When I first read today’s Gospel lesson, I was reminded of a time when I was punished as a child. I had broken a cardinal rule regarding table manners. When food is placed in front of you, never say in a disgusted voice, “What is this?
This is gross?” … especially if you are a guest at one of your parent’s friend’s house! Upon hearing Jesus say eat my flesh and drink my blood … questions immediately surfaced. Eat flesh? Drink blood? Yak! What is this?
There is always the danger of interpreting scripture with present eye glasses, looking back, and interpreting scripture from today’s traditional and liturgical stand point. One should take off those glasses and simply ask any text, “What is this?” and let the text speak for itself.
In fact, I believe our lesson begs the question “Who was Jesus?” Who was
this carpenter’s son that fed the hungry multitudes, and had the audacity to refer to himself as the “living bread that came down from heaven.” Those listening immediately thought Jesus was referring to that sticky stuff called “manna” that their ancestors were blessed with on their journey through the dessert toward the promise land. Jesus quickly nullifies that thought … “No, manna only filled their stomachs and satisfied them physically, but they still died … No, I’m talking about food that when you eat it, you never die!”
Sometimes Jesus can be difficult to understand … Lord, just say it plainly. Jesus then cranks the conversation up a notch or two with his saying, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
There he goes again with this eating flesh and drinking blood stuff! These are repugnant ideas and allude to cannibalism. No wonder the people who first heard this criticized him and even turned away.
In fact, in Greek, it is even more repugnant. The very word translated here as “eat” is actually closer to our words “chew,” or “gnaw,” or “gulp.” “Unless you gnaw on the flesh of the Son of Man and gulp his blood, you have no life in you? What is this? This is gross?
Now I found that most commentaries soften some the disgusting imagery by saying that Jesus is speaking in metaphor, referring perhaps to the Eucharist. But again, this brings me back to the point that on the last night in the Upper Room John makes no reference to Jesus referring to the bread as his “body” or the wine as his “blood” like the other three
Gospels.
So I think it is safe to say that today’s gospel lesson is one of Jesus’ “hard sayings.” There are so many times when Jesus demands hard things of us. “Go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor.” That’s hard. Or, elsewhere, “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” Or, “Be perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect.”
But, in today’s gospel, Jesus doesn’t demand anything of us other than our faith. Rather, Jesus makes promises. He tells us that he is the bread that has come down from heaven. He is the bread that will satisfy all our longings. We are to feed on him and we will be satisfied forever. It is ironic that it is the promise of Jesus that offends his disciples rather than any of his demands or commands.
Jesus promises us that he is the answer to our deepest hungers, that we are to feed upon him and be filled that he is more to us than food and drink … he is for us the very Source of life. Passages like this I think define our real problem with Jesus … that it is not so much a question of “Who was
Jesus?” but rather “Who is Jesus?”
“Who is Jesus today for us?” Jesus offended those who stood around
him that day.
It’s hard to believe that God really looks and acts and talks like Jesus. So many people were offended by Jesus in the first century, as they are in our own time.
Our problem is that Jesus and his teachings can be difficult and demanding here and now. Folks, it is not for us to choose to believe in Jesus on the basis of certain proofs and arguments.
It is for Jesus to choose us, to come to us, to call us, to speak to us, to reveal himself to us.
The first disciples did not choose Jesus. He chose them. They were drawn to him. And this is true for us.
Last weeks lesson makes this plain: At this time the Jews began to murmur disapprovingly because he said ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph; we know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered, ‘Stop murmuring among yourselves. No man can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: “And they shall all be
taught by God.” Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me (John 6:41-45).
Commenting on these verses Rudolf Bultmann writes, “… faith becomes possible when one abandons hold on one’s own security, and to abandon one’s security is nothing else than to let oneself be drawn by the Father. Moreover, verse 45
(b) shows that this “drawing” is not a magic process, nor is it governed by rigid laws like the laws of nature. It occurs when man abandons his own judgment and “hears” and “learns” from the Father, when he allows God to speak to him. The “drawing” by the Father occurs not, as it were, behind man’s decision of faith but in it. He who comes to Jesus, however,
receives the promise, “I will not reject him.”
For this very reason, you are here this morning. You are drawn by God who overrides all your desires to be some place else, doing something else. When people ask me how I decided to become a minister, or when did I choose to become a minister, I reply that I did not choose nor did I actually decide. I was drawn into the ministry by God whose Son simply
said to me: “Follow me!” If left to my own devices in 1991, I would have chosen to go to Med School, or Pharmacy like my mother, all options I
considered.
