3.17.24 "My Only Hope!" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Psalm 51

Psalm 51 … the cry of the soul for release and relief … 

The heartache of regret and sorrow …  

David’s Psalm of repentance … LORD have mercy! 

You know the story …

It begins when Samuel the Prophet is commissioned by God to find a successor to King Saul … 

King Saul’s in a state of collapse - the nation suffers under his leadership … 

God says to Samuel: Go visit Jesse and his sons … Jesse parades his sons before Samuel … all the boys, strong and healthy, fit for the job … but God says Nope!

It’s not the outside I notice, but what’s inside!

Samuel asks Jesse: Do you have any more sons?

Yes, replies Jesse, one more, the youngest; he’s keeping the sheep.

Send for him, says Samuel!

And when the boy returns from the field:

The LORD says: He’s the one; anoint him.

War comes to the land … the coastal-dwelling people, the Philistines, against the hill country people, the people of Israel … it’s a bitter war … Goliath, the great fighter challenges Israel’s army to send forth a champion, to fight on Israel’s behalf, a fight to the death, and to the victor, the victory - of the one army over the other.

No one steps forward, except a young boy … David.

David had gone to the battle front to bring supplies to his older brothers … he volunteers to combat the mighty Goliath …

King Saul welcomes him, and says, Here, take my armor”… but Saul’s armor proves too big, too heavy … David can’t move.

David says, I have all I need … my shepherd’s tools - I have a sling, and here are five smooth stones - this is all I need.

With that, David confronts Goliath, who taunts the boy, but it’s David who wins the day … 

With a shepherd’s skill, honed in the fields and forest defending the flock, David winds up and unleashes a stone speeding its way to Goliath, hitting him square in the forehead … and the mighty giant falls to the ground, dead.

A lot of pieces to the story … 

David becomes a court musician, to sooth the troubled King Saul … at one point, the King is so perturbed, jealous of David, Saul heaves a spear at David, nearly killing him.

David and Saul’s son, Jonathan, form a deep friendship … 

David achieves success in the army … Saul’s jealousy grows … in the end, Saul and Jonathan die in battle …  

David becomes king … 

Conquest and victory, defeat and loss, and victory again, David establishes the city of Jerusalem as the Capital City … 

David’s admired by many; feared by some … he’s a powerful man … his word unleashes war, his word builds a palace … he prays to God and writes the 23 Psalm, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

A young lady of considerable charm bathed on the nearby rooftop of her home … close enough for King David to see … 

David invites her to the palace … and the wheels of disaster are set in motion.

Bathsheba is with child … David’s child.

Now what?

She’s married to Uriah, one of David’s faithful soldiers.

David sends a message to his commander, and tells him to send Uriah home for some “R & R” … so it’ll appear that he’s the father.

But Uriah is so loyal, so dedicated … though he comes home, he refuses to be with his wife … he sleeps on the front porch of the palace, eager to return to his soldiers.

David’s frustrated, and finally orders one of his generals put Uriah into the front line of battle, and then call for a quick retreat … isolate him with the enemy … and it’s done, as David commands … Uriah is killed, Bathsheba is a widow … she becomes David’s wife … things go wrong … the child takes ill and dies … there is great sorrow.

Years ago, I told this story to an adult Sunday School class …as I told the tale, a lady suddenly slammed the palm of her hand down on the table, and screamed, “Where did you get that filthy story?”

It’s in the Bible, because the Bible tells the truth.

David is clearly a hero … but he’s also a human being.

He’s a man after God’s own heart, says the Bible, but he’s capable of crimes against heaven and earth.

David came face to face with the deadliest of all human realities: power … the power that says, You can do no wrong; you’re above the law; you’re immune.

Those who wrote the Bible made it clear: don’t be fooled by power … it only goes so far … and no further.

David pens the 51st Psalm: 

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions.

Honesty … confession … rebirth … 

Maybe even - kindness … humility … compassion …

That we’re all ok even when we’re not ok.

A hard road for David, I suspect … a hard road for any of us.

Several weeks ago I raised the question about sin, and asked, “Has the church made too much of sin?” 

I think it has … sin is “fun” to preach; flavor it with hellfire and brimstone, and we’ve got a show … I’ve been there … but if the church has made too much of sin, ignoring it doesn’t help either. 

