The Greater House

A Reflection on the First Reading for December 20th, 2020:
Fourth Sunday of Advent

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2 Samuel
7.1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 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.’”
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

When my children were little, they loved the live recording of Fred Penner’s song A House Is a House for Me. In it, he invites us to broaden our view of what constitutes a house: “My coat is a house for my body; my hat is a house for my head.” The first reading for this Sunday instantly reminded me of a line from that song: “The more that you think about houses for things, the more things are houses to you.”


In this reading, King David casts an eye over his beautiful cedar house and compares it to the relatively modest tent that shelters the Ark of the Covenant. Then, convicted by his conscience, he decides to build a temple fitting for God. That night, through the Prophet Nathan, God reminds David of all that He has done and all that He will continue to do for David. God declares, “I will make a house for you, David, a house greater and more enduring than any building. I will build you a dynasty.”


We know that Jesus – whom the Bible calls Son of David – was descended from King David. Through Jesus, God made a new covenant with us; and Mary – the mother of Jesus and the Ark of the new Covenant – became a house for Jesus. Through the birth of Jesus, God’s promise of a house for David is fulfilled.


Like Mary, we are called to be a house for Jesus. Saint Paul says: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).


As He reminded David, God reminds us that there are houses greater and more enduring than our brick and mortar churches. These are the churches constituted by the People of God and the homes we have built for God within us.


The more that we think that houses are not things, the greater will be the house that we build. May Jesus, whose birth we prepare for with such joy, find a warm and lasting home in us this Christmas.




Donna Davis

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