I haven’t heard the term recently, but it came to mind as I read about Saul in today’s first reading. Saul was a “cafeteria king.” He chose to follow what God told him to do sometimes—but not others. Between Saturday’s first reading in 1 Samuel 10 when Samuel anointed Saul and today’s first reading in 1 Samuel 15, Saul has had a mixture of obedience and disobedience—as well as a mixture of military successes and failures.
By “cafeteria king,” I’m referring back to a term once popular in Catholic circles—“cafeteria Catholic.” Cafeteria Catholics were those who chose to be in the Church, but who followed some church teaching and rejected other teaching. They picked what they liked—as a person would choose from among various foods in a cafeteria.
Saul’s Predicament
By the time of today’s reading, Saul has defeated the Ammonites, but disobeyed God as he fought the Philistines. He has made rash oaths, set up a monument to himself, and now has disobeyed God again in how he is handling his victory over the Amalekites. God told him to put everything “under the ban.” That meant to destroy everything. Saul destroys the foot soldiers and many of the people, but he keeps Agag, the king, and he lets his soldiers plunder some of the best of the animals—“to keep them to sacrifice to God.”
Today the prophet Samuel confronts Saul and informs him that God has “repented” of making Saul king. God has given up on him and has turned away. Saul begs forgiveness, but neither Samuel nor God relent. Though Saul continues as king for a number of years, God ceases to bless his reign.
When I first read today’s reading, it seemed God was being awfully hard on Saul. But reading chapters 9-15, it is clear that Saul is not a good leader. He doesn’t know what to do in the midst of battles—yet he doesn’t take direction from God. It was not all right with God for Saul to be a cafeteria king, to obey when it suited him and disobey when it didn’t. His people needed guidance Saul didn’t let God give him.
Oboedire
The word “obey” comes from the Latin word “oboedire.” When that word is examined, it literally means “ob”—in the direction of + “audire”—to hear. So, literally, to obey is to move in the direction of what is heard.
Interesting. At its roots, obedience is not so much compliance as it is listening and following—trusting a voice to let it guide you. In this case, the voice of God.
Application
This week in the US, the church commemorates January 22, 1973, when the US Supreme Court legalized abortion. It is a day of prayer and penance. Our parish will have a day of Adoration. Many of us will fast as we pray. Some from our parish will attend the March for Life in Washington, DC on Friday. We will have a special program after mass on Sunday, January 26th.
Each year the US Council of Catholic Bishops puts out a “Respect Life Plan” for use in parishes during the year. This year’s plan includes ideas, similar to what we are doing, for January 22nd. It also suggests having a program in March around St. Pope John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae, the document that clearly outlines church teaching about what God means today by his commandment, “You shall not kill.” This March 25 marks the 25th anniversary of its publication.
Our parish is going to put on a play, performed by the students of a local adult residential school where several of us teach faith formation classes each week. To write the play, I reread and prayed from Evangelium Vitae through Advent. It is exquisitely beautiful! Sometimes St. Pope John Paul II can be hard to understand, but not in this document.
A Question
What struck me this week as I finished up the script, is a disturbing question: Have I, have we, long-time pro-lifers, become “cafeteria kings”—just like Saul became a cafeteria king—for perhaps the same reasons?
It is a hard question for me. A disturbing question. But an important question.
I think of Saul in those battles with the Amalekites and Philistines and other peoples. In the middle of those battles, when he felt so much responsibility, he made decisions—decisions that made sense to him. But they weren’t all what God told him to do.
Are we, pro-life activists from the 1970s, doing the same thing as Saul did? Are we cafeteria kings? We are not so much cafeteria Catholics. Pro-life activists I know stand solid on church teaching about the sanctity of human life. But are we cafeteria kings—choosing strategies that make sense to us in the heat of battles, but which do not completely follow God’s voice?
From Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel of Life
What is God’s voice on life issues? Here is a summary from Evangelium Vitae:
- You shall not kill includes acts of violence, as well as acts of killing. It includes acts of aggression.
- The “culture of death” began with the selfishness of Cain and his resistance to giving God his best. It continues today in our selfishness, both personal and cultural.
- Respecting life includes care of our “common home,” the environment.
- It includes welcoming the stranger.
- It includes limiting the death penalty to extreme circumstances.
- It MOST FOCUSES TODAY ON ABORTION AND EUTHANASIA. Those are the situations where the “culture of death” takes lives in our culture every day. These are the most active battlegrounds.
- Yet it also includes openness in marriage to having children and commitment to family life.
- “You shall not kill” includes respecting and nurturing the lives of all who have special needs or disabilities.
- It includes caring for the sick, the elderly, and the fragile.
- We have a responsibility to work within our communities, cultures, and political systems to change unjust laws and protect life.
The Call
The Call of God’s Word to me today is to face the question: Am I a cafeteria king like Saul in how I strategize in pro-life battles? Am I compromising my own obedience because national and church politics divide what God says? We cannot follow culture or political leaders without also challenging them to include ALL of what God says, because at present none of them follow all the Gospel of Life.
I’m closing today with some quotes from Evangelium Vitae:
“Man’s life comes from God; it is his gift, his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it what he wills. (paragraph 39)
“The deepest element of God’s commandment to protect human life is the requirement to show reverence and love for every person and the life of every person.” (paragraph 41)
“The deliberate decision to deprive an innocent human being of his life is always morally evil and can never be licit either as an end in itself or as a means to a good end….As far as the right to life is concerned, every innocent human being is absolutely equal to all others.” (Paragraph 57)
“Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder.” (paragraph 62)
“For the Christian, it [following God’s voice] involves an absolute imperative to respect, love and promote the life of every brother and sister, in accordance with the requirements of God’s bountiful love of Jesus Christ.” (paragraph 77)
Prayer:
Lord, by my baptism, I am called to be a prophet, a priest, and a king—following Your lead. Help me to identify Your voice–then follow it–in Respect Life matters, in all matters. Speak loudly to me, Lord, that I may obey ALL You ask of me. Help all of us follow Your voice, that our nation may return to following You.
