It’s not you: it’s me

Today’s first reading (1 Samuel 8:4-7,10-22a) brings us to the turning point between the era of the Judges in ancient Israel and the era of the Kings.

It also brings us a line that sounds very much like a Seinfeld episode, as the Lord says to Samuel:

It is not you they reject,
they are rejecting me as their king.

Indeed, very much like the classic line: It’s not you: it’s me.

Unlike the usual use of this line on Seinfeld and elsewhere, the Lord obviously is not breaking up with Samuel.

However, the Lord is making here at least two important points that are also relevant for our own lives.

Although none of us have the same lofty position and responsibility as Samuel did, each of us in our own lives are called to give witness to Lord and to his Truth.

As we know well, of course, not everyone accepts the Lord or his Truth. Indeed, some are openly hostile.

But the Lord tells Samuel – and he tells us – “It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me... ”

It is a reminder that we should not take rejection of God’s message personally.

There is also a second important point in what the Lord says: “ they are rejecting me as their king.”

Ultimately, the rejection of God’s message is a rejection of God’s lordship in order to embrace another master: either popular conformity ("we too must be like other nations"), some manmade ideology, or one’s own selfishness under the guise of “autonomy” and “freedom.”

Eternal life and true fulfillment cannot be found in the whims of culture, the concoctions of gurus, or selfishness. Eternal life and true fulfillment can only come from what is real, what is universal, what is eternal: in short, it can only come from God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is our message and we are proud to profess it, even if it will sometimes be rejected.

It’s not about us: it’s about God.