We can’t pretend … any more than David could pretend.

We’re sunshine and warmth … we’re storm and lightening.

We’re the cherry on the ice cream … we’re the broken dish.

We’re the helping hand … and we couldn’t care less.

We’re saints, and we’re sinners.

We’re all children of God!

Sisters and brothers unto one another …

The magnitude of David’s sin makes our sin seem paltry, I  suppose … 

But sin is sin … huge and gruesome, or small and subtle … obvious to all, or known only but to ourselves …

The human condition …

David’s Psalm of Lament is part of our maturity … we need say no more than David said, nor should we say any less … Lord, have mercy!

Were you there when they crucified my LORD? asks the spiritual!

Yes, I was there … 

I was part of the crew that cut down the tree … I hauled the tree to the factory … I hewed the tree into the beams … 

Yes, I was there … I was a soldier doing my job … with a family to support, and bills to pay.

I was there … I laughed at the three bums on the cross … I laughed at their pain … “they deserve it” I thought … “let ‘em suffer” I said … and threw the dice for the clothing.

I was there … with the disciples who took off as fast as we could … and yes, I was there, as well, with the women who didn’t run away … I was the soldier who saw the majesty of God … I was one of the condemned who looked at Jesus dying next to me, and I asked for his love … I was all of them, and more … I was there, when they crucified my LORD.

LORD, have mercy!

Lent is never intended to be easy … but the important things of life are rarely easy … mostly hard … but not impossible … a challenge, an invitation - to tell the truth about ourselves, to apologize to heaven and to earth for the harm we’ve done, or the good we didn’t do … and to receive from the very heart of God, a rebirth of life and the renewing of our dreams.

Hallelujah and Amen!

July 29, 2012, "Takes Two to Tango"

2 Samuel 11.1-5

“Where did you get that filthy story?” she asked - pounding her fist on the table.

“From the Bible,” I said.

I can still see it in my mind, plain as day … the church kitchen … adult Sunday School … gathered around a table.

The lady had never heard the story of David and Bathsheba.

A grim story, for sure.

We might well ask, “Why did Israel tell such a terrible story about it’s fabled king?

It helps to remember where most of this material comes from. 

The Babylonian Exile - Judah defeated, Jerusalem in ruins, temple destroyed, leaders hauled off to captivity in Babylon.

Who went into exile?

Not the factory worker.

Not the tenant farmer.

Nor the single mom.

But religious leaders, political leaders ... shakers and movers … bankers and business leaders.

A time for tough questions:

“Why are we here?

“Did we fail?”

“Did we go wrong in our attitudes?”

Sometimes great failure is the heart and soul of great learning.

Let’s take a look at the story … 

In the springtime of the year … all sorts of things a-poppin’ after the cold and rainy winter months.

When kings go out and make war … ironic humor here? 

Like flowers in the springtime, kings make war when the weather turns - for what purpose? - “Oh, I don’t know; thought it was a good idea at the time.”

David stays home … an ironic smile or two right here - “If only David had made war instead of love.”

David pacing in the cool of the evening on his palace roof … 

And there he watches a woman bathe in her nearby home.

An eye-catcher, she was!

Did she know it?

But it isn’t question about Bathsheba - her beauty, whatever.

It’s a question about David.

Who sees what he wants, and wants what he sees.

He commands war, but lets others do the fighting.

Was David bored on his palace rooftop that evening?

Was Bathsheba lonely when she bathed?

The point is clear: David should know better!

He’s the man.

He’s the king.

He’s the one blessed by God.

He’s the one with the power.

David should know better!

Those to whom much is given, much is required, says Jesus.

David watches Bathsheba bathe, wants to know more … when he learns who she is, he sends messengers to get her … what can she do?

Her husband’s in the army!

Can she refuse the king?

She pays a fateful visit to the palace.

They’re intimate - she conceives!

She tells David who brings her husband home for some R & R.

“It’s Uriah’s child,” folks will say, conceived when Uriah came home, because King David is a kindly man.

More ironic smiles and raised eyebrows.

But Uriah stays at the palace: I have no right to be home while my men are fighting and dying in the field.

Uriah is an honorable man!

What’s David to do?

Food and wine, lots of it, that’ll do the trick.

