Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday [12 August 2018], is the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity (Proper 14B).
The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted in the Church of Ireland, are:
Continuous readings: II Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; Ephesians 4: 25 to 5: 2; John 6: 35, 41-51.
Paired readings: I Kings 19: 4-8; Psalm 34: 1-8; Ephesians 4: 25 to 5: 2; John 6: 35, 41-51.
There is a link to the readings HERE.
II Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33
One of the reasons many people say they are turned off the Old Testament is the amount of violence they find in it.
People who seem to have no problems watching boxers punch each other around the head in the ring, or watching ‘mixed martial arts,’ have real problems when it comes to stories in the Old Testament of wars, murders and battles.
And we have them all here next Sunday morning in the Old Testament reading (II Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33).
It is a story of violence: father and son fighting each other after son has violated sister, mercenaries brought in, pitched battles with slaughter and overkill – in those days a battle force of 20,000 amounted to weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
Trying to find religious meaning in all of this, with our modern approaches to issues of justice and peace, becomes a difficult task.
So difficult, in fact, that it is not surprising to find some people find it difficult to reconcile the God of the Old Testament with the loving God that Jesus addresses not just as Father, but in the simple and direct Aramaic of his day as Abba.
And yet we have a story that, as we wade through the horror and gore, allows us to catch a glimpse of the love of God as a perfect father.
David has never been a perfect husband, nor has he ever been a perfect father, never a perfect king.
All these failings are there to see in earlier stories in this book: David and Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah (II Samuel 11: 2-27), and then David’s failure to deal with Amnon’s violation of his own half-sister Tamar (II Samuel 13: 1-21).
In this story, David’s love for his first-born son and heir is great, but it prevents him from administering justice.
There is an old legal adage or maxim that justice delayed is justice denied. Frustrated by David’s inaction, his third but second surviving son, Absalom, takes the law into his own hands, and has Amnon killed. After time in exile, through Joab’s mediation, Absalom returns to the court of his father, King David.
But David’s refusal to see him for two years leads Absalom to hate his father. Absalom plans a coup d’état. He knows how to capitalise on festering resentment to the growth of David’s empire, court and bureaucracy, and to David’s inability to accept changing social patterns and values.
Absalom marches on Jerusalem. Fleeing the city, David escapes across the Jordan with his army and begins a military comeback. He divides his army into three groups, one each commanded by Joab, Abishai and Ittai (verse 5).
But David’s advisers keep the king away from any direct involvement in the decisions about what should happen to Absalom.
David orders his commanders to “deal gently” with his rebellious son. Despite his rebellion, David still loves Absalom, perhaps hoping against hope at this late stage to save his life.
The battle is fought in the ‘forest of Ephraim’ (verse 6), on the east bank of the River Jordan. But Absalom’s militia, ‘the men of Israel’ (verse 7), are no match for David’s army.
It is a cataclysmic battle. In the midst of the slaughter, in the killing of perhaps tens of thousands, we hear of the death of one individual, the wayward Absalom whose rebellion against his father began with good intent.
As he is riding through the forest, the handsome prince is caught by the ‘head,’ perhaps by his long, dangling hair, which he cut only once a year, and he is left dangling from the branches of a great oak tree (verse 9; see II Samuel 14: 25-26).
In his desperate plight, we are left hanging too, wondering what happens, for this morning’s reading hastens the pace as it skips over some verses (10-14), perhaps for the sake of abbreviation – not to make a long story longer on a Sunday morning. In those missing verses, a man tells Joab of the plight of the dangling Absalom. But he leaves it to Joab to make the politically-charged decision of whether to kill Absalom.
Ten young men are sent to take advantage of Absalom’s predicament. He is still hanging from the tree when he is killed.
Another missing verse tells us Absalom’s body was thrown into a ‘big pit in the forest’ (verse 17), despite the fact that he had already built himself an elegant, pillared tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Jerusalem so that he would not be forgotten (verse 18).
But the men who are brave enough to kill the prince when he is an easy target are not brave enough to tell David what they have done to his son. It is amazing how brave men can become so timorous.
And so, instead, they send a Cushite, an Ethiopian or Sudanese mercenary or slave (verse 21), to tell David the whole story, both the good news and the bad news, about the victory and about his son being slain (verses 31-32).
David is heartbroken, and his open grief makes him politically weak too. Instead of honouring the victors, he mourns the death of his son.
The cry of a grieving parent for the death of a son or daughter, no matter what age either of them is, is a cry that pierces the soul. Once you hear it, you can never forget it.
No parent expects to see a child grow to full adulthood, and then live to see that son or daughter die. It is an unnatural sequence or pairing of life events. It is one of the great injustices in life.
