From Dr. Thurow:
At Mass on Friday we heard the wonderful story of Saul hunting for David to kill him, rather than be replaced by him. Saul rests in the very cave where David is hiding and David’s men try to persuade him to kill the jealous king. David, not wishing to dishonor the Lord’s anointed, only cuts a piece from Saul’s tunic and then, as Saul rides away with his soldiers, David comes out of the cave and reveals how he had the opportunity and chose not to kill him. Saul repents… sadly, one of many temporary repentances for the troubled man.
There is so much to talk about in this story, but what struck me this time was regarding David’s manifest humility. Dante particularly praises David’s humility, dancing before the Arc, and even claims David as one of the prime inspirations in his own faith. But here it is interesting to note the connection between humility and a certain seemingly irrational respect for law and authority. After all, hasn’t God now anointed David to replace Saul? Why should he hesitate to confront his equal?
But, whatever has happened since, Saul has been anointed. Many of us would only find him more worthy of death for behaving so badly as God’s anointed king, but David sees it in the opposite light. It is not the actions of the king, but the anointing itself that makes him worthy of reverence. Not man, but God, is the source of true dignity. What if Saul could have seen his own humiliation as being part of the justice and glory of God? Indeed, St. Augustine tells us that he speaks of his own failing and even sins in order to boast of God’s mercy; if he is to be respected, it is as a recipient of that mercy, despite his own unworthiness.
In the military we learned to “salute the rank, not the man”, as a way of reinforcing the chain of command, even when it seemed to be frequently constituted of those less skillful or less moral than those they commanded. When we disrespect the bearer of an office, we disrespect the giver of the office. And our offices, be we teachers, janitors, doctors, politicians, farmers, or anything else, all come from the same source, ultimately. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,” says our Lord. To disrespect anyone when they act in accord with their proper office is to disrespect God, by whose providence they hold that office. This is still true, perhaps, even when they seem to be doing a very bad job of performing their office!
We live in an age of such licensed and even celebrated public disrespect for those who hold offices of power and authority. We shove phones into authorities’ faces and document our faux courage and self-righteousness in demonstrating our disrespect. I wonder what the example of David’s respect for Saul, even while opposing him and obeying God, might teach our culture, if we would only seriously examine it and ourselves?
January 23, 2026