Power is something that has always been sought after throughout history. Sister Carol Perry, of Marble Collegiate Church, N.Y., focused her morning workshop, The Power Brokers, on that very subject at Holy Family Retreat Center, Beaumont.
Sister Perry began her presentation by taking attendees back to the book of Exodus and the appearance of the Ten Commandments in order to shed some light on the language of the time.
“In the way that the Hebrews spoke, these were not called commandments but rather they were simply called the words of God. They were guidelines, rules to live by for His people. This was the difference between the gods of the other peoples and the God of the Hebrews. The God of the Hebrews spoke,” Sister Perry said.
Moving to the topic of power Sister Perry explained how symbols in rituals related to power in the days of King Saul.
“Oil in biblical times is associated with authority. When someone is anointed, it is because they are receiving new power, and they are being given a new authority with that power just as Saul was anointed when he was made king,” Sister Perry said.
Sister Perry then walked the attendees through the reign of King Saul and the choosing of young David by the Lord to be next in line.
“The Lord has a way of doing things upside down. In every culture it is always the eldest who is given the most power. God purposefully chose David, who was not only young but in fact the youngest,” Sister Perry said.
She went on to explain the unusual relationship between David and Saul and the balance of power between them. How Saul, even though he was still king, was moved by David’s music and soothed by it and how David held sway over Saul in this way.
Sister Perry then moved on to speak about the Ark of the Covenant as a symbol of Power.
“It’s odd for us to see God in the way the Hebrews saw Him then. They heard His voice and had the ark as a symbol of Him. It held the tablets that He had written His word on. He was the Lord of hosts and this meant that while other smaller gods were only statues this God commanded the rocks and the trees and the hosts in His kingdom,” Sister Perry said.
