David and Bathsheba: Despite Failings

 So far in this Pentecost (Ordinary Time) series of blog posts, we’ve looked at many women and men in the Bible who aligned with God, in their own fallible ways, to be God’s stewards in their time and place. Despite dysfunctional family dynamics, years of waiting, and tragedy these people were blessed by God in their lives. They struggled with their personal problems, just like we do, and discovered in the end that God is greater than any problem. Last week I posted an image of a list of Biblical characters and their 'flaws' because no one is perfect. They were not perfect. They were loved by God. They were important parts and instruments in God’s kingdom. 

This month, we look at another deeply flawed, yet deeply loved man and woman. David—the shepherd boy who became king of Israel was certainly not perfect. Even in his sinfulness, God worked in David’s life. In one very famous incident, he is found to be an abuser of a woman, and yet God accepts his repentence. Most people know the outline of the story of David and Bathsheba. It is found in 2 Samuel chapters 11-12. The summary of the event is found in 2 Samuel 11:2-5.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

David has insomnia and sees a woman bathing in her own yard. He discovers that she is an Israelite woman (daughter of Eliam) married to a Hittite warrior—one of his own soldiers. Despite this, he orders her to come to him and sleeps with her. Bathsheba would not have been allowed to say ‘no.’ This was the king, after all, and she was a woman married to a foreigner. When she lets him know that she is pregnant, David makes some rash decisions. In an attempt to conceal his actions, He sends for Uriah.

After asking about the campaign tells him “Go down to your house and wash your feet”… But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.  David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” Uriah’s response shows that he is a man of honor. “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” (2 Samuel 11:8-11)

David tries again, and when Uriah still doesn’t go home to his wife, the king sends him back to the battle front with a letter essentially ordering his execution. “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. (2 Samuel 11:16-17) He then moves Bathsheba into his harem. (Imagine the gossip!)

Chapter 12 of 2 Samuel tells of the prophet Nathan chastising David (as in this image) through the story of a rich man, a poor man, and a lamb. (2 Samuel 12:1-12) David repents and Nathan tells him, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.  But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14)

Just as Nathan foretold, the infant sickens and dies, despite David’s desperate fasting and prayers. (2 Samuel 12:15-23) Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. (2 Samuel 12:24-25)

God brought good from David’s bad actions. Despite their relationship starting with rape, Bathsheba becomes a favored wife. Much later, as David is dying, we see her conspire with Nathan to ensure that Solomon is king after David. In 1 Kings 1, we learn the son of another wife, Adonijah, has named himself king even though David is still alive. Starting in verse 11 we hear Nathan’s advice to Bathsheba so that Solomon is proclaimed king.  

Nathan asked Bathsheba…“Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it? Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: “Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king? While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said.”…[Bathsheba does as advised with Nathan supporting her]…Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble,^…Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.” [David then says] “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada…Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon…Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon! Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.” (1 Kings 1:11-35)

In this story of David and Bathsheba, we see God acting through the foibles and mistakes of David and other human actors. Like us, Bathsheba and David acted based on their own ideas of what is best. Even though David lusted for Bathsheba and God punished him for his actions through the death of the infant, God also provided a blessing through the second son of the couple. Solomon was to become the wise leader of Israel after David died. Bathsheba acted to protect her honor when she told David she was pregnant after his rape, and despite his initial response of trying to trick Uriah, he does not ignore her rights. He acknowledges his promises at the end of his life, as well, and acts to ensure Solomon’s kingship.

How has God acted in your life despite your failures and mistakes? I can think of times when what I thought I wanted ended up being not so good. Then, God showed me a new path or a new ministry direction that was better than what I planned.

Anna and Simeon: Patience

 For the past couple weeks, we’ve been looking at the story of Anna and Simeon in the Gospel of Luke. This elderly pair spent decades of their lives waiting to see the fulfillment of God’s Promise to the people of Israel of a Messiah. What they got was an infant who they recognized as God Incarnate and the fulfillment of that promise.

We often get impatient (at least I do) when our plans don’t fall into place right away or in the way we planned. Waiting on God to act is sometime difficult.

What if we are looking in the wrong places for the fulfillment of God’s dream in our lives? What if we think that success is found in the number of people who attend an event we plan, or in the amount of money in our bank account? What if we fall into the trap of thinking we are successful when our name is on the office door of a high-power business or when we are recognized when we walk down the street?

Maybe that’s not how God measures success. Maybe God’s success is the heart transformed by a sentence in a blog post. Maybe God measures success in the kind acts we do. Maybe God is pleased with us when we take time to sit with a friend or smile at a stranger.