But after an evening of food and drink, Uriah stays at the palace again … even more ironic smiles here.

David is out of tricks.

He pens a note and seals it, gives it to Uriah to deliver to General Joab.

David knows that Uriah will carry the note unopened. 

Unknown to Uriah, he carries his own death warrant.

Put Uriah in the front lines, find a battle; when the battle rages, call a retreat; abandon Uriah … Uriah must die.

General Joab does as commanded.

Uriah dies.

News is brought back to David … David sends a congratulatory note to General Joab. Well done, sir; well done.

When the time of mourning is over for Bathsheba, David sends for her.

They marry; a son is born.

The Bible says: What David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD.

How difficult it must have been for the leaders of Judah to tell this story about their fabled King David.

But Babylon requires truth … the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God.

National tragedies do that.

John F. Kennedy assassination … Martin Luther King, Jr., Bobby Kennedy … the Challenger explosion after launch … 9/11 … times that require deep questions, “Who are we?” and “What do we value.”

All was gone in Babylon … it lasted 70 years … that’s a long time to endure national disaster.

So they told stories, hoping to find some reasons for the suffering … maybe even some purpose … and hope.

The David story, sad as it is, isn’t about adultery, though adultery is wrong enough; the story isn’t even about murder, though murder is bad enough … this is a bigger story … the story of Judah - a nation having lost its way … when the blessings of God blinded them to God’s purpose … Judah gained the world and lost it’s soul.

The sins of Judah are detailed in the Prophets:

Wealth without responsibility.

Power without restraint.

Politics without compassion.

Religion without a conscience.

Disdain for the poor and the oppressed.

Unfair wages … scales and balances rigged.

Mortgage and banking systems tilted in favor of the wealthy; the poor couldn’t get ahead no matter what they did.

Sins of power and wealth destroyed Judah; Babylon was merely the instrument of God’s wrath.

Perhaps some said, “We should have had a stronger army!” … “We should have attacked first!” … “We should have spent more on defense.”

Others said, “Don’t worry. God will restore our greatness; we’ll be back home before we know it. This is a momentary blip in our story” [Jeremiah].

But no momentary blip.

No use crying over spilt milk and wondering what might have been.

This was a time for Judah to come face-to-face the sins of wealth and power … 

They told their stories with courage; they didn’t hold back or try to dress things up. They didn’t blink … and that’s why we have the Old Testament … and David’s tragic story.

Only in truth-telling, could they find hope - the God of salvation is the God of truth and the God of hope - God saves in the midst of our realities, not in some alternative universe.

Centuries later, the Son of David is born in David’s town of Bethlehem … angels sing to shepherds in the fields, and wise men follow a star.

The King of kings, the LORD of Lords; Jesus is his name … to finish the work; do it right.

Jesus gives his power away … and gives life to all.

No restless pacing in a palace, but walking the length and breadth of Palestine, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom.

Jesus welcomes the poor and the outcast … chides the wealthy for heartlessness and scolds religious leaders for hypocrisy.

He heals the blind … restores hearing to the deaf.

Cares for the lonely woman at the well in Samaria … forgives the woman brought to him for stoning.

Sees Zacchaeus up a tree, calls him down; gives him a second chance to use his money well.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

On this, the 29^th day of July, in the year of our LORD, 2012.

To God be the glory.

And to the Son of David, our thanks.

Because of him, we live. Amen and Amen!

August 16, 2009 - Solomon's Wisdom

1 Kings 2 & 3

All good things come to an end … the curtain is falling on David’s 40-year reign …

It’s been quite a journey … beginning with Samuel’s unannounced visit to Bethlehem and the surprise anointing of a young shepherd boy, David, as the next king of Israel.

We’ve traveled with David over hill and dale – through thick and thin, sick and sin … the worst of it and the best of it … David has done it all.

David’s reign spans forty tumultuous years – seven in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem …

Why have we spent so much time with David?

Because we’re a part of David’s house …

Jesus is the Son of David …

When Jesus makes his Passover visit to Jerusalem, he’s greeted with shouts of hope:

Hosanna to the Son of David.

We belong to the house of David through Jesus our LORD.

It’s important that we know these stories, and know them well … know them as adults … the adult version!

