A recap of how David was perceived

Our first reading takes a quick break from the series in Samuel and Kings to give us a quick recap of the events that we have read about.

The last few chapters of the Book of Sirach gives us a wonderful insight into the prevalent thoughts that existed during the inter-testamental period, those last 150 years or so between the time of the end of the Old Covenant and the dawning of the New with the Birth of Our Lord. The Sacred Author retells Sacred History through the lives of the key figures of the Old Testament. If you have never read this section, it can be a great quick read for that sort of 10,000 foot view of the Old Covenant.

In today's section, we get the recap of David's life and ministry, and as we discussed a few days ago, we get an insight into why David is held up as such a great figure in Israel: 'With his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung.' Everything David was and did was oriented towards praising the True King of Israel: The LORD God. He revolutionized the worship in the Temple as the author of so many Psalms that are still sung today. He recognized that beauty is able to change the heart and lead the devoted closer to God.

How might you and I continue to grow in the love of the Lord as David did...  How might we all engage the world in Beauty so that hearts and minds might be daily lifted before our Lord and God...