Simeon and Anna spent their time in prayer in the Temple waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah. We aren’t told what else they did during those years, but probably they became unofficial greeters and helped many visitors to the Temple find their way. Then when a confused couple from Nazareth arrived with their baby to do as Mosaic Law ordered, Simeon knew the truth. Then, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Israel.”

Anna as well recognized God’s truth and proclaimed thanks to God and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

It is easy to get caught up in the messages of our society and forget that God very often, throughout history has worked in the lives of the least likely of people. There is the reoccurring post on social media that reminds us that “God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called.” In face, as this graphic reminds me, God uses people I might not have considered 'good enough' at all:

None of us are perfect. We are each simply loved by God and in that love, we are able to act and love others. What if we each just quietly lived as if the Kingdom of God’s love was in our world and lives now? 

Brian McLaren notes, in The Secret Message of Jesus, that we are all secret agents of the Kingdom, “Your job is to discover how [you] can align and participate in the Kingdom of God…help fulfill God’s will…you work each day not just for a paycheck but also for the kingdom of God to come more and more fully.” McClaren asks “What would happen if you saw your job as one component—large or small, enjoyable or depressing—of your larger, deeper, grander calling as a participant in the kingdom of God?” (The Secret Message of Jesus, Brian McClaren, W Publishing Group, 2006)

Simeon and Anna were participants in the Kingdom of God by their faithful waiting and witness. In their prayer and dedication they were agents that helped the kingdom grow. We can do the same.

Anna and Simeon: Waiting with God

 Simeon and Anna, whose story is in the Gospel of Luke (chapter 2) give us insight into waiting for God’s plan to come to fulfillment. I would think that each of them had had many conversations with God, praying again and again for the fulfillment of the promise. As they got older, each prayer perhaps became more desperate. “Will I see your Messiah?” “Hey, God, I’m not getting any younger.”

There may be plans in your heart that you are sure God placed there. However, they don’t seem to be coming to fruition. When you try to move forward, there are closed doors. You keep looking around for the open door or open window. After all, there’s the saying that ‘when God closes a door, God opens a window.’ But that window doesn’t seem to be open, either.

This image captured from Facebook by “The Letterer” is a reminder that God is always present and always working.

As a society, we are not good at waiting. Instant gratification is the name of the game. We can download a new game to our phone and start playing in an instant. We can zap our dinner in the microwave and not wait for it to cook in the oven. We can travel across the country in just hours compared to our ancestors who needed weeks or even months to make the trek. Communication with friends and family is just a text away.

God’s timing is often much more deliberate. God works in our hearts and souls to prepare the soil for the next thing. God worked in Simeon and Anna as they waited and worshipped in the Temple two thousand years ago. Perhaps they learned patience. Perhaps they learned to trust in God’s timing. Perhaps they found their faith deepening despite the waiting for the fulfillment of God’s plan. Perhaps they came to an understanding that God’s way does not always look like we expect.

Imagine the surprise of the two elders when God’s promised Messiah showed up as the infant son of a poor family from Nazareth. Because of their time of waiting and preparing and being prepared, they were able to recognize in the Babe, God’s fulfillment.

God’s gift is always better than we can imagine. It’s like waiting for a stuffed dog for your birthday and getting a real puppy. Or expecting a bowl of ice cream and getting gelato. It’s waiting for decades for the One spoken of by the prophets and holding that Child in your arms as an infant full of God and full of possibility.

Then you break into song! “My eyes have seen the salvation you have prepared for all people!” proclaims Simeon. Holding the fulfillment of God’s promise, he recognizes that this is not just for the Hebrew nation, but for ALL.

God does not delay gratification, rather, God prepares us for the best that can be. In 2 Peter 3:9, we are reminded, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. God loves each of us too much to give us second best. God waits until we are ready and prepared, then we receive the gift of God’s love.

It is not easy to wait when we think we have a great idea or ministry. Maybe you aren’t as ready as you think. Perhaps you need to learn something that will make your ministry even more effective. Perhaps waiting will help you grow in faith. God is in the waiting, too. So, as Proverbs 3:5-6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Next week we will finish our visit with Anna and Simeon.

Anna and Simeon: Waiting

 Today we start looking at the story of Anna and Simeon, who welcomed the Infant Christ in the Temple as inspiration for ways we might welcome Christ. Their story is in the Gospel of Luke. After the familiar Christmas story about shepherds and angels visiting the manger, we hear, “at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:21-24) The purification rite would have been forty days after Jesus’ birth. Women were required to be ‘purified’ after childbirth and a first-born son was ‘redeemed’ by an offering.

In the next verse we meet Simeon who was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (Luke 2:25-26) When Mary and Joseph arrive, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Israel.” (Luke 2:27-29) This Song of Simeon is commonly said during Evening Prayer from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.

