Humility, Faith, Trust

In today’s first reading, 2 Sam 7¨4-5a, 12-14a, 16, Nathan informs David that he is not to build a Temple for the Lord, that that task will be Solomon’s responsibility.  David’s time had come to pass on the leadership role to his son Solomon. He was obviously in the second stage of his life, that of letting go, letting God and letting others. The first stage in life is to “build Temples,” become established in a career or in several careers, raise a family, be involved in service projects, in ministry, in initiating programs to better society. The first part of life is about  filling “the wine jugs” of one’s life with the choicest of “wines”. The latter years call us to even greater heroics, namely,  learning to “retire” into the background and surrender positions considered important in the eyes of the world  to others. It is a time to do what St. John the Baptist did: Learning to let Christ increase and oneself decrease, so to speak, living a life of humility, hope, and faith that rekindles and deepens one’s love for the Crucified Christ.  I cannot decrease if I’ve built nothing!  That is why the first half of life is very important. But no less important  is the second half of life, the life of elders, of wisdom figures, whose time of living a more contemplative lifestyle has come, a time to let God “raise up your heir after you”, a time of letting go, letting God, and letting others take their rightful place in “building the Temple”.  It is the spiritual journey of persons who “follow the faith of Abraham” (Romans 4: 13, 16-18, 22).

 Where are you in this faith journey? My prayer is that, whether you are in the first half or the second half of your life, may you look to God as your father, your God, the Rock, your Savior,” as we pray in the responsorial psalm of today’s liturgy, Ps. 89.