Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church
The story we hear in today’s first reading from the Book of Samuel is a transformational encounter between two enemies Saul and David. When Saul, who is on a mission with three thousand men to find and kill David, enters a cave and unknowingly puts himself in danger, Saul chooses not to lay a hand on him. Although Saul was right within David’s grasp, David chooses not to fight hate with more hate. It is as if David knew what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would say in 1963, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” In our world that often responds by piling darkness and hate on top of existing darkness and hate, let us learn a lesson from David. He even quotes an old proverb that says, “From the wicked comes forth wickedness.” But at some point, the wickedness has to stop and David takes the high road in this story to put an end to it.
Fr. Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, relays his encounters with former gang members in his book titled Tattoos on the Heart. He talks a lot about kinship and valuing each and every human life as a gift from God, as it is meant to be. He talks about restoring people to themselves when they have lost their way and forgotten that their life is just as valuable as everyone else’s. He reminds us that “Mother Teresa diagnosed the world’s ills in this way: we’ve just ‘forgotten that we belong to each other.’” In today’s first reading, David restores Saul to himself, as the “Lord’s anointed,” and remembers that they actually belong to each other. It is only when we get close enough to one another to really see one another with God’s eyes, to really listen to their stories and their needs with God’s ears that we can sense our kinship. It takes David getting closer to Saul... close enough to cut off the end of his mantle… before he has pity on him. If we allow ourselves to go to the margins and encounter the “other,” it will be much harder to do them harm.
Fr. Greg goes on to say that our goal is to create a community of kinship and a circle of compassion. “Then we imagine no one standing outside of that circle, moving ourselves closer to the margins so that the margins themselves will be erased...We locate ourselves with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless… We stand with the demonized so that the demonizing will stop.” In today’s Gospel reading Jesus appoints and names the Twelve Apostles, and sends them forth “to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” What would it look like if we were to drive out demons today? If, on a personal level, we stop demonizing those who are different than us (those with different political agendas, religious beliefs, or lifestyles), and then help others drive out those same demons so that we can put an end to the hate. Only love can do that.
- LeeAnn Meyer