But as it turned out, I found myself in March 1991 as a young United Methodist student in a non-Methodist seminary without any money! I can’t explain it any better than being “drawn” by God to use me, reluctant, to serve Him as a servant of His Word and Sacrament.
That is the way it is. You are here not because you studied the world’s alleged saviors and decided that Jesus had the most to offer. It is not that you assembled all the available historical data and it added up to Jesus. It is rather that Jesus in some way has come to you … spoken to you … and you listened and learned … and he chose you to be his disciple …you responded.
Like the scriptures today, Jesus keeps talking to his disciples (that’s us), keeps working with his disciples, and keeps speaking and revealing even when they (we) don’t understand everything about him. But understanding is not the issue.
The issue is to keep trying to love Jesus, to follow Jesus, to feed on him, to savor and enjoy him as if we were feeding on the “bread of life.” Faith in Jesus is not necessarily certitude, firm, or unwavering understanding. Faith is being willing to be in conversation with Jesus, to be drawn by God to Christ even though we do not always understand him.
Today’s Gospel lesson may be a “hard saying” but it spells out who Jesus is for us today. Jesus is the bread of life come down to nourish our hearts, our minds, and our souls that we may not die physically or spiritually, but have life now and always! The phrase “flesh and blood” can be an idiom referring to the whole person.
I believe Jesus is saying … eat …drink … take all of me into your life. Refresh your mind, your body, and your soul with my ways, my teachings, and my truth … for I am the (stuff) of life. “Whoever comes to me shall never be hungry and whoever believes in me shall never be
thirsty.” Eat! Drink!
Sacramental … Yes … but more … At times you may wonder “What is this stuff?” But remember, Jesus is the one who draws you into his fellowship: “Follow me!” Jesus is the one who sets Table … provides the bread … offers the invitation.
You don’t know why for you feel unworthy, but you do know because grace overrides your unworthiness. You are confused and don’t understand but you are clear about your needs. You are reluctant and hesitant and often
uncommitted, but you are hungry. You are lost in the past and afraid of the future, but today … today Jesus draws you to himself … and for the moment … in this sacred hour … it is enough … just enough hope and peace … so … we continue to take Jesus in … we eat and live … the taste is good … and that my friends is faith. Amen
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
“Caring Enough to Confront”--2 Samuel 12:1-12:14
Last week we looked at the sin of David. He had an affair with the wife of one of his best soldiers. She ended up pregnant. He tried to cover it up. He sent her husband back to the war carrying his own death sentence. In verse 24 of chapter 11 we find the words of the messenger to the king, “Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”
David’s plan worked. The other man was out of the picture. Bathsheba went through a period of mourning. Then they got married, and she moved into the palace. It was all taken care of. Right?
Not so fast. David is restless. He can’t forget what has happened. His stomach is in knots. He can’t sleep at night. Every time he sees Bathsheba, he thinks about the events that unfolded. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Things just got out of hand. Everything just happened so fast.
At the end of chapter 11, we read, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” God wasn’t pleased with the actions of his anointed king.
We are confronted with two concepts here: truth and consequences. The truth is David sinned, and God wasn’t too happy about it. The consequences were horrible and ugly. The first 9 verses of the passage deal with…I. The TRUTHThe truth was something that David had been trying to hide. He had tried to trick Uriah into spending the night with Bathsheba. He had sent Uriah to his death. He had been running full-speed away from the truth. Then the prophet Nathan enters the picture.
Now Nathan comes with a most unpleasant task. He had a…A. Divine COMMISSION.
Verse 1 says, “And the Lord sent Nathan to David.” Nathan is charged with a most unappealing task. He was to face the king and confront him with his sin.
At any moment David could have picked up his sword or given the order to have Nathan executed. Nathan should be given credit for his bravery and fortitude in this matter. Even with the call of God, it still takes a person of courage to carry out the call of God.
It was routine practice of kings in that day to just run roughshod over the laws of their land. If someone confronted him, he would kill him. Could you imagine going up to him and telling him that God was displeased with his lifestyle? Even with a commission from God, it would take someone of great bravery to do that.Nathan was a smart man. He tells David a parable, or story. He makes…
B. An appeal to COMMON justice.Nathan tells David about 2 men, a rich man and a poor man. The rich man has a huge herd and flock, and the poor man has only one little ewe. The ewe was a pet. It wasn’t mere livestock. It was a pet in the same sense as many of us who have dogs and cats, or hamsters. David would also have taken interest in this since it involved sheep. After all, he had been a shepherd as a boy. David is struck by…1. The ruthlessness of the CRIME.David was struck by the down right meanness of the crime. This rich man had enough sheep of his own. Why on earth did he need to steal the pet of this poor family? The rich man was unwilling to take one of his own flock. He took the poor man’s sheep because he could. This was a heinous crime. There is something that David didn’t see, and that was…
2. The parallels of the CRIMES.There are interesting parallels in this story. Let’s look at it closer.
The parallel is in terms of the characters of the story. The rich man is David. The poor man is Uriah. The ewe is Bathsheba. The flock of the rich man is David’s harem. Who is the traveler that is mentioned by Nathan? The traveler is David’s desire. David had natural desires that he wanted to fulfill. The problem is that he took Bathsheba from Uriah to satisfy his desire, when he could have taken one from his harem.
