Promises, Promises

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, December 24th, 2023:
Fourth Sunday of Advent

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2 Samuel
7.1-5, 8-12, 14, 16

Now when David, the king, was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the Prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: “Go and tell my servant David: ‘Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel: and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

“And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“Moreover the Lord declares to you, David, that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

“I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne, David, shall be established forever.’”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

In the first reading we hear of King David and his desire to build a permanent home for the Lord – this will eventually be the temple in Jerusalem. In our day and age of homes and churches and other permanent structures, this seems like a straightforward plan. But at the time of David, that wasn’t necessarily the norm. It would seem as if you were limiting God to THAT place. 
In pagan religions of the time, you worshipped the local god. If you moved, you worshipped the one in the new place. So at first sight, David could be seen as tying God down – but we know that wasn’t his intention. 

As I read this scripture I am reminded once again how my ways are not necessarily God’s ways. I cannot count the number of times in my life when I had what I considered an amazing idea, only to see later that it was a terrible idea – or at the very least, not nearly as amazing as God’s plan! 

A dear priest, Fr. Roberto, used to say “Isn’t it interesting how when most people discern God’s will, it is usually the thing that person likes best?” Do I ever stop to see if perhaps that challenging thing in my life, or the thing that is different than what I am used to, is where God is calling me? The very thing David desired to do looked like a good thing coming from a good place – and yet it wasn’t God’s will. And, therefore, it was not the good thing it seemed. 

Doing God's will isn’t always easy or comfortable but it is good because God is good. What does that mean for the reading? When I pray for God’s guidance or direction I need to remember that sometimes His answer isn’t “Yes” or “No” – it might be “Not yet.” 

God intended for the temple to be built, just not on David’s timeline. Rather, He meant it to happen on God’s timeline.




Sister Teresa MacDonald

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