Sermon for November 1

(this one is "what I didn't say on Sunday, I prepared for November 1st but due to changes in travel plans, I did not preach on November 1st.  Since I wrote it, I figured I'd share)

The reading

1 Kings 12: 1-17, 25-29

 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.  When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you.”  He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

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Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”  They answered him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”  But he disregarded the advice that the older men gave him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and now attended him.  He said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus you should say to this people who spoke to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must lighten it for us’; thus you should say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.  Now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’

 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had said, “Come to me again the third day.” The king answered the people harshly. He disregarded the advice that the older men had given him and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”  So the king did not listen to the people, because it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What share do we have in David?  We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.

To your tents, O Israel!  Look now to your own house, O David.” So Israel went away to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah.  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and resided there; he went out from there and built Penuel.  Then Jeroboam said to himself, “Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David.  If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.”  So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. He said to the people “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”  He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

The message

Last week, we looked at King David uniting the kingdom and tribes of Israel. That didn’t last long. The United Kingdom only has three Kings, Saul, David and Solomon. After Solomon the kingdom is divided. Ten of the tribes refuse to accept Solomon’s son Rehoboam as King.  They break off, form the Northern Kingdom and appoint Jeroboam as their first king.  Rehoboam serves as the king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Kings of Judah, who continue David’s line, have their share of failings but are known to remain loyal to God.   To help us understand this part of Biblical history and what it can teach us about today, I am going to look at the cast of Characters involved in this story.

First, there is Saul. After years of being led by Judges and the cycle of disobedience, punishment, repentance, return to the Lord and restoration that we looked at last week, the people of Israel cried out that they wanted to be ruled by kings, just like their neighbors. God fulfills this request and Saul is anointed as the first King of the United Kingdom of Israel. Saul is impatient and fearful, which leads him to disobey God’s instructions. He is punished and removed from power. Saul, along with his sons, are killed by the Philistines. 

David assumes the kingship of Israel. He has great victories and success as well as failures. David’s reign falls apart due to the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah, her husband.  David wants to have Bathsheba as another wife so he sends her husband Uriah, a very faithful, dedicated and committed solider to die at the war front. This abuse of his power and violation of the trust placed in him is widely condemned.  David repented and was forgiven, but he, his family, and his kingdom suffered some very painful consequences.

At the end of David’s life, his son Solomon takes over the throne. For most of Solomon’s time as king things are well, victories are won and the great temple in Jerusalem is completed.  Towards the end of his rule, Solomon starts to forget about God. He has taken many foreign wives, begins to worship their pagan gods and becomes a cruel, harsh leader whose ambitious empire building led to a great deal of hardship and suffering.  All the while, Solomon accumulated great wealth.  Despite the warning of the prophets, Solomon does not repent or change.  In the book of First Kings, we learn, The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions  and had warned him about this very thing so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the Lord’s command.  So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.

Jeroboam is the servant who the Lord will give most of Solomon’s kingdom to. He was the son of a widow. He was a very talented and skillful worker.. Solomon recognized his abilities during a construction project and promoted him to leader of the work crew of the tribe of Joseph. It was at this time that the prophet Ahijah privately took Jeroboam aside and informed him that he would be given ten of the tribes of Israel to lead as king. He illustrated this prophecy by tearing his new robe into 12 pieces, and then giving Jeroboam 10 of them. 

Rehoboam, is the son of Solomon and the expected successor to this father. The people make a simple request of him  Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must lighten it for us’;   Rehoboam ignores the advice of his senior leaders and instead takes some questionable advice from a group of young friends:  thus you should say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.  Now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.

Rehoboam’s arrogance, misunderstanding of the situation, sense of entitlement and disrespect for the people leads to the actualization of Ahijah’s prophesy. 10 of the tribes of Isreal leave. They eventually make Jeroboam their king,  leaving only Judah to be led by the line of David and become the Southern kingdom. After the split, Rehobaom goes to war against the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom.   Jeroboam is not much better. He listens to his advisors rather than to God. Jeroboam was afraid that he would lose his kingdom or his life. He feared that the divided kingdom would re-unite. In order to protect himself and his kingdom, he established a new pagan religion for the northern kingdom of Israel.