David, however, doesn’t see the parallel. He thinks that Nathan is bringing him a real case that happened. David, as king, was used to reviewing judicial cases. The story raises the…
C. The CONDEMNATION of the king.David is upset about this. How could this happen? This poor man now has no pet because this greedy rich fellow stole his lamb. Some translations translate David’s words as this man “shall surely die.” He says that the man deserves to die. David did have an idea of…
1. CORRECT justice.The Law of God called for a fourfold payback for a stolen sheep. Exodus 22:1 states, “If a man steals…a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay…four sheep for a sheep.” David was quite correct in his pronouncement of justice in the matter that Nathan presented him. The problem is that David had a…
2. Lack of CORRECT understanding.David failed to see the parallel between the two. It is interesting that thought the rich man deserved to die, because that was the penalty for adultery. Both the man and woman were to be killed for committing adultery.
David was still running from his own sin. He lacked the understanding that he was subject to the Law as much as the rich man was.D. God speaks to David’s CONSCIENCE.With all the courage he could find Nathan steps up and says, “You are the man!”
Can you see the look of horror that must have appeared on David’s face? This prophet had the audacity to tell the king that he was as bad as someone who had stolen a family pet. What would happen next? Would David order yet another murder? Would he punish Nathan?
Without hesitating, Nathan continued with words direct from God. God had chosen David to be king. He had protected him from the murderous and jealous Saul. He had given him all that Saul had. God would have given him more than that. David is accused of killing Uriah with the sword of the enemy.
The truth is out on the table. Now we have to deal with the…II. The CONSEQUENCESVerse 10-14 deal with the consequences of David’s sin, his repentance, and forgiveness. Nathan delivers the judgment of God in verses 10-12. There we see…A. The CALAMITY of sin.The basic gist of God’s judgment is that David’s house will be a mess as a result of this.
Sin brought great calamity on the family of David. There is one thing good that David did. He confessed.
B. CONFESSION and repentance lead to forgiveness.David cried out, “I have sinned against the Lord.” What a relief that must have been for him to get that off his chest.
I remember when I was a kid. I was probably about 8 or 9. I had stolen a few school supplies from Alemars Book Store in Quezon City. I took several school items but I didn’t pay for it. It ate me up. One night I couldn’t sleep. I went and woke my mom up and told her the whole terrible thing. It wasn’t even worth a lot of money. The next day, I went to the store and confessed my sin. I pulled out some change and offered to pay for it. The people thanked me for my honesty. That was a great relief to my guilt-wracked conscience. Confession and repentance led to forgiveness. I slept well that night.
David must have felt a great weight removed from his chest when he uttered those words. David still had to deal with…
C. CONSEQUENCES and punishment.There was still the issue of justice. David deserved the death penalty for committing adultery. He also deserved the death penalty for killing Uriah.
Here we see an example of God’s grace in the Old Testament. We see that he…
1. COMMUTED the punishment.God was most gracious in dealing with David. Remember that he was very much displeased with the actions of David.We see the fruit of genuine repentance. David was genuinely sorry for what he had done. He recognized his sin and took responsibility for it. As a result we see that God “put away [his] sin.” He then proceeds to tell David that he won’t die as a result of his sin. David received a healthy dose of God’s grace. He would not get what he deserved for his sin. It is a beautiful thing to receive God’s grace. It is available to all who truly repent and ask for it.
David had another issue to deal with, and that was…
2. CONTINUING consequences.I have heard people say on occasion, “If you pick up a stick, you have to be willing to deal with what’s on the other end of the stick.”While David was forgiven and his punishment commuted, he still had to deal with things that happened as a result of his sin. He had to deal with what was on the other end of the stick that he picked up.
As mentioned earlier, his family was a mess. The things that happened shock us. This is true even in the age of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. The things that occurred in the palace after this would probably make Jerry Springer blush.
Our sense of justice says, “It’s not fair that David’s children paid the price for his sin, when he got off free.”
