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May 2011

Discerning God’s Presence

1 Samuel 16:1,6-13
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” (…) When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. (1 Samuel 16:1,6-13)

Sometimes the Bible seems very complicated. Why do the Books of Samuel describe so many political rivalries, the failure of a king, the accession of his successor? Why does it look at the same reality from so many different and sometimes contradictory angles? Why retain different versions of the same event, without attempting to unify the whole? Where is the Word of God in the midst of all this?

The biblical authors re-read the history of their people while looking for God’s presence in it. In this re-reading, they wanted to understand how God, despite appearances, was guiding his people or, conversely, how he was not behind this or that human project, for which only hardened hearts and deafness to the divine call were responsible. A re-reading of history in faith allowed them to understand some events differently. The transition from tribal life to the monarchy occupies an important place in this story, with mixed views on the monarchy. This is where King David comes to the fore. It is remarkable that in these stories, which intend to speak of God’s plan, to show what the divine will is, the human dimension is not negated. Documents from different periods do not hide the power struggles, the political tensions and the human weaknesses, as if the various authors of the Bible knew that God’s will works itself out in the midst of an often ambiguous human history, as if the readers were asked to accept that contradictions are part of the landscape.

The Books of Samuel want to stress that David became king by the will of God. The ultimate explanation of his success is not his political or military skill. Rumors had circulated that perhaps he came to power by shedding innocent blood or by ruthlessness. These texts give the lie to such statements. David has not usurped the crown, it was given to him.

Recognizing God’s presence or absence is not easy. The prophet Samuel came to Bethlehem and had to anoint one of the sons of Jesse which God has chosen. Eliab, the first one who appeared, has the right look, and Samuel unwisely dares a "surely" (v. 6). But as the seven sons of Jesse appear one after another, the prophet’s becomes more cautious. Finally, he can only wait for a word from God to indicate his choice, however unexpected it might be. One day, others with whom God has been in touch will come to Bethlehem. They will be called to recognize God’s presence in a child and later on, in Jerusalem, to see a king in a young man nailed to a cross. The prophets knew that appearances are deceiving. God is often where no one expects him to be.

01
How can not giving too much importance to appearances be a source of freedom?
02
Letting God surprise us: why is such an attitude so important for anyone wishing to discern God’s presence?

Recent meditations

June 2026

Praying in Secret

Matthew 6:5-6

Jesus said: Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. . There are few passages in the gospels where Jesus offers concrete, practical advice—almost to the point where a literal interpretation is called for. When we read “love your enemies,” for example, we are invited to apply this teaching to our lives, knowing that it is a challenge to love that is possible only with God’s help. But when we hear “When you pray, go into your room,” or to a private place, this is a practical example that most people can follow at home.

May 2026

Widening our Friendship

Acts 2:1-11

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

April 2026

The Mystery of the Passover

John 12:20-28

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who cling to their life lose it, and those who are not attached to their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor."Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—"Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name."

March 2026

Do You Want to Get Well?

John 5:1-9

There was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethzatha in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways. A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, someone else goes down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)

January 2026

"If You Knew What God Gives"

John 4:5-15

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

December 2025

An inner light

John 1:1-12

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.

November 2025

Finding our way

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Now, the boy Samuel was serving the Lord in the presence of Eli; in those days it was rare for The Lord to speak; visions were uncommon. One day, it happened that Eli was lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; he could no longer see. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in the Lord’s sanctuary, where the ark of God was, when the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ He answered, ‘Here I am,’ and, running to Eli, he said, ‘Here I am, as you called me.’ Eli said, ‘I did not call. Go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down. And again the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, as you called me.’ He replied, ‘I did not call, my son; go back and lie down.’ As yet, Samuel had no knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Again the Lord called, the third time. He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, as you called me.’ Eli then understood that the Lord was calling the child, and he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, “Speak, Lord; for your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, Lord; for your servant is listening.’

October 2025

Giving, praying, fasting

Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Jesus said, “When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (…) “When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

September 2025

Leaving, following and receiving

Mark 10:28-31

Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields —along with persecutions— and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Peter’s words are both the spoken realization that he and the others have let go of every security that they had, and an implicit question about what they will have for their future. As we search to understand our vocation, God often leads us along a kind of negative path – where we discover more and more what is not important to us. God works in us to detach our hearts from things in order for them to be ready to be attached to him.