GOOD SAUL?

“And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” I Samuel 18:7

There are 2 Sauls that I know of in the Bible: King Saul, the first King of Israel in the Old Testament, and Saul of Tarsus who is also known as “Saint Paul” or “The Apostle Paul”. My posting refers to King Saul, but I couldn’t resist lifting the title from a piece by one of the priests at St.Stephen’s Catholic Church in downtown Framingham. Fr. Bert Stankard actually wrote a play about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus entitled “Good Saul”. I just couldn’t resist stealing his title and applying it to King Saul of the Old Testament.

NOW, to why I’m writing about King Saul, of all people:

As much as I'm missing pastoring right now, Mary Ann and I are really enjoying attending Bread of Life Assembly of God in Westminster, MA. This morning, they managed to pack a water baptism service, communion service, and great Father's Day sermon all into one service. Pastor Gary Collette presented a POSITIVE view of Saul of the Old Testament that I'd never thought of before. Pastor Gary does not dispute that Saul IS a picture of the flesh and that in many respects he failed miserably. Usually we hear sermons and Sunday School classes about what a bad guy King Saul was and what a good guy his successor King David was. (I’ve taught that many times, myself!) BUT, Pastor Gary pointed out that Saul was a GOOD father. For the most part, David was NOT. David was a womanizer. Saul was not. Saul may have slain his thousands, and not ten thousands- like David, but he WAS a brave soldier. His sons were right at his side fighting with him at the end. Pastor Gary pointed out that we can get very discouraged about our ability to be good fathers...and ALL fathers will fall short...but if SAUL could be a good father, there's hope for Christian men who WANT to be good fathers, to BE good fathers.

That was a different take than I'd ever heard! I really got fed today.

I will always remember that one of our church family in Framingham, Rachel Bangs, a retired professor from Framingham State (who passed away in her late 90s in 2007) used to say that there were many “nuggets” in the Bible that you have to “dig” for. That positive thing about King Saul was such a “nugget”. I’d never thought about it before, or even remotely considered it, for that matter. It was a “different” sort of Father’s Day sermon from Gary Collette today, and I just thought I would mention it on the blog!