The people of God are now divided.  The people of Israel in the north and the people of Judah in the south. Throughout all this time, the prophets like Samuel and Ahijah keep warning, keep telling people what will happen, keep insisting that the things the leaders are doing are wrong, keep reminding them that God sees what they are doing,  The prophets status and role as God’s messengers leaves them in a complicated situation. They speak good and bad news to the kings. They speak truth to power and publically condemn or question the decisions of men who think they can do no wrong. The voice of the prophets often go unheeded. Each kingdom is weakened by division and war with each other. Each one slips further and further into pagan worship, enters into bad agreements with their neighbors where they trade God’s protection for the help of other empires. The people, motivated by fear, forgetfulness, greed and sin, disregard God and break their promises. Each kingdom is defeated by their neighbors (they are conquered by the Babylonians and the Assyrians).   

The ultimate defeat is the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  (some years later, the Persians will defeat the Bablyonians and Cyrus will allow the second temple to be built).  Isreal will never be a kingdom again. They are oppressed, ruled, defeated and conquered by one empire after another. At the time of Jesus birth, they are a colony of the Roman Empire.  As we look back on this history, we have to wonder why God does not just completely walk away from a sinful, scared, disobedient people. The answer is simply that God loves and cares us.   During all of this time of defeat and suffering, the prophets, along with confronting faithless leaders and abusive people, announce 2 very important messages. 1 God has not forgotten the people or his promises to them and 2: A messiah and savior would come to restore and save them.  

Sermon for October 25

The readings

2 Samuel 5:1-6, 6: 1-5

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, “Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

Psalm 143

Hear my prayer, O Lord;   give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;

answer me in your righteousness.

Do not enter into judgment with your servant,  for no one living is righteous before you.

 For the enemy has pursued me, crushing my life to the ground,  making me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Therefore my spirit faints within me;  my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old,  I think about all your deeds, I meditate on the works of your hands.

I stretch out my hands to you;  my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.Selah

Answer me quickly, O Lord;  my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Save me, O Lord, from my enemies. I have fled to you for refuge.

Teach me to do your will,  for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.  In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.

In your steadfast love cut off my enemies, and destroy all my adversaries, for I am your servant.

The message

Today we continue our journey together through the narrative lectionary.  Last week, we heard about Ruth and the time of the Judges.  This week, we transition into the next part of the Old Testament, the time of kings. This morning, we heard about the start of King David’s reign.  During David’s time as king, he was loyal to God (there are some times of unfaithfulness though). The people win major victories, defeat strong enemies and become a kingdom.  David is promised that the Messiah or savior would come from his family line (the beginning of Luke and Matthew’s Gospels both start with confirming that Jesus is from David’s line). David also has a good number of the Psalms, the worship songs of ancient Israel, attributed to him. 

Today is also Reformation Day, Where we remember Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses at the end of October 1517. This was a call to debate, a list of complaints and challenges that Luther had about the theology and practice of the Roman Catholic Church. His issues centered on the church’s authority, pastoral care for God’s people (church law was creating anxiety and stress, not announcing grace), and the sale of indulgences (papers, with no justification in scripture, that could be purchased to take away or alleviate the consequences of sin).  These issues were not resolved though academic debate, Luther is removed from the church and new Christian traditions (including ours) started.

To combine these two things, the story of King David and Reformation Day, I am going to share some of Luther’s commentary on Psalm 143. The Psalms were a significant part of Luther’s faith life, words that he turned to in times of struggle and shared with others to offer help. Luther’s most well known hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, is a paraphrase of Psalm 46.   In Luther’s commentary on Psalm 143, we see Luther looking at the scripture though this idea of Law and Gospel . The Law is that hearing and studying God’s word reveals our sin, laughs at our ridiculous attempts to earn our salvation, and leaves us no other option except God’s grace. The Gospel is the clear announcing that God’s saving grace is for you. 

Luther begins his commentary on Psalm 143 with this introduction:

Every Psalm, all Scripture , calls to grace, extols grace, searches for Christ, and praises only God’s work, while rejecting all the works of man. Therefore this psalm can be readily understood in the light of the foregoing, for it speaks the same language. Here one should keep in mind that this psalm has been and is spoken in the name of the whole people of Christ and of each person individually.

