sheep when he was recognized as the one the Lord wanted to make King of Israel. Saul, the King before him, had fallen away from the Lord and began to use his power for selfish reasons.
David was still young when he went to live with King Saul to learn from him, and to play the harp in his house. David was able to defeat a giant Philistine named Goliath by throwing a single stone at his forehead - this because the Lord promised David that even though he was small that he, the Lord, would be with him. David trusted this and the people of Israel loved him for it, and David continued to be successful in every battle he fought.
Later, Saul tried to have David killed because he realized that the people loved David more than Saul, and that the Lord favored David as well for his faithfulness. But he could not have him killed because the Lord protected him. Eventually, Saul died in battle, and David became King.
One day when David was grown, he fell in love with a woman who was already married to one of David's soldiers. Her name was Bathsheba, and when David found out that she was pregnant with his own child, he tried to put Bathsheba's husband in the most dangerous situations in battle so that he would not survive. A prophet named Nathan told David about how bad his behavior was - he compared it to a rich man steeling the only sheep of a poor man. This was also because David already had married many women and had sons with them already. David realized how wrong it was that he had taken Bathsheba away from her husband, and how wrong it was to try and have her husband killed in battle. But it was too late, and Bathsheba's husband died.
David still loved Bathsheba, and so he married her and she became the Queen. However, her child died before it was born and both she and David were devastated by the loss, knowing that they had been careless in their actions.
Eventually Bathsheba had another son named Solomon who would one day become King as well. But another son, Absalom, was jealous and wanted to be king himself, so he fought against his father David. Eventually Absalom was chosen to replace David not by the Lord, but by the Israelites - and David was sent to live in caves outside of the land. When Absalom died in battle, the Israelites knew David as their king again. But the divide in the people began to separate the Israelites from one another.
King David died of old age before he could have a temple built for the Lord - a promise he made when he was young and felt guilty for living in a palace when the tablets of Ten Commandments were kept in a tent. Hopefully his son Solomon would keep this promise for him.
Connection & Reflection: The harp is a good symbol of what David's life was like - a song of praise and faithfulness to God the Father. David even wrote the Psalms, poetry to the Lord. Although David wasn't perfect, he tried to learn from his mistakes and still tried to follow the Lord's instructions. However, his failings to live out the Ten Commandments in the end hurt the people of Israel by dividing them with hate and mistrust of one another.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your faithfulness to us when we weak and fail to love you. Thank you for King David, a sign of hope for us, and a gift that you gave us to comfort us and give us unity. We ask that you help us be as faithful as David, even in our failings, and to admit our bad choices as he did. Give us hope, especially today, to continue to prepare ourselves to receive Jesus.
Conclude with your favorite family prayer or an Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be.
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