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Here are the Bible Book(s)/Chapter(s) to read each day this week. Note that the readings are based on the New American Bible.
1 Samuel Chapters 6-10
1 Samuel 6:13 tells us that the people of Israel rejoiced when they looked up and saw the Ark of the Covenant. Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus, has been called the Ark of the New Covenant.
Ask God to deepen our appreciation of Mary and Joseph who, by raising Jesus, helped bring the good news of salvation to our lives.
Is there a new way to think of Mary’s importance to you now that you have read about the ark of the original covenant?
1 Samuel Chapters 11-15
Samuel told Saul that God had commanded Saul to destroy all the animals of the Amalekites. Instead, Saul decided, on his own, to use these animals as a sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel then told Saul that the Lord wanted obedience, not sacrifice (see 1 Samuel 15:22).
Read Matthew 9:9-13. When Jesus called Matthew, the tax collector, to serve Him, He told the disapproving Pharisees that mercy was more important than sacrifice.
Ask God to help us to be obedient to His commands and merciful to others.
How do you think that you might avoid displeasing your loved ones, by doing something that seems like a good idea to you, but not to them?
1 Samuel Chapters 16-20
1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that the Lord looks at the heart, and not at the outward appearance of someone, when deciding about that person’s capabilities to do important work.
Ask God to help us to see the hearts of the people who come on our life paths and to see in them fellow children of God.
Do you ever have the opportunity to speak to people of other cultures, denominations or faiths (or those without faith)? Are you deterred by their differences in appearance and speech? Do you ask God to help you to understand their hearts?
1 Samuel Chapters 21-25
David sought advice from God at each stage of his battle.
Read Luke 18:1, Romans 12:12, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 4:2 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
Ask God to teach us different ways to pray and how to make prayer a regular habit in our day.
After reading all these verses, how much time might you want to spend in prayer? Did you get any new ideas on types of prayer that you could try?
1 Samuel Chapters 26-31
Review the relationship between David and Saul. David soothed Saul’s bad moods with music and fought loyally for him. However, Saul became jealous of David, and tried to kill him on a number of occasions. Saul was within David’s grasp several times, but David would never hurt him.
Ask God to help us to know when to reach out lovingly to irrational people, and when to keep a safe distance.
Is there someone in your life who acts as irrationally as Saul did? If so, is there anything in David’s attitude and strategy that you can apply to dealing with that person?
2 Samuel Chapters 1-5
In 2 Samuel 5:2, we are reminded that God had told David, while Saul was still king, that David would become a shepherd of the Israelites, that is, their leader.
Read John 10:11. Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. Do you think that David was a good shepherd?
Ask God to guide all leaders to gain skills in hearing and obeying God’s voice as they serve others.
How does the image of a leader as a good shepherd affect your idea of what leadership should involve?
2 Samuel Chapters 6-10
Reread 2 Samuel 6:11-23.
In these verses, we see that David danced with joy at the return of the Ark of the Covenant. His wife Michal, however, looked on David’s dancing with disgust.
How God is praised varies greatly between Christian denominations and other faiths.
Ask God to help us to see the common love we have for God as we meet others who have different ways of expressing it.
Why do you think that Michal found David’s expression of joy to be so offensive? Is there a “Michal” in your life seeking to dampen your enthusiasm for serving God?
A version of this story appeared in the August 11, 2024, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "Like David, love the irrational".
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