After this, Luther goes through the psalm verse by verse. I will share some of his comments here: 

When Psalm 143 says “Hear my prayer, O Lord”; Luther writes : The life of a Saint is more a taking from God than a giving: more a desiring than a having: more a becoming pious than a being pious. Thus St Augustine says that faith obtains what the law demands.  Hence, imploring, desiring, searching is the true essence of the inner man, as in psalm 34:10 “those who seek the Lord lack no good things”  and in psalm 105:4 “seek his presence continually”

When Psalm 143 says: answer me in your righteousness.  Luther writes “Not on account of my righteousness, for that is sin and unrighteousness. He would say: give me faith and make me righteous by grace. For I see some who claim to be right and want to stand because of their own works and righteousness. Preserve me from this, for they want to be something, whereas they are nothing, vain fools and sinners. Here it should be noted that the little words “your faith” and “your righteousness” do not refer to the faith and the righteousness with which God believes and is righteous as some have thought, but to the grace whereby God works faith in us and makes us righteous. 

When Psalm 143 says: Do not enter into judgment with your servant, Luther writes: If the servant of God, who is without doubt in the state of Grace cannot stand before the judgment throne but takes refuge in mercy, where will the enemies and sinners stay.  

When Psalm 143 says: For no one living is righteous before you, For the enemy has pursued me Luther writes  It is as if he was saying “in my eyes and in the eyes of people, I can be accounted righteous, but before God, no living person is justified. One who is dead, however is justified,  as we read in Romans 6:7 who has died is freed from sin and death. This death begins with the life of penitence and lasts until the grave, as psalm 44:23 says “for your sake, we are slain all the day long.  The proud in heart will not stand for it that their work and righteousness is regarded as nothing. Therefore they persecute the truly pious, who live only in the faith and righteousness of God

When Psalm 143 says: I think about all your deeds, I meditate on the works of your hands. Luther writes That is I have taken no notice of mans works and words, no matter how brilliant and dear they are to the world: for I know that they can save no one and are no use other except to contribute toward vain and false glory. All comfort, hope and blessedness are due to God alone

When Psalm 143 says: Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, Luther writes:  That is as stated in Psalm 51:8 “let me hear joy and gladness which says to my heart “your sins are forgiven, Thus God speaks peace to the hearts of His people and he does this early, that is, speedily. Delay not he says, for I am tired and can wait no longer.

When Psalm 143 says: Let your good spirit lead me on a level path, Luther writes: do not permit my enemies or any man to lead me, for they lead me on a crooked path. And your spirit, the evil one, leads them. Here, it must be noted that both Spirits are God’s, the good and the evil. The evil one God gives to the proud in heart. The Good Spirit is the Holy Spirit. He creates gentle, kind and good hearts

Psalm 143 ends with saying, for I am your servant and luther concludes: I live in grace, therefore my whole life serves you. Those who live in their own righteousness cannot do this, they serve themselves. Now someone might say to me, cant you ever do anything but speak only about the righteousness, wisdom and strength of God rather than of man, always exponding scripture from the standpoint of God’s righteousness and grace, always harping on the same string and singing the same old song. To this I answer: let each one look to himself as for me, I confess whenever I found less in the scriptures than Christ, I was never satisfied: but whenever I found more than Christ, I never became poorer.  Christ is God’s grace, mercy, righteousness, truth, wisdom, comfort and salvation, given to us by God without any merit on our part. Christ, I say, not as some express it in blind words “casually” that he grants righteousness and remains absent himself, for that would be dead. Yes, it is not given at all, unless Christ is present, just and the radiance of the sun and the heat of the fire are not present if there is no sun and no fire.

Sermon for October 18, 2015

The reading

Ruth 1:1-18

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again.

Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

The message

Part of the excitement and challenge of following this new Narrative lectionary is the chance to look at new stories, learn about new people, develop a stronger understanding of our faith story, and see how many different ways God’s love has been, is and will continue to be expressed to and through people. Today is the first time I remember hearing any part of the book of Ruth read at church. Ruth and Naomi are two of the great women of the Old Testament.  Throughout history their story has been looked to as an encouragement for converts to Judaism (and other faiths), a challenge to restrictions on marriages between people of different groups and an example of welcome, kindness, loyalty, law and mercy. Their story has been described as an illustration of two strong, powerful, self-sufficient, unscared and independent women. It has also been described as the opposite, an illustration of oppressed, male dependent women who need to marry at any cost and bear children to survive.  However Ruth is understood, she is a significant part of history since she is the Great Grandmother of King David. She is part of the ancestry of Jesus and a central figure in maintaining this family line.  The book’s author is never identified but historically people have attributed it to the prophet Samuel (who will be essential to King David’s story). Most scholars believe that this book is a teaching story more concerned with showing the world something about God and faithfulness to the law, the Lord and one another than it is about reporting actual events.

