FAILING FORMATOR

The Divine Pedagogy of Formation - V

Abstract

In the formative venture of Saul, God makes use of an intermediary – Samuel. Here we see an analogy with the formation of our times, where God does not directly enter into the formation of the religious/priestly candidates. The story of Saul could be an inspiration for those who are engaged in the formation of the young people. The Divine Formator had great expectations of his formee. Saul began his new life as the king of Israel on a positive note by fulfilling meticulously the task assigned to him by his Divine Formator. But soon his reasons and the divine reasons, his plans and the divine plans were in conflict. The formee one by one shattered the hopes and expectations of his Formator. The natural qualities Saul was generously endowed with did not last long. When he got intoxicated with the opium of power, he could not let it go and was gripped by the fear of losing it. The divine formator, through his envoy severely warned him about the seriousness of the situation and sought to correct him. However Saul decided to stick to kingship by all means. He preferred death over surrender. Resisting and defeating the formation and the formator he opted to take his own life by falling on his sword.