There is a difference between punishment and consequences. The punishment is a matter of law. Consequences have nothing to do with the law.ConclusionIn God’s government, we all deserve the legal punishment of death, but through his grace he offers us the opportunity for forgiveness. We still have to deal with the consequences of our decisions. David had to deal with death, incest and all the garbage that happened. He never whined and fussed about though. He understood that he had brought this on himself.So often we want God to take away the consequences of our sin. The important thing is that we not focus so closely on the temporary consequences. The important thing is whether or not we are in a right relationship with God. After his confession and repentance, David was restored to a right relationship with God, but he still had to deal with the consequences.
Now be quite clear here as to what God can do and what God can’t do, God can’t make everything right again, God can’t undo the effects of what you have done, in David’s case his son still died, but what God can do is to meet you as you are and set you free to take you forward.
The Bible scholar Dale Davis writes here,
“We expect retribution, punishment, judgment upon David.
And that is here.
But we have a sense that we have travelled beyond judgment in 2 Samuel 12
into a Land of Grace”.
I love that phrase,
“into a land of Grace”,
that is the land God calls you to,
that is the land Jesus opened up to all by his death and resurrection,
that is the Land in which the Spirit lives and moves and has His being,
a Land of Grace,
a land of grace where despite everything you and I find a welcome. Amen
David’s plan worked. The other man was out of the picture. Bathsheba went through a period of mourning. Then they got married, and she moved into the palace. It was all taken care of. Right?
Not so fast. David is restless. He can’t forget what has happened. His stomach is in knots. He can’t sleep at night. Every time he sees Bathsheba, he thinks about the events that unfolded. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Things just got out of hand. Everything just happened so fast.
At the end of chapter 11, we read, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” God wasn’t pleased with the actions of his anointed king.
We are confronted with two concepts here: truth and consequences. The truth is David sinned, and God wasn’t too happy about it. The consequences were horrible and ugly. The first 9 verses of the passage deal with…I. The TRUTHThe truth was something that David had been trying to hide. He had tried to trick Uriah into spending the night with Bathsheba. He had sent Uriah to his death. He had been running full-speed away from the truth. Then the prophet Nathan enters the picture.
Now Nathan comes with a most unpleasant task. He had a…A. Divine COMMISSION.
Verse 1 says, “And the Lord sent Nathan to David.” Nathan is charged with a most unappealing task. He was to face the king and confront him with his sin.
At any moment David could have picked up his sword or given the order to have Nathan executed. Nathan should be given credit for his bravery and fortitude in this matter. Even with the call of God, it still takes a person of courage to carry out the call of God.
It was routine practice of kings in that day to just run roughshod over the laws of their land. If someone confronted him, he would kill him. Could you imagine going up to him and telling him that God was displeased with his lifestyle? Even with a commission from God, it would take someone of great bravery to do that.Nathan was a smart man. He tells David a parable, or story. He makes…
B. An appeal to COMMON justice.Nathan tells David about 2 men, a rich man and a poor man. The rich man has a huge herd and flock, and the poor man has only one little ewe. The ewe was a pet. It wasn’t mere livestock. It was a pet in the same sense as many of us who have dogs and cats, or hamsters. David would also have taken interest in this since it involved sheep. After all, he had been a shepherd as a boy. David is struck by…1. The ruthlessness of the CRIME.David was struck by the down right meanness of the crime. This rich man had enough sheep of his own. Why on earth did he need to steal the pet of this poor family? The rich man was unwilling to take one of his own flock. He took the poor man’s sheep because he could. This was a heinous crime. There is something that David didn’t see, and that was…
2. The parallels of the CRIMES.There are interesting parallels in this story. Let’s look at it closer.
The parallel is in terms of the characters of the story. The rich man is David. The poor man is Uriah. The ewe is Bathsheba. The flock of the rich man is David’s harem. Who is the traveler that is mentioned by Nathan? The traveler is David’s desire. David had natural desires that he wanted to fulfill. The problem is that he took Bathsheba from Uriah to satisfy his desire, when he could have taken one from his harem.
David, however, doesn’t see the parallel. He thinks that Nathan is bringing him a real case that happened. David, as king, was used to reviewing judicial cases. The story raises the…
C. The CONDEMNATION of the king.David is upset about this. How could this happen? This poor man now has no pet because this greedy rich fellow stole his lamb. Some translations translate David’s words as this man “shall surely die.” He says that the man deserves to die. David did have an idea of…
1. CORRECT justice.The Law of God called for a fourfold payback for a stolen sheep. Exodus 22:1 states, “If a man steals…a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay…four sheep for a sheep.” David was quite correct in his pronouncement of justice in the matter that Nathan presented him. The problem is that David had a…
2. Lack of CORRECT understanding.David failed to see the parallel between the two. It is interesting that thought the rich man deserved to die, because that was the penalty for adultery. Both the man and woman were to be killed for committing adultery.