Far too many adults know only the Sunday School version …

Which was just fine for that 5^th grade boy who dreams about David and Goliath … or that bright-eyed 3^rd grade girl who memorized David’s greatest Psalm, the LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want …

What we learned in Sunday School is just the beginning …

Still unfolding …

As God continues to love the world back to life.

We’ve spent a lot of time with David, and now the scene shifts to David’s son, Solomon …

But nothing was ever easy for David …

In his 40^th year as king, David’s body and mind have paid the price … First Kings begins with an ominous hint: When David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him.

Anyone here sympathetic with that?

Now some of you guys might be interested in the solution: David’s servants got together and said to him, ‘We’ve got the solution for your chills – we’ve found a beautiful young lady – her name is Abishag – she’ll be your nurse – she’ll take care of you and wait on you, and she can lie beside you and keep you warm.

Hey, fellas, what do you think of that for the night chills?

But the text goes one step further – even Abishag couldn’t light David’s fire …

David is old.

David is tired.

Weary in the flesh, and slow in heart and mind … he barely rules … bureaucrats manage things, and things are peaceful now, so it’s not too bad.

But who’s going to be the next king?

Who’s going to fill David’s shoes?

Which son will it be?

That’s the million dollar question.

Amnon and Absalom are dead.

Both were good looking, headstrong and aggressive …

So we can almost guess what happens next in this wild and wooly family …

Adonijah …

He’s good looking, headstrong and aggressive …

Adonijah puts himself forward and says, I’ll be king.

Like his older brother Absalom, Adonijah gets chariots and horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him – think 5 big black SUVS, with well-armed agents in dark suits and dark glasses … a show of power to get things rolling.

Adonijah consults with Joab, David’s field commander, and with Abiathar the priest [Think Colin Powell and Billy Graham] – both of them give Adonijah their support.

Adonijah then throws an inauguration party … and like any party in Washington, or Sacramento, when it’s party time, there’s nothing more important then the guest list – who’s invited says everything; who’s NOT invited says even more!

Adonijah invites all of his brothers and all kinds of officials.

But Nathan the prophet, David’s closest advisor, isn’t invited.

Zadok the priest, isn’t invited.

David’s special guard isn’t invited.

None of David’s closest advisers are invited.

It makes sense for Adonijah to be king … he’s the next in line, the oldest surviving son, but the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray …

Nathan the prophet wasn’t about to let Adonijah claim the throne.

Nathan goes to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and asks, Did you know about this? Let me give you some advice; take the bull by the horns so you can save your life, and the life of your son, Solomon.

Go to king David and say to him … blah blah blah blah …

So, Bathsheba goes to David:

‘My LORD king, did you not swear to me that my son Solomon would inherit the throne?

 Of course you did, and David, if YOU don’t remember saying it, I remember. And a mother never forgets such things. You said Solomon would succeed you.

So, why has Adonijah become king?

David, you didn’t even know that, did you?

A mistake has been made, hasn’t it?

My LORD king, all of Israel is looking to you for leadership right now, and if you don’t act now, as soon as you take your last breath, my son and I will be killed.

At that very moment, right on due, Nathan arrives at the palace … Nathan the fearless; he’s tackled David before, and he tackles David again.

Yes, David, everything she says is true.

You’ve been duped by another son.

Or is there something you said, that we don’t know about?

A clever piece of work.

Bathsheba and Nathan get David’s attention.

David rises from his bed and issues a statement – As I promised, Solomon is king.

But the text isn’t clear.

Did David make such a promise?

There is no such promise anywhere in the Bible.

Did Bathsheba and Nathan pull a fast one on David?

Take advantage of his declining abilities?

Create memories for him that never happened?

Do they know something beyond what the text tells us?

Does God know something?

Is God at work here?

The story unfolds as we might expect.

Pomp and circumstance … a public anointing for Solomon … party time.

When Adonijah and his guests hear the celebration, they’re confused, and just then a messenger arrives: Solomon is king.

All the guests get up and leave  - I guess we’d call ‘em fair-weather friends.

It didn’t take long for the party to break up.

The next day, the guests told their friends:

 Well, I wasn’t there.

My name was on the list, but I didn’t go.

No, no, no, I wasn’t there either.

Uh uh, Solomon’s the man, not Adonijah!