We don’t get the rest of the story if we just stop at his song of praise. Simeon continues to prophecy and tells Mary, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35) Imagine for a moment the turmoil of thoughts that must have gone through Mary’s mind as she hears Simeon’s words.

The day of surprises isn’t over yet. The 84-year-old prophetess, Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher came up to the pair. Apparently, she lived in the Temple grounds worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38)

Rembrandt’s painting of the scene (ca 1627) shows Anna giving praise while Simeon counsels Mary and Joseph.

Unlike Simeon, we do not have Anna’s words recorded, only that she gave thanks and spoke of the redemption of Jerusalem. This affirmation of her son’s role in life must have been another one of those things that Mary “pondered in her heart.”

Simeon and Anna were waiting and prepared for the coming of Messiah, the Christ of God. They had been waiting years and years. Perhaps there were times when they thought God had forgotten their faithfulness. I’m sure we’ve all had times when we prayed for something and prayed and prayed, but nothing seemed to be happening. God didn’t seem to be listening.

Waiting for ‘God’s timing’ can be difficult. We can get inspiration from Simeon and Anna who waited their lives for God’s revelation. When it came, that revelation was in the form of a helpless infant. Were they surprised by that, or did they understand that God acts in ways we don’t expect?

Has there been a time when you have been surprised by how God responded to a prayer?  

Sit with the image and imagine yourself in the scene. What if you were a bystander? What if you were one of the participants? Feel the emotions of Anna and Simeon as they welcome the One they had been waiting and hoping for.

As an aside: In the Gospel of Luke, the family returns to Nazareth where Jesus grows up. It is in the Gospel of Matthew that we hear of the visit of the Magi and the escape to Egypt.

Naomi and Ruth: Reaction or Prayer

 Last week we considered the idea that every person makes choices based on the information they have and the truths they believe. This information or truth may be false in the view of many people. It is, however, what the person believes. Of course, not everything we believe is true, either, to someone else… Something to pause and think about perhaps.

Because our truths are different from each other, we find ourselves in conflict with one another. We no longer take time to listen to each other. Too often, we simply react to a statement or to news or to an action. How, in this tumultuous and divisive time, might we meet with grace those whose ideology differs from ours? How can we accept and love one another as we are commanded by our Lord? How can we even face the daily news with its toll of death and destruction?

Listening instead of reacting is a start. It is not easy to stop and listen, though. We often need help to pause, help to listen, help to seek understanding and common ground. That’s where God is present. And we connect to God in prayer.

Looking at the story of Ruth and Naomi, we don’t hear that they prayed. In fact, there isn’t any overt mention of God in the entire book. However, we sense God working in and through the choices of the women. God honors the decision to go to Moab by giving the family a home and a community, including wives for the sons. God is with Ruth and Naomi as they return to Bethlehem. Despite Naomi’s assertion that the Almighty has made my life very bitter (Ruth 1:20), God provides a protector and husband for Ruth. The faithful choices made by the women lead to blessings. The women of Bethlehem note this and say, “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!” (Ruth 4:14)

It is easy to look back, after the fact, and see blessing. When you are in the middle of a troubling time in your personal life, or are concerned about external events, it is harder to see blessings. We can always, as the song says, “Take it to the Lord in prayer.” The hymn What a Friend we have in Jesus, by Joseph Scriven (1885) reminds us that it’s a “privilege to carry everything to God in prayer”! Scriven reminds us that we forfeit peace and needlessly bear pain because we forget to give our concerns to God. Even when there are “trials and temptations…[and] trouble anywhere” or when we are “weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care” we can “take it to the Lord in prayer.” The hymn ends with the promise from our “Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear.” You can hear the hymn sung by Alan Jackson here.  

Ruth and Naomi probably didn’t see the hand of God while struggling to survive on the journey to Bethlehem or when seeking food in the edges of the fields, but God was every present. We often have trouble identifying God in our own troubles. We can trust however that God IS there and loving us through anything. Also, though it can be more difficult to identify, God is loving and working through the lives of those we don’t agree with.

Maybe this prayer by Rabbi Irwin Keller from 2016 can be of help when watching troubling news stories. Remembering that our soul, that each soul, is “pure and vulnerable” may open us to seeking healing for the “wounds of the world.”

Next week, we’ll look at the story of Anna and Simeon, who welcomed the Infant Christ in the Temple as inspiration for ways we might welcome Christ.

Naomi and Ruth: Decisions

In August, we began to look at the story of Ruth and Naomi from the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Scriptures. We noticed how each decision and action had a ripple effect on the people and communities they were in. It is the same with us. Last week, we thought about the choices men and women made to confront workplace safety and inequity, and the results of those decisions. 