The book of Ruth is set during the time of Judges.  This period in ancient Israel takes us from the time of the Exodus from slavery in Egypt  until Saul is anointed as the first King. This covers the events that happened as the people of Israel conquered and settle in the promised land of Canaan.  During this time the people of Israel were led by a series of Judges, whose stories are told in the suitably named biblical book of Judges.  The judges were part political official, part prophet, part priest and part military leader. They communicated God’s word and promises to the people and lead them out of terrible situations, claiming great victories in the aftermath of great defeats.  The time of the Judges is marked by cycles of unfaithfulness.  Their stories all follow a pattern.  The people are unfaithful to God, ignoring, forgetting, doubting and disobeying God’s law. God punishes the people, letting them fall to enemies and be oppressed by foreign rulers. The people remember their covenant with God, repent, change and seek mercy. God answers these cries for help through a judge who leads the people to victory and renewal.  After some years, the unfaithfulness begins again and the cycle of disobedience, consequences, seeking mercy and restoration starts all over again. 

The time of Judges is often summarized as a time of unfaithfulness where people break promises and disregard the law God gave to them. In contrast, Ruth’s story is one of keeping the law, of going above and beyond what is required and of taking promises seriously. Today, we heard the first chapter of Ruth’s story.  After Ruth makes the promise to Naomi “Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried”, the two of them return to Naomi’s homeland of Bethlehem.  There, they struggle.  Ruth helps them survive by gleaning wheat from a nearby field (as part of the law, after the harvest was complete, land owners were required to leave whatever fell for the poor to take). 

 

The field Ruth gleans from happened to belong to Boaz, a close relative of Naomi’s deceased husband. By law, they thought he was supposed to marry Ruth.  Naomi sends Ruth to him (to seduce him or to convince him to fulfill this obligation, whichever one worked). Boaz, recognizes that he is not obligated to marry Ruth, but he is so impressed by her loyalty and faithfulness, he makes arrangements and marries her anyway.  Ruth and Naomi now stay with Boaz on his land and are well cared for.  Ruth and Boaz have children, including a son, Obed, who is the Grandfather of King David.  

The book of Ruth is set at a time of unfaithfulness, broken laws and ignored promises. In contrast to people who fail to even marginally keep their agreements with God,  The book of Ruth tells the story of people who take God’s love, law and promises seriously. Naomi and Boaz take the faith they grew up in seriously. Ruth takes the new faith that she converted to seriously. Ruth takes the marriage commitment she made with Malhon and his family seriously, keeping it though times of comfort, struggle and uncertainty.  Even the death of her husband and Naomi releasing her from any obligation does not stop Ruth from doing what she said.  Boaz makes a decision based on compassion and care, taking responsibility for two women in a tough spot, two people that he had very little or no obligation towards.  

The actions of the book of Ruth’s main characters show us something about belonging, gives us an example of Hesed (a Hebrew word meaning mercy, faithful love or loving kindness), and remind us of God’s faithfulness through displaying the faithfulness of one person to another.  Ruth was an outsider, a woman from Moab.  Her Loyalty, her commitment, trust,  and willingness to keep promises leads everyone around her to forget she was not one of them.  Ruth would have had a much easier time in her homeland, with her own people, Instead, she travels with Naomi to Bethlehem to face whatever happens there. It is a profound thing that Jesus, our Lord and savior, is not only from one people, he is the savior of all, cares for all. There is plenty of room for all in God’s kingdom.  

 

The Hebrew word and idea of Hesed has generated a lot of scholarship, research, debate and disagreement. It has been used to describe the relationship between 2 people as in Genesis 40 when the Pharaoh's Cupbearer iss in prison with Joseph. They dream puzzling dreams, but Joseph interprets them for them. After interpreting the dream of the Cupbearer he tells him, "When all goes well with you, remember me and show me hesed; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison." 

It is used in merciful, helping relationships between the strong and weak, for example Gen 47:29, Where Jacob, asks that Joseph show hesed toward him, and bury him in the promised land, rather than in Egypt.  It is occasionally used to show the relationship between people and God but most often as an attribute of God, who does all of those things much better than we do.  

In the story of Ruth, Hesed describes an active, encompassing love, one that forgets rules and wrongs and that forgives and moves on.  It is a relationship, where each person gives and receives.  The ultimate example is always God’s interaction with the world, something we celebrate but barely imitate.