The readings from Samuel have been leading up to the moment of David becoming king of Israel and Judah, uniting the kingdoms. All that work always seems excessive for such a short period of unity. In the words of the responsorial psalm, God says of King David: “My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.” It is true, God was with him, faithful and merciful, to the end of his days.
The reality is that human kings and kingdoms come and go, rise and fall. God’s covenant with His people seemed to be broken so many times. The passage of 2 Timothy 2:13 comes to mind: “If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” Through it all, God remains faithful to His covenant, having mercy on those who do not remain faithful.
Fidelity
What does God’s fidelity mean? How is He faithful? He is faithful to his choice-us. We are His chosen people. He chooses us, again and again, despite our choices for or against Him. He lets us be free – free to love and follow Him, or free to not. He is faithful to His love for us, willing us at every moment to be part of His Kingdom.
So much so that the good that we do can never be erased. We take it with us even to heaven. This is not true of the evil we have done. It can be erased by forgiveness – mercy – but only completely disappears in God’s mercy in heaven. On earth, we suffer the scars and wounds of it; its effects and consequences.
Mercy
What, then, is God’s mercy? God’s mercy gives us every opportunity to return to Him, to accept His love, to love Him in return. It is the Heart of God touching our misery. Sometimes it comes through an affirmative answer to a prayer, sometimes it comes in a negative answer. His fidelity and mercy come to us in hard times and in times of blessing, whether we realize it or not. What will my response be? Can I respond to His faithfulness and mercy with faithfulness and mercy of my own?
