For the sake of your servant David, do not reject your anointed one. – Psalm 132:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 26, 2016): Psalm 132

In game three of the 1932 World Series, with the score tied in the fifth inning, Babe Ruth came up to bat for the New York Yankees. The game was being played in Chicago, and according to all reports, the fans and the Chicago Cubs bench were mercilessly heckling Ruth. Charlie Root was pitching for the Chicago Cubs. Root threw a pitch and Ruth didn’t swing. The umpire called it a strike. Ruth held up his hands and pointed. Legend has it that he was pointing to center field, although to be honest, we just aren’t sure. Ruth could have been pointing at the Root or at the Cubs bench. But legend holds that Ruth pointed to center field. Root pitched again, and again Ruth held back on his swing. The pitch was called strike two, and Ruth again repeated his pointing behavior. The next pitch was a curve ball. And, this time, Ruth swung. The swing connected with the ball and ball went out of the park, exactly where Ruth had pointed.

Or, least, that is what the legend says. But the gesture had every kid pointing for the seats, trying to replicate and become the next Babe Ruth. We aspire to greatness. We want to be remembered like we remember Babe Ruth, or Gordie Howe, or Joe Namath. But maybe what we don’t aspire to is following greatness. Every time someone makes a comparison of a kid with a great, something inside me cringes. Part of the problem is that I think, with time. our memories make people better than they really were. We have heard the story of Babe Ruth’s called shot in the 1932 World Series. But in our minds every home run Ruth ever hit becomes a called shot. Measuring up to the real thing is difficult. But measuring up to our imagination is impossible.

Most hold that this Psalm is written by Solomon. It was written early in Solomon’s days as king. His father, David, had always had his detractors. But now that he was gone, the memory of David was making him into an even greater king (if that is possible) than maybe he really was. And Solomon could only hope that he could accomplish what his father had asked him to accomplish. Maybe, in the back of Solomon’s mind, he was worried that he would be rejected if he was not as good a king as David. And David’s legacy was already one that would be almost impossible to live up to. So Solomon prays, God don’t reject me as king, not because I am special, but because you remember David.

Amazingly, we remember Solomon’s reign, and his wisdom, fondly. But he was not David. No king that followed even Solomon would be. And Israel would continue to look back at the king who defined Israel, and his descendants would ask of God the same thing that Solomon asked – that God would not reject them because of the memory of David.

 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 1