Saul:Jonathan’s Light

Bible Text: I Samuel 14:1-23 | Today is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. For the Church it’s the start of a new year and we begin as we always begin, lighting an Advent candle as a sign of hope against the darkness. We remember the coming of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, who comes not just to “save us from our sins”, but to set the whole world right.

The person at the center of our story today is Jonathan who is the son of King Saul. He’s not one of the more well-known people in the Bible. He’s not unknown, but he’s also not well known. For example, he does make the list of “heroes of the faith” in Hebrews 11. No one in the New Testament talks about him. Perhaps they should have. In this Advent season I believe we should take a look at this young man because his story is worth knowing. He will not be on a Christmas Card will he? He isn’t a character in the “Charlie Brown Christmas Special” or any other Christmas movie. He’s just Jonathan, son of Saul, dead to the world, but still very much alive in the biblical text!