Ruth and Naomi made many seemingly small decisions which changed the dynamic of their family and the community they were in. The decision to leave Bethlehem caused sorrow to their friends and other family members who remained. Deciding to cast their lot with the people of Moab by marriage was a big ripple that resonated among the local community. Death always causes many changes. The loss of her husband and both sons made Naomi rethink her life and decide to return to the familiarity of Bethlehem. The different decisions by Orpah and Ruth made differing impacts on their family and friends. Arriving in Bethlehem as destitute widows brings dramatic changes to the people in the town and to Ruth and Naomi. Ruth’s obedience to Naomi and Boaz’ response to her courage and faithfulness made a huge difference in the dynamic of the town. Their descendants continued to impact the history of Israel and the world generation after generation.

Every day we make choices that we don’t think make much difference to anyone but ourselves. We may decide to go to the grocery store or to the farmer’s market. One choice helps local growers, the other helps big business. We respond in haste to a Facebook post we disagree with or we scroll past without responding or perhaps take time to respond thoughtfully.  

The decision we make is neither right nor wrong. It is how we respond to the information we have. With slightly different information, we might make a different decision. Ruth and Naomi made the best decisions they could within the framework of their lives. God honored the choices. God honors our choices, too. We are given free will by our loving God, so God doesn’t force us to do this or that. If we make what seems, in hindsight, to be a poor decision, God still honors our action—even if we may have to live with the results.

In the news every night we see the results of decisions individuals and leaders make. Some are choices that lead to death and destruction. Others are actions that provide hope and joy. Each person or group makes their decision using the information they have and believe is true. Our perspective is often very different from the person who decides to start a fire or someone who has an idea to walk across the country to raise money and awareness for some cause. Neither may be something we would do. Yet, these are the choices made by those individuals and they result in consequences.

Might it make a difference to how you view the news if you remembered that each story is activated by someone’s decision, which is based on their information? We might not understand a mass shooter any better, but we might pause to consider that he was motivated by the truths he believed. 

Every decision we make has results. May we ask God to help us make helpful choices that will benefit those we are in contact with.

Labor Day Decisions

 A little pause from our visit to Naomi and Ruth and their decisions to remember Labor Day, and why we have a day off from work. Mostly, now, the day is simply an occasion to get together for end-of-summer picnics or to go camping “one last time this year”. The roots run much deeper and are important to remember. The roots of the holiday are set amid the choices made by business leaders at the end of the 19^th century, by laborers and other workers. The decisions each side made at this pivotal moment, changed the appearance of working conditions in factories, mines, and elsewhere and gave the normal working man rights they did not previously have.

Labor Day originated in the midst of a time of upheaval and turmoil in America. A lot of change was happening in the workforce because of the Industrial Revolution and the movement of workers from farms to factories. We may not remember that we learned in school how the late 1800s was a time of oppression for these workers. The average workday was 12 hours and most worked seven days a week to earn enough. Children as young as 5 worked alongside the adults to help bring home enough to sustain their family. Not only that, conditions were unsafe. Factories and mines were especially unsafe and offered little in the way of fresh air, restrooms, or breaks. In some cases, workers were locked into the workrooms for their shift.

In response to conditions, labor unions formed and gradually became more vocal and powerful. The leadership organized strikes to protest conditions and pay. There were riots in many places. Often people were killed on all sides. Police, striking workers, the replacement workers brought in by management to keep the factories and mines going all fell victim.

On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from City Hall to Union Square in NYC to protest conditions (see picture). Slowly the idea of a “workingmen’s holiday” gained momentum in many states. It wasn’t until the employees of the Pullman Car company went on strike on May 11, 1894, that it became truly a national issue. By June 26, a boycott of all Pullman cars caused railroad traffic to come to a standstill. This was catastrophic because people and goods moved nearly entirely on the railroads. The federal government sent troops to Chicago, which led to riots and deaths. Congress then passed an act making Labor Day an official holiday and President Grover Cleveland signed it on June 28, 1894.

The choices and actions of the unions and the decisions by the striking workers who were willing to risk their lives to protest conditions ultimately led to legislation mandating shorter work days as well as improved working conditions. It is still a work in progress as, too often, the business bottom line and not the workers get the priority. Recently, Air Canada flight attendants went on strike for better wages causing massive airline disruptions. They, like many workers before, made the decision to stand up for their rights.

If your working conditions are good, give thanks for the decisions and choices of the brave men and women who marched and spoke up and challenged those in power. However, there are also still groups of workers who are ignored and mistreated because of their poverty, education, ethnicity, or immigration status. What choices will we make to stand with and for these groups?