Eyeing the Statue of David: What was Michelangelo asking us?

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1 Samuel 17: 32-51

David spoke to Saul:
“Let your majesty not lose courage.
I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine.”
But Saul answered David,
“You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him,
for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.”

David continued:
“The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,
will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine.”
Saul answered David, “Go! the LORD will be with you.”

Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi
and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag.
With his sling also ready to hand, he approached the Philistine.

With his shield bearer marching before him,
the Philistine also advanced closer and closer to David.
When he had sized David up,
and seen that he was youthful, and ruddy, and handsome in appearance,
the Philistine held David in contempt.
The Philistine said to David,
“Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?”
Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods
and said to him, “Come here to me,
and I will leave your flesh for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field.”
David answered him:
“You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar,
but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted.
Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand;
I will strike you down and cut off your head.
This very day I will leave your corpse
and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field;
thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God.
All this multitude, too,
shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves.
For the battle is the LORD’s and he shall deliver you into our hands.”

The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters,
while David ran quickly toward the battle line 
in the direction of the Philistine.
David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone,
hurled it with the sling,
and struck the Philistine on the forehead.
The stone embedded itself in his brow,
and he fell prostrate on the ground.
Thus David overcame the Philistine with sling and stone;
he struck the Philistine mortally, and did it without a sword.
Then David ran and stood over him;
with the Philistine’s own sword which he drew from its sheath
he dispatched him and cut off his head.

The Word of the Lord.

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One of the most famous museums in Italy is the Accademia in Florence, because it’s home to Michelangelo’s renowned statue, David. 

The statue stands at a staggering 17 feet, weighing over 12,000 pounds! The polished white marble glistens in the light. 

Every detail is noteworthy – David’s pose, his towering frame, his strikingly realistic features.

But what I find most interesting about this statue is the fact that Michelangelo depicts David before he slays Goliath. Most depictions show David after the battle has been won.

Why would Michelangelo do this?

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To remind us what it means to have faith. 

David’s confident stare and his tall, relaxed posed reveal the faith he’s placed in God. 

As we hear in our first reading, David is young and inexperienced. 

Goliath, on the other hand, is a revered warrior who towers over him. But David trusts that God is on his side, therefore victory will be his. There is nothing – no one – to fear.

Before any bystander can blink, David fills his sling with a rock, aims, and shoots, dealing Goliath a lethal blow as he falls to the ground.

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Michelangelo must’ve made this statue for a variety of reasons. But one question I imagine him asking us is, “Do I have a Goliath in my life? Something – or someone – that seems threatening, taller, stronger than me?”

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Have the faith of David, who never backed down. Knowing that God is on our side, we can face anything or anyone – even death – head on, and win.

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Image credits: (1) David, Michelangelo, Accademia (2) Ibid. (3) Freepik