Thursday, February 12, 2004
Week of Usual Abstinence
Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch
Kellia: 1 Kings 15:24-35 Epistle: 1 John 4:20-5:21 Gospel: St. Mark 15:1-15
1 Kings 15:24-35 LXX (1 Sam 15:24-35), especially
vs. 26, "And Samuel said to Saul, 'I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of
the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.'" Does this response of
Samuel seem harsh or unkind? It was not unfair, for the Prophet faced a man who had disobeyed
a direct command of God wilfully (1 Kngs. 15:3). King Saul saw no wrong in his acts (1 Kngs.
15:13). Even as Samuel struggled to convict the king, Saul defended, rationalized, and sought to
shift the blame (1 Kngs. 15:14-21). Finally, as the Prophet persisted, something touched Saul. At
last he confessed: "I have sinned...." (1 Kngs. 15.24). However, his confession reveals serious
spiritual flaws. Appropriately, as a good and wise pastor, Samuel could not assure him of God's
pardon, not on the basis of the king's words and actions. It would have been a mockery.
Beloved, as those who are taught to confess our sins and seek God's forgiveness, let us pray with
care as we read this passage. Let us receive the teaching which the Lord gives here and apply it
to our hearts before Him; for "who knows whether He will not turn and repent, and leave a
blessing behind Him?" (Joel 2:14). Most of all, we ought to direct our attention to Saul's
confession, for there we shall see, in his words and actions, the very distinction concerning
confessions which the Apostle Paul makes between "godly sorrow" which "produces repentance"
and "the sorrow of the world" which "produces death" (2 Cor. 7:10).
First, Saul perceived only that he had broken a commandment of God which he had been given
through God's Prophet (vs. 24). What of his relationship with God? Was the problem simply the
violation of a rule? No, it was a rupture of Communion, a disdain for the God Who made him
king over His People. Saul did not exhibit the true repentance King David did when faced with
his sin by another Prophet (2 Kngs. 12:1-12): "Against Thee only have I sinned and done this
evil before Thee...." (Ps. 50:4 LXX). The loss of relationship with God is most fearful.
Second, observe that Saul's foremost concern was the reaction of the people, even as he
confessed to Samuel: "I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before
Israel" (1 Kngs. 15:30). He continues, blind to the sin which he had earlier acknowledged as the
cause of his disobedience: "I feared the people" (vs. 24). Fear of man led him to contradict God's
explicit command. Note again the difference between Saul and David: King David cried "Have
mercy on me, O God, for man hath trodden me down....but as for me, I will hope in Thee. In
God...I have set my hope; I will not fear what flesh shall do to me" (Ps. 55:1, 2, 3 LXX).
Our relationship with God is the "pearl of great price" (Mt. 13:46). Let us root out all fear of
man and come to the Lord always as we confess, seeking His forgiveness. Then afterwards, well
we should make time and occasion to right any wrongs between us and others.
Finally, and clearly as an outgrowth of his fear of man, King Saul tried to correct his sin - as if it
were a matter strictly between himself and the Prophet Samuel. Note: he asked Samuel to
"pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord" (1 Kngs. 15:25). Whose
garment did he grasp? (vs. 27). Behold the error! Remember, only God can forgive sin. The
worldly man sorrows about the relationships, the privileges, the honors, and prizes of this world.
Of course, he only can produce "worldly sorrow." But God alone delivers our souls from eternal
death. Yes, let us come to our confessors, and, before them, cry out to God Who keeps our feet
from sliding and heals us that we may be well-pleasing before Him (see Ps. 55:12 LXX).
O Lord God our Salvation, grant unto me an image of repentance, forgiveness of sins and
deliverance, reconciling and uniting me to Thy Holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
