It might seem strange to read that King David's heart was 'entirely with the Lord'. His sins were many and serious - murder and adultery that we know of - and yet he never turned aside to other gods. He comes across as what we might call an honest sinner. He 'owns up' and repents without delay when the prophet Nathan confronts him concerning his sins towards Uriah and Bathsheba. He does not try to blame anybody else which is a more familiar tactic in the scriptures (and in life generally). We are told that in spite of those sins, David followed the Lord 'unreservedly'. We see his devotion, his constant awareness of God's presence and prerogatives, when he spares Saul who is at his mercy and yet he does not kill him because he is the Lord's anointed. For David, the Lord and what is the Lord's must always be respected.
Solomon is no saint either but is in a more serious situation because he allows his sins to lead him away from his relationship with the Lord. The Lord's anger expresses itself in the future destiny of David's dynasty, a response which is however restrained by the memory of David's devotion and the Lord's promise to him.
There is a refreshing honesty also in the Syrophoenician woman whom we meet once again in today's gospel reading. It is an intriguing moment in which Jesus seems tired and cranky, telling her that it is not right to share the children's food with dogs. Her witty response, that even the dogs can eat the scraps that fall from the table, earns her the same reward as those who had revealed their faith to Jesus and so her daughter is healed.
It seems as if the fresh air of honest dealing is fundamental in the relationship with the Lord, the God of Israel, and with Jesus, the Lord Incarnate. Because God is truth as well as love, we might say, the atmosphere of his kingdom, its culture, is honesty, trust, plain dealing. At base, that is what faith means: living in the truth, trusting the one who is the source of all truth, being humble in turning to him for help.
'The prayer of the humble person pierces the clouds and will not rest until it reaches its goal, until the Most High responds (Sirach 35.21).' This text, from the Book of Sirach, describes well the honest prayer of the Syrophoenician woman, of David in his repentance, of Job in his distress, of the widow of Luke 18 in her persistence, of Jesus in his agony, of Monica in her prayers for Augustine ... of ourselves too, perhaps, or at least those of us who can persevere in it.
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