Friday of the Second Week Integral 2026
We are blessed almost three thousand years after the events described in the OT histories to have the account of the event at the cave near the Wild Goats Rock. We are also blessed to have the psalm or hymn composed by David after it was all over, a psalm we prayed after the reading: “Have mercy on me, O God. . .in the shadow of your wings I take refuge till harm pass by.” David and his band of outlaws were hidden in one of the many caves that dot southern Israel. King Saul, who had three thousand of his best troops with him to hunt those outlaws, wanted some privacy to take care of basic bodily needs. He chose the very cave his targets had hidden in.
A whispered argument ensued, with David’s men urging him to kill the king. Remember that David received the Holy Spirit when the prophet Samuel anointed him successor king. He knew that killing the anointed of the Lord would be a grave crime, so he just cut off the tassel of Saul’s garment. Later, he regretted even that insulting action. This was the second time David was that close to the crown but refused to assassinate his rival. The story seems to have had wide circulation, especially in the difficult time between Saul’s defeat and death and David’s acclamation by all Israel as king. It proved that David was just and respectful, even when Saul was unjustly seeking his life.
David became the most beloved of the kings of Israel. A big part of the story was the blessing Saul pronounced over David: “May the Lord reward you generously. . .you shall surely be king and . . .sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession.”
Jesus was descended from David through several other kings, so when on His way to His Passover in Jerusalem, David performed miracles and taught as no other rabbi had taught, the people found it right to call Him “Son of David.” That, too, was a thinly-veiled claim for Jesus to be Messiah.
Early in St. Mark’s Gospel we hear the story of how Jesus Himself prepared the way for His Church’s leadership. He first summoned those he wanted and they came to him on the mountain. This brings to mind the action of Moses appointing Joshua and others as leaders for the Israelites in the desert. Jesus appointed Twelve disciples and named them apostles, which means those He would send out to preach and have authority, even over demons. He gives Simon, the first, the name “Rock.” He will often exercise leadership over the others. John and James get special names, too. They are “sons of thunder,” which may not be complimentary. In that leadership barrel, there is even an apple that will prove himself rotten before the narrative is done. Judas Iscariot, always identified as “a traitor.”
Jesus has chosen all of us as his disciples. We all have major or minor leadership tasks, which we can accomplish with God’s grace. It is for us to determine by our actions whether or not we will be known by a special name, like Peter and John and James. God forbid we may be labeled one “who betrayed him.”