Does anything change? Is anything different? This is how nations and governments work – the powerful vie for power; the wealthy want a little more … ah, the games we all play as we jockey for position and influence.

A prestigious pulpit becomes vacant, and pastors around the country line up like beauty queens, hoping to be the chosen one.

In every corporate office around the nation, Billy and Susie hope to catch the boss’ attention – and get that next promotion.

Candidates for office throw big money around – parties here and parties there …

And everyone loves a winner …

And when the dust settles, no one even remembers the name of the loser. Adonijah who?

Oh well, so it goes.

But what’s the point of all of this?

We’re dealing here with sacred text.

The Bible … it’s message.

David’s story … our story.

God at work in the world, just as the world is.

Messy and full of schemes.

Silly and sad …

But God still at work, working with what we put in God’s hands … God making the best of it, even when we’re far from our best!

David takes Solomon aside and gives him some fatherly advice.

Like:

Kill Joab when you have chance – I never did like him; he caused your dear old dad a lot of sorrow, and he’ll hurt you, too – he bet on the wrong horse, now show him how wrong he was.

And the guy who cursed me, take care of him, too … I promised not to hurt him, but you’re not bound by that promise, so go get him – bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.

But please remember Barzillai and his family … they stood by us in our darkest hour … reward them for their loyalty.

Solomon consolidates his hold.

A bloody business, for sure.

Nothing neat and clean.

Folks who read the Bible for the first time are surprised at all of this … but what do folks expect?

Even Grimms’ fairy tales have plenty of wicked people and bloody death … 

National Geographic says of Grimm’s fairy tales:

“Looking for a sweet, soothing tale to waft you toward dreamland? Look somewhere else. The stories collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 1800s serve up life as generations of central Europeans knew it—capricious and often cruel. The two brothers, patriots determined to preserve Germanic folktales, were only accidental entertainers” [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/index2.html].

The Bible pulls no punches.

It’s a mirror held up to the human drama.

This is the way of the powerful and the wealthy.

This is the way of the world …

How we all live, rich and poor alike.

A couple of homeless men squabbling about who’s going to sleep where … and corporate giants squabbling over who controls the flow of oil.

Things settle down for Solomon.

He goes to Gibeon to offer sacrifice … 

Solomon knows he sits on the throne of Israel by God’s grace, a strange and mysterious grace at work in the schemes and machinations of Jerusalem politics.

At Gibeon in the night, the LORD comes to Solomon in a dream – Ask what you want me to give you!

Wow, a blank check from God!

Anything you want.

Here’s where we see the evidence of Solomon’s wisdom.

The first words out of his mouth: YOU have made me king.

Solomon confesses his utter reliance upon the grace of God … he’s no self-made man; who he is and who he has become – it’s a gift from God, from A to Z, top to bottom.

Then Solomon says:

… and I haven’t a clue. I’m only a child; I don’t know how to go out, and I don’t know how to come in. And now I sit on the throne; I need your help! Give me, I pray, a discerning mind that I might know the difference between good and evil.

Like the Knight of the Grail says to Indiana Jones: Choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.

Hundreds of grails to choose from – gorgeous and bejeweled – finely wrought works of art – glistening with gold and silver.

But Indiana Jones reasons wisely – the Last Supper - it was a humble carpenter, not a king in flowing robes, who lifted the Holy Grail.

Indiana Jones chooses humility – a simple carpenter’s cup.

And it’s the right choice.

The Knight of the Holy Grail says: You have chosen wisely.

Solomon chooses wisely.

What he asks for is important, but even more important, what Solomon DOESN’T ask for – long life, prosperity, defeat for the enemy.

Solomon asks but one thing: a mind – a mind to know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil … to govern wisely, to live a responsible life for the sake of others!

And God says to him that night: You have chosen wisely; I will give you discernment.

And then God says something surprising: Everything you DIDN’T ask for, I will give that to you, too, in measured doses … with this proviso, that you walk in my ways, keeping my commandments and my statutes …

Jesus said it well: Seek the kingdom of God first … and all the other things you might otherwise care about will be given to you as well.

When we pray … to pray as Solomon prayed –

A simple prayer …

A basic prayer …

O God, that I might know the difference between right and wrong.

Solomon’s wisdom, indeed!

Amen and Amen!