“I will raise up an heir after you… I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” – 2 Sm 7:12, 14
Recitals of the magnalia Dei, recurring in Scripture, always thrill me. We hear them in 2nd Samuel and in Zechariah’s canticle, The Benedictus.
King David is embarrassed to occupy a house of cedar while the ark of God’s covenant dwells in a tent. God retorts, “I have been with you wherever you went.” David is forgetting that Israel’s God is “portable”, not confined to a single place..
God is with us wherever we go, in the Eucharist and in the magnalia Dei of everyday. We recognize God’s presence through the joys of family, community; nature, art, music, dance, and sport; in marvels of science and technology; in virtues of honesty, justice, kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness.
Beginning this evening, we celebrate our understanding of God’s promise of an heir to David. David’s ultimate heir is God’s son, Jesus.
Zechariah, freed of his muteness, overflows with praise, hope, and the certainty of salvation. God has raised up a “mighty Savior, born in the house of his servant David.”
Let’s recall the moments when God has been most present in our lives. Let’s focus on the common, ordinary, unspectacular flow of everyday life. We too can overflow with praise, hope, and certainty of salvation.
O God, who freed Zechariah of his muteness, free us of our blindness. Help us recognize you and your works in every corner of our lives.
Brother David Mahoney, C.F.X.