Tag Archives: King David

I Believed and so I Spoke

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This medieval illumination depicts Jephthah sacrificing his daughter after she spends time alone with her friends in the mountains “bewailing her virginity,” described in Judges 11. There was a festival of Jephthah’s daughter every year at midwinter; Christians see her as a “type,” a prophetic anticipation, of Christ.

However, since we have the same spirit of faith according to what is written, “I believed, there I spoke out” (Ps. 116:9), we too believe; therefore, also speak out, for we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us together with you in his presence. (2 Cor. 4:13-14)

The Apostle Paul quotes the psalm: I believed, and so I spoke out. He points out that he–and the Christians faithful to his preaching–have the same faith as King David and Moses, who also faced great tribulations and adversaries from those they thought were their friends and followers.

The psalm that St. Paul quotes is commonly used in the Prayers Before Receiving Holy Communion. Because the Lord has delivered the psalmist, the psalmist asks, “How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?” The answer is: “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.” and “I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving [eucharist] and call upon the Name of the Lord.” God has delivered us and so we thank him by offering him a thank-offering and sharing a feast with him. We participate in Christ’s resurrection every time we offer the thank-offering and lift up the cup of salvation. But our lives have to match our liturgical actions.

He who raised Jesus from the dead will raise us also if we do his will and walk in his commandments and love the things which he loved, abstaining from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, and false witness.

St. Polycarp of Smyrna, Epistle to the Philippians

St. Paul’s faith, and the faith of David, Moses, and all the prophets is placed in the same Lord. This same Lord delivered the prophets in the Old Testament and will deliver St. Paul and the New Testament believers as well. This deliverance is not simply victory over earthly enemies; it is victory over THE enemy, which is Death.

Paul believed that through the work of Christ, he and all believers were made greater than death and that they would all be brought before the terrible seat of judgement.

St. Theodoret of Cyr, Commentary on 2nd Corinthians

This psalm promises that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” This verse was often associated with Jephthah’s daughter, who was sacrificed by her father to keep a promise he had made to God and which is similar in many ways to Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. (Read about Jephthah and his daughter here.) In both episodes, the father is asked to give a child as an offering to save a family or clan, anticipating our Father in heaven giving his own Son to be killed as a sacrifice that saves the world.

I highly recommend reading Psalm 116:9-end each week as part of our preparation for receiving Holy Communion. The words of King David become our words as well and together we lift up the cup of salvation to celebrate the victory which the Lord shares with us.

St. Francis Takes Refuge in the Cleft

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St. Francis, with the wounds of the stigmata visible on his hands and foot, kisses the foot of Christ on the Cross in this detail from a 13th century image in the Arezzo basilica of St. Francis.

St. Francis of Assisi is known for many things. Several episodes in his life have become part of popular culture, some still associated with his name while his connection to others has been forgotten: how many remember that the Christmas manger scene–the creche–was “invented” by St. Francis in 1223?

“For in the day of trouble he [the Lord] shall keep me safe in his shelter; he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling, and set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:7)

As I was reading the psalms last week, I was reminded of another incident in St. Francis’ life. In the autumn of 1224 (the year after he organized the first creche), St. Francis received the stigmata (meaning “brand” or “mark”)–the five wounds of Christ–although this was not generally known until after his death in 1226. The stigmata is commonly referred to as “the wounds of love” described by the bride in the Song of Songs 2:5. The groom then tells the bride, “Come, my dove, in the cleft of the rock…” (Song of Songs 2:13-14).

We are told by St. Gregory of Nyssa that this cleft “is the sublime message of the Gospel” and the person who loves God is not coerced to take refuge in the Gospel but must freely choose to love God and the Good News; St. Gregory points out that King David “realized that of all the things he had done, only those were pleasing to God that were done freely, and so he vows that he will freely offer sacrifice. And this is the spirit of every holy man of God, not to be led by necessity.” What is coerced is not love. Love must be freely given and freely received. Taking refuge in the rock is to freely give oneself to God and to be freely received by God.

The psalm refers to this same idea: the Lord will protect his friend, his beloved from danger by sheltering the beloved in the “secrecy of his dwelling,” the cleft “high upon the rock.” Readers–such as Augustine of Hippo–understood this psalm to promise freedom from sin to the beloved of God; the one who loves God would be kept safe from the danger of damnation even if slain by enemies.

Medieval poets often identified the “cleft in the rock” mentioned by the Song and the psalms with the wounds of Christ, especially the wound in Christ’s side made by the spear. Early Christian authors, such as St. Methodius of Olympus, preached that “Christ slept in the ecstasy of his Passion and the Church–his bride–was brought forth from the wound in his side just as Eve was brought forth from the wound in the side of Adam.”

The stigmata was the seal of St. Francis’ love for God and God’s love for Francis. It was in the refuge of this love that Francis found the safety to love the world which was in such need.

David and Goliath and the Kiss of Peace

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Illumination of David and Goliath in Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus. The manuscript was made in the Netherlands in AD 1332.

“I love you, O Lord my strength, O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven. My God, my rock, in whom I put my trust.” (Psalm 18:1-2)

When David was a teen, before he was made king of Israel, he volunteered to fight the giant Goliath in single combat (read the Old Testament story in 1 Samuel 17). Goliath was approximately 10 feet tall, had 6 fingers on each hand, and was rumored to be descended from the giants (these details are reported in 1 Chronicles 20:6). Goliath also had bronze armor and a 19 pound iron spear, which was unusual at that time. He was a formidable opponent. But, as the well known story reports, David selected 5 stones from a riverbed and was able to kill Goliath with a stone from his slingshot. He then cut off Goliath’s head to prove his victory and sang Psalm 18 in celebration (see also the report in 2 Samuel 22).

At the Kiss of Peace during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Church, the priest quietly recites the first verses of this psalm. The exchange of the Kiss, reconciling the participants and celebrating their mutual forgiveness before singing the consecration prayers and receiving Holy Communion, is like the stone David let fly from his slingshot: it slays the enemy of the People of God. The division and animosity of anger and holding grudges are among the most powerful weapons of Evil and Death; the fury and refusal to accept fellowship with others is a foretaste of Death and mutual forgiveness anticipates the Resurrection in which we experience the re-establishment of harmony between God and humanity, between God and the entire creation, between each of us with each other and the creation as well. The early preachers and teachers of the Church understood the power of the Antichrist to be precisely this division, animosity, and chaos.

Goliath is a personification of all that opposes God and His creation. The stone from David’s slingshot anticipates the Cross, the weapon by which the Enemy is slain. The Kiss of Peace reveals the power of the Cross in the live of the community assembled to celebrate the Eucharist. We are able to embrace one another, call even those who hate us “Brother!” and forgive all by the power and joy of the Resurrection. The Kiss of Peace, the stone in our slingshot in our battle with the Enemy, is more than a simple gesture or chance to greet our friends. It is one of our most effective weapons against Death and the Devil (“the divider” and “the adversary”).

During this time when we may not be able to exchange the Kiss of Peace during the liturgical celebration, it is especially important that we continue to forgive and metaphorically embrace those we may harbor animosity against. Now, more than ever, we must celebrate the Resurrection in every manner available to us.