The readings
Kings 12:1-17, 25-29
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem,
for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 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. 3 And they sent and called him;
and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4
"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." 5 He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to
me." So the people went away. 6 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?" 7 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." 8 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. 9
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'?" 10 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. 11 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.' " 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came
to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had said, "Come to me again the
third day." 13 The king answered the people harshly. He disregarded the
advice that the older men had given him 14 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." 15 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. 16
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. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites
who were living in the towns of Judah.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and resided there; he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 Then Jeroboam said to himself, "Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. 27 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." 28 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." 29 He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and resided there; he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 Then Jeroboam said to himself, "Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. 27 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." 28 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." 29 He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
Mark 10:42-45 New Revised
Standard Version (NRSV)
The message
Happy Reformation Day. This
morning, we are about half way through our long Advent, the wait for Christmas,
the wait for the birth of Christ our savior. We also remember the events that
led up to Martin Luther posting the 95 theses, a call to debate that started a
confrontation with the Roman Catholic Church’s leadership and eventually led to
an even more divided church. Of course
today’s reading, from the history of ancient Israel, is also the story of God’s
people being divided from each other.
There is a lot of overlap between these two events, the division of
Israel into the northern and southern kingdom and the Protestant Reformation
both involve the question of authority and human leadership in God’s world.
For those who are not too
familiar with the time and place where Israel splits (which I assume is almost
everyone), we start with a little history. A few weeks ago, we heard a reading
from the Book of Ruth, the story of King David’s ancestors set during the time
of Judges. Israel was a group of tribes,
each with their own identity and area, with little unity. This was a time when
the tribes of Israel were governed by a series of Judges, tribal leaders who
served as prophet, priest and president (a history we learn about from the
appropriately titled book of Judges) There
is a cycle throughout this book and time period: the people of Israel break the
covenant with God, do what is evil, prohibited, forget the power and importance
of God. As a result, the Lord allows or does not prevent the people from being
defeated, pushed and punished by their enemies The people repent, cry out for
Help, In response the Lord calls and
raises up a leader, the spirit of the Lord comes upon that leader and he or she
manages to defeat the enemy and restore peace,
The time of the judges ends
with hope for the future under a king and a united empire. God sends Samuel to anoint Saul as king and
soon after, God sends Samuel to remove a failing Saul and anoint David as the
next king. Last week, you heard about the start of King David’s reign, a time
of great celebration, proud worship, trust in God’s power and hope. After
David, his son Solomon is anointed as the next king. David and Solomon do great
things, win victories, build the temple, unify the 12 diverse and different tribes. They also do horrible things. David and
Solomon are jealous, greedy and ultimately prove to be more self-interested than
God interested or community interested. A very public forgetting that they
serve in God’s world. David and Solomon
both taxed the people greatly, used forced labor or slavery, favored one part
or people of Israel over another, betray the people they were anointed to care
for and violated biblical laws. Most importantly, they do not stay loyal to
God, they forget whose word and power they are maintained by. Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem (which
David cannot do because of his lack of loyalty to God). Solomon also builds
worship sites for the gods of all his foreign wives. As Solomon grows older, he
dabbles in following those other gods. There will be a reckoning for this, the price of David
and Solomon’s actions will be paid by those who come after them. Today’s
reading is that reckoning, that experience of what sin in power leads to, when
people are allowed to stray from God, when they forget we are in God’s kingdom.
When
Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, became king, he seeks guidance. One group convinces
him to take a hard line on his power and plans to continue Solomon’s path of
enslavement, tax burdens and personal wealth building. The ten northern tribes had
enough and revolt, establishing the northern kingdom and taking the name Israel.
They Appoint Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, as their king. The two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin,
known as the Southern kingdom or kingdom of Judah, remained loyal to the family
line of David. (God’s promise was that
the savior would come from King David’s line, which means David’s line must go
on). Of course, the cycle of sin, punishment, repentance and restoration keeps
going. The kings and leaders do not
remain faithful, greed leaks in, fear leaks in, desire for power leaks in,
selfishness and self interest leaks in, maintaining a legacy, all these things
leak in and changes things for the worse.
Noticeably missing from the
work of the new kings of north and south was a time of prayer, of asking the
Lord God for guidance or direction, of acknowledging God’s role in calling and
anointing a leader. Jeroboam and his counselors come up with repeating the sin
of the newly freed people of Isreal, creating golden calfs, idols to worship
and give credit for the Exodus to.
Rehoboam doubles down on
Solomon’s me first leadership style, There could be some marginal
acknowledgment but no effort to create, enforce or shape God’s vision for the
world, no works of faith that would hurt their power or wealth, no sacrifice on
behalf of others or the community. This
leads to the rapid end of the United Kingdom and leaves North and South at the
mercy of outsiders. People think they
have the mandate of God and that means they are God. Really God has only ever
given us people a few mandates for all, Love God and Love one another, serve
and care for creation. That applies to everyone. When kings stop doing that,
there is trouble. When the church stops
doing that, there it reformation.
We could say that the
Protestant Reformation starts because leadership amongst God’s power (now the
church) were acting like these ancient kings, protecting their own wealth,
power and place, forgetting God calls us to be different from the world, servants of the community and proclaimers of God's grace, love, forgiveness and welcome. This power system
where people say what they need to say to get anointed, crowned or elected and
then do whatever they want is what Luther attacks and its what Jesus attacks. Our
reading from Mark 10, Jesus is in the middle of some harsh teachings, preparing
for his trial, death and resurrection, healing, curing and watching his back,
when James and John, who followed Jesus from the start, completely
misunderstanding what Jesus is saying and so much of what they had witnessed.
They decide now is the time for their reward, a power play, a more serious
version of calling shotgun or calling “not it”, of we asked first, we get
it. James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to
do for us whatever we ask of you.” And
he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And
they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your
left, in your glory.” Then the other 10 disciples hear this has just happened,
they began to be angry with James and John. Jesus responds “You know that
among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them,
and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but
whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever
wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
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