Sermon
If you have followed the lectionary readings you will have read the story of David from his initial anointing by Samuel, his conquest of Goliath and his anointing by all the tribes. That is followed by his bringing the Arc into Jerusalem and his thwarted ambition to build a temple in Jerusalem. We, the readers, have been assured that he is a king divinely chosen and his future dynasty is assured by God.
The reader has also been introduced to David’s ruthless political cunning, demonstrated by his willingness to execute one of his loyal soldiers for killing David’s deadly enemy Saul. That act was calculated to gain favour from Saul’s supporters and was more effective than a snap election.
Furthermore, according to the US Supreme court, it is now an option for the US President and may well be more effective than just lying.
Today’s reading also focuses on David’s human vulnerability and instinct for self-preservation and there is plenty of that about in the politics of our time.
As we tut-tut over David’s morality, we should also ask questions about Bathsheba’s motives in bathing on the roof in full view of the palace.
Perhaps the most important message is that God is able to use perfectly normal flawed humans to fulfil the divine purpose. We are challenged to find God and good outcomes in the normal tangle of self-serving human fallibility.
Much as we might be concerned over David coveting the beautiful Bathsheba and then using his absolute authority to fulfil his fantasy the ‘me too movement’ tells us that is not unheard of in our world. Furthermore, in David’s world, he was entitled to have as many wives and concubines as he wanted. Powerful men in our world tend to behave the same way although the only polygamy we sanction is the serial kind.
Rich people can of course pay ‘hush money’ but paying it out of campaign funds has proved to be illegal.
As was conspiring with his general to have Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle. That was murder by proxy, but it may well have saved Bathsheba’s life.
In a biblical patriarchal society adultery was a crime one man commits against another and it was the woman who was usually punished. In many cultures today women are killed to preserve family honour.
But even in our enlightened world powerful men like to entertain and be seen with beautiful young women. Certainly, the entertainment industry comes to mind, but it was only recently that a large New Zealand law firm was severely sanctioned for expecting more from its female interns than excellent legal work.
But it works both ways. I once watched a documentary on the Paparazzi. At one point a group of photographers, hiding in the rocks above the sea, spotted a young starlet sunbathing on a boat. ‘She knows we are here!’ Exclaimed one of the photographers. ‘She is naked enough to demand attention but modestly posed so not to cause offence on a magazine cover next to the supermarket checkout’. It’s only the successful that get to boost their careers on the Graham Norton show.
Of course, David had absolute authority. He was the supreme court and there were no other courts to retrospectively award damages for sexual exploitation.
But if you read through to the end of David’s life you will discover that Bathsheba had well and truly mastered the art of the deadly game of thrones.
David’s sons fought amongst themselves, and Bathsheba manipulated events so her son Solomon becomes king.
Reading the whole saga, it is difficult to decide who had the power at any time and I still want to know if Bathsheba bathed on the roof so her son would be king.
The charm and the power of the saga of King David is that the biblical narrative is totally realistic and aligns with stories of real fallible human beings.
Like our leaders in politics, agriculture, entertainment, sport and business the biblical characters are not superstars. The biblical characters are ordinary people, and the stories open our mind to the Spirit’s action amongst the dubious motives of everyday struggles.
Where David was a warrior king, Solomon strengthened the kingdom through alliances, cementing those alliances through marriage. His actions greatly improved the economy, and we are continually told that’s a good thing. Solomon’s reign was probably the high point of the Israelite kingdom. So, the hindsight of history leads us through all the unsavoury activities to see the divine plan coming together.
As we reflect on the danger the pregnant Bathsheba could have faced, we are reminded of another unmarried mother called Mary who’s perplexed, but merciful fiancée, and descendant of David, listened to the voice of angels.
Mary’s boy child, so the Bible says, changed the world though love, inclusion, and shared hospitality.
Jesus’ promotion of what he called ‘the kingdom of God’ is totally different to the power plays we find in the David saga or even in the corruption of contemporary democracy.
As we cross over the Sea of Galilee with Jesus, we find that a large crowd has gathered. Jesus goes up into the mountains to be with the disciples and there is a reference to the Passover that links us to Moses feeding the people of God in the wilderness. This is an allusion making the point that, just as Moses formed the people of God in the wilderness, Jesus’ wilderness journey is calling out a new people of God.
John does not include Jesus’ last Passover meal with the disciples, but he includes this reference to Passover at the feeding of the five thousand.
The concern of the early Christians was the same concern many of us have about our economy. The economy increased the wealth of the rich and powerful and marginalised the poor.
Jesus asks Philip ‘where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? (John 6:5)
Philip gives the same answer that our government gives to so many challenges of our time. We can’t afford it! It is the answer our government gives to the challenge of providing healthy school lunches. Instead, they are going to focus on testing phonics for entrance level students. That’s in spite of what educational experts say.
Reading is certainly a key to learning, but hungry children don’t learn well. I also wonder about the writer of the most non-fiction books in Britian. He is dyslexic so a phonetics test and a single focus method of teaching reading wouldn’t have helped him. However, he not only writes books about ‘one pan wonders’, but Jamie Oliver is also a tireless campaigner for healthy school lunches.
I went to a meeting about school lunches that involved students, teachers, principals and those who prepared the food. What I learned was that there was minimal wastage of food and the students learning improved. Furthermore, I learned of a group of parents that provided lunches for a number of schools. That gave them a part time job that not only supplement their income but allowed them to be home when their children were home.
That was a group of parents that took what was available in their neighbourhood, prepared it and distributed to children whose families could not supply a packed lunch.
Sounded a bit like the Galilean fisherman who Jesus asked to feed a crowd in the wilderness.
On that occasion Jesus was demonstrating that, opting out of the disempowering economy through the power of sharing, welcomes in ‘the Kingdom of God’.
John focused on potential of the economic challenge and the fact that this was a deliberate action by Jesus.
But the question about cost is also important in contrasting the cash economy with the caring and sharing economy of the Kingdom of God.
There wasn’t enough money to go and purchase food for all the people but if everyone, starting with the small boy with five barley loves and two fish, were encouraged to share with each other there would be plenty.
Understanding this story as a miracle of sharing takes away the magic of the miracle. That may be seen as a challenge to our faith. However, it fits the realism we find in the 2nd Samuel reading and encourages us to consider and be challenged as the new people of God. We are challenged to both expect and create miracles. We are called to expect miracles that disregard the market economy and bring people to live within the divine realm.
But wait there’s more! In John’s account of the feeding miracle there is more than the miracle of sharing and the allusion to Moses that also appears in the other Gospels.
The last supper, that tradition links to the communion service, is a meal shared with the disciples. From those gospels that feature that last supper Church tradition has created the Eucharist as a sacrament for the faithful. However, John replaces the ritual Passover sharing with his disciples with a long farewell speech. Therefore, John’s Gospel associates the initial communion celebration with the feeding of the five thousand. In so doing John opens the table of the risen Christ to all who are willing to take part. John’s Jesus still performs the traditional liturgy.
In John 6 verse 11 we read ‘Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.’
Those are the words that structure the communion ritual. Take, give thanks, break and distribute.
John does not mention breaking but to distribute loaves you have to break them. The key point is that it is a sharing to all who are willing to come. Even to those curious bystanders who just happen to be there.
In both of today’s episodes the Biblical text is realistic and allows us to find God in the mundane, the violence, and everyday human fallibility. These readings are a challenge to the way we do Church and a challenge to the way we function in our communities and nations.
The power of story in these readings challenge us all to bring Christ back into the boat of our life journey.
Challenges us to share our resources so we may find the miracles in everyday activities.