Daily Retreat 01/23/06

2006 Jan 23 Mon: Ordinary Weekday

2 Sm 5: 1-7. 10/ Ps 88(89): 20. 21-22. 25-26/ Mk 3: 22-30

From today’s readings: "You shall shepherd My people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.... I have found David, My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him.... If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand."

God’s Chosen Shepherd

God clearly blessed David - long before he assumed the kingship of Israel and Judah, he had been chosen as the Lord’s anointed one through Samuel, God’s prophet. Gradually, all the people came to see David as the shepherd God chose for them, and so, after the death of Saul, David was unanimously recognized as king.

Since God Himself chose the leader for His chosen people, it followed that when the chosen people followed the chosen leader, they were following God’s will for them. Although David, like all leaders, was far from perfect, he was among the greatest in history, for he certainly strove to follow God and lead the people in God’s ways.

At this time in history, God has chosen Pope Benedict XVI to lead His Church. Like all leaders, Benedict is far from perfect - and he has no qualms about humbly admitting that! Yet the Holy Father is, by all accounts, a great man, striving to follow God, and lead people in God’s ways. As always, when God’s people follow the leader God has chosen for us, we are then following God’s will for us!