David was still running from his own sin. He lacked the understanding that he was subject to the Law as much as the rich man was.D. God speaks to David’s CONSCIENCE.With all the courage he could find Nathan steps up and says, “You are the man!”
Can you see the look of horror that must have appeared on David’s face? This prophet had the audacity to tell the king that he was as bad as someone who had stolen a family pet. What would happen next? Would David order yet another murder? Would he punish Nathan?
Without hesitating, Nathan continued with words direct from God. God had chosen David to be king. He had protected him from the murderous and jealous Saul. He had given him all that Saul had. God would have given him more than that. David is accused of killing Uriah with the sword of the enemy.
The truth is out on the table. Now we have to deal with the…II. The CONSEQUENCESVerse 10-14 deal with the consequences of David’s sin, his repentance, and forgiveness. Nathan delivers the judgment of God in verses 10-12. There we see…A. The CALAMITY of sin.The basic gist of God’s judgment is that David’s house will be a mess as a result of this.
Sin brought great calamity on the family of David. There is one thing good that David did. He confessed.
B. CONFESSION and repentance lead to forgiveness.David cried out, “I have sinned against the Lord.” What a relief that must have been for him to get that off his chest.
I remember when I was a kid. I was probably about 8 or 9. I had stolen a few school supplies from Alemars Book Store in Quezon City. I took several school items but I didn’t pay for it. It ate me up. One night I couldn’t sleep. I went and woke my mom up and told her the whole terrible thing. It wasn’t even worth a lot of money. The next day, I went to the store and confessed my sin. I pulled out some change and offered to pay for it. The people thanked me for my honesty. That was a great relief to my guilt-wracked conscience. Confession and repentance led to forgiveness. I slept well that night.
David must have felt a great weight removed from his chest when he uttered those words. David still had to deal with…
C. CONSEQUENCES and punishment.There was still the issue of justice. David deserved the death penalty for committing adultery. He also deserved the death penalty for killing Uriah.
Here we see an example of God’s grace in the Old Testament. We see that he…
1. COMMUTED the punishment.God was most gracious in dealing with David. Remember that he was very much displeased with the actions of David.We see the fruit of genuine repentance. David was genuinely sorry for what he had done. He recognized his sin and took responsibility for it. As a result we see that God “put away [his] sin.” He then proceeds to tell David that he won’t die as a result of his sin. David received a healthy dose of God’s grace. He would not get what he deserved for his sin. It is a beautiful thing to receive God’s grace. It is available to all who truly repent and ask for it.
David had another issue to deal with, and that was…
2. CONTINUING consequences.I have heard people say on occasion, “If you pick up a stick, you have to be willing to deal with what’s on the other end of the stick.”While David was forgiven and his punishment commuted, he still had to deal with things that happened as a result of his sin. He had to deal with what was on the other end of the stick that he picked up.
As mentioned earlier, his family was a mess. The things that happened shock us. This is true even in the age of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. The things that occurred in the palace after this would probably make Jerry Springer blush.
Our sense of justice says, “It’s not fair that David’s children paid the price for his sin, when he got off free.”
There is a difference between punishment and consequences. The punishment is a matter of law. Consequences have nothing to do with the law.ConclusionIn God’s government, we all deserve the legal punishment of death, but through his grace he offers us the opportunity for forgiveness. We still have to deal with the consequences of our decisions. David had to deal with death, incest and all the garbage that happened. He never whined and fussed about though. He understood that he had brought this on himself.So often we want God to take away the consequences of our sin. The important thing is that we not focus so closely on the temporary consequences. The important thing is whether or not we are in a right relationship with God. After his confession and repentance, David was restored to a right relationship with God, but he still had to deal with the consequences.
Now be quite clear here as to what God can do and what God can’t do, God can’t make everything right again, God can’t undo the effects of what you have done, in David’s case his son still died, but what God can do is to meet you as you are and set you free to take you forward.
The Bible scholar Dale Davis writes here,
“We expect retribution, punishment, judgment upon David.
And that is here.
But we have a sense that we have travelled beyond judgment in 2 Samuel 12
into a Land of Grace”.
I love that phrase,
“into a land of Grace”,
that is the land God calls you to,
that is the land Jesus opened up to all by his death and resurrection,
that is the Land in which the Spirit lives and moves and has His being,
a Land of Grace,
a land of grace where despite everything you and I find a welcome. Amen
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