Such human truths in this story! Two warlords, Saul and David, are vying for supremacy. Both have been anointed by God, but one has now been “rejected” and replaced by God’s “favorite.” Saul’s distrust of God’s love and his deep experience of rejection by God give birth to a resentment bent on killing. It’s a human story both ancient and current.
But it’s Jonathan, a son and friend, who tells God’s story in this narrative. His love is not conditioned by human limits, but he accompanies his father in rejection and his friend David in his call. In fact, Jonathan’s love is God’s voice saying to Saul, “I have not rejected you!”
When I am tempted to distrust God’s love, especially in the midst of rejection, may I let go of this tired narrative and fall into the arms of Jesus, friend and son, whose embrace says, “I love you and will never reject you!”
— Ryen Dwyer, S.J., a Chicago-Detroit province Jesuit scholastic, is currently studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.