There is something very Christlike in David’s actions in our reading from 1 Samuel this morning. David is hiding in a cave, pursued by a sinful, murderous king who has both an insatiable desire to kill David and no justification for doing so. The demons have convinced Saul that David is his enemy, that David wants to destroy Saul and everything he holds dear. And yet, when David has the opportunity to destroy Saul, he refuses to take it. He cuts Saul’s robe to show that, though he had the power to end his life, he has spared it. He is not Saul’s enemy. He’s calling Saul to see him as a son, to see that they are members of the same royal spiritual family.
And so it is with our Lord. The Chief Priests and the Pharisees, these men have been driven mad by demonic envy and bitterness. They see Jesus as an enemy who wants to rob them of their glory and power with His miracles, His teaching, His popularity, His obvious status as the Son of God. And at every moment of His earthly ministry, Jesus is there in the cave with them, brimming with the power to destroy them all. As He tells us in His passion, He could summon a host of angels down to earth and pour out the wrath of God upon those who want to put Him to death. But He doesn’t. Instead, He allows them to arrest Him, to beat Him, to crucify Him. He allows His own flesh to be cut apart like the robe of Saul to show them the truth: Despite their hatred, He loves them. And He’s inviting them into the family of God, inviting them to receive His forgiveness, to see Him as their brother, members of the same royal spiritual family.
And that’s the same thing that Jesus says to you in the cave. As St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” The demons corrupting Saul were David’s enemy, not Saul himself really. The sin destroying the Pharisees was Jesus’s enemy, not the Pharisees themselves. Those who have hurt you, those who have driven you into the caves are not your enemies. It’s the devil behind those actions. So don’t war against them. Don’t try to kill them with anger. Rather, show them mercy. Cut off a corner of their robe by showing them the robe of righteousness Jesus Christ has already made your own and that He will make theirs as well. Forgive them. Love them. Confess the name of Jesus Christ to them. Invite them to see that you can both be members of the same royal spiritual family.
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