And David’s grieving, despite all that has happened before, despite his own role in bringing about these bitter and ugly events, is one of those truly authentic passages of reportage in the Bible:
‘O my son Absalom, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’
These truly are the words of a distressed Father’s love for his son, a parent’s love for the child.
No matter how wayward, how rebellious or how violent that child may be – and every parent has children who give problems – been there, done that – yet the love of a parent for a child is impossible to quench totally.
This was one of the readings chosen by Bishop John McDowell for the devotional reflections at the General Synod some years ago, and as he read it, I could feel my heart breaking.
Perhaps this is what it means when it is said David was ‘a man after God’s own heart’ (I Samuel 13: 13-14; Acts 13: 22). Despite David’s many faults, he had a heart like God’s, weeping over his wayward children, willing to die in their place, never allowing their rebellion and cruelty to harden his heart towards them.
Psalm 130:
David’s heart-breaking grief is echoed in our Psalm: ‘Out of the depths have I cried to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice’ (Psalm 130: 1).
Psalm 130 is one of the Penitential psalms. The first verse is a call to God in deep sorrow, from ‘out of the depths’ (Out of the deep), as it is translated in the Authorised or King James Version of the Bible and in the Book of Common Prayer. The psalm is also known by its Latin incipit, De profundis.
David’s cry is a cry to God for deliverance from personal trouble, yet it ends with a message of hope for all. God is attentive to our pleas, despite everything that has gone wrong. God forgives, God is merciful, God offers unfailing ‘love,’ freedom from grievous sin.
Christ understands the difficulties created by the relationship between a parent and child, and between a parent who is grieved by the bickering and battling between two children.
That is why the story of the Prodigal Son rings so true. It is not just the story of a grieving father waiting for a wayward son, but it’s the story of a grieving father waiting for a son who may be his ruin, and the story of a grieving father who has two sons have fought so much with each other, that one refuses to welcome the other home. It has parallels with Absalom’s clashes with Amnon, and contrasts with David’s refusal to go out and meet Absalom when he returns home.
God’s love for us surpasses the love of any father or mother for their children.
God’s love is never petulant. God never goes into a corner and sulks.
And God’s bitter weeping and grieving when he sees our plight is expressed most perfectly in the life, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.
And Christ understands that so well. He asks in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?’ (Matthew 7: 9).
This Psalm is a prayer for deliverance from personal trouble, but it ends with a message to all people: wait in hope for God; he offers unfailing love.
Ephesians 4: 25 to 5: 2:
In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul asks the people in the Church in Ephesus to love ‘one another’ (4: 32), expressing generously the same forgiveness that Christ shows us. In the way I forgive and I am loving, I should do so as God does (5: 1), for Christ loves us, even to the point of giving himself up to death for us.
This passage may also be addressed new converts, reminding them that they have been taught to put away their former ways of life, ‘your old self ... to be renewed ... and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God ...’ (verses 22-24).
Saint Paul now reminds them of the conduct expected of them as ‘members of one another’ (verse 25), of one body, the Church.
We must not harbour anger or live by stealing, we are to actively care for the poor and to speak to others in a way that affirms their goodness and builds the community. We are not to grieve the Spirit. We must cast aside all vices. And we are to love one another.
John 6: 35, 41-51:
In the Gospel reading (John 6: 35, 41-51), after feeding the 5,000, Christ offers himself as ‘bread that came down from heaven’ (6: 41), and the promise that we are being brought into full union with God. If we believe in him (verse 45), who has ‘seen the Father’ (verse 46), then we have the offer of life ‘forever’ that comes from God the Father (verse 51).
Verse 35:
This is the first of the seven I AM (Ἐγώ εἰμι) sayings in Saint John’s Gospel, and is repeated in verse 48. These seven I AM sayings are traditionally listed as:
1, I am the Bread of Life (John 6: 35, 48);
2, I am the Light of the World (John 8: 12);
3, I am the gate (or the door) (John 10: 7);
4, I am the Good Shepherd (John 10: 11 and 14);
5, I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11: 25);
6, I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14: 6);
7, I am the true vine (John 15: 1, 5).
These I AM sayings are statements that give us a form of the divine name as revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai before to the first Passover (see Exodus 3: 14).
Jesus, in fact, says ‘I am’ (Ἐγώ εἰμι) 45 times in this Gospel, including those places where other characters quote Christ’s words. Of these, 24 are emphatic, explicitly including the pronoun ‘I’ (Ἐγώ), which would not be necessary in grammatically in Greek.
Verse 41:
In verse 41, the people start to murmur, just as the people murmured about the manna in the wilderness (see Exodus 16: 2, 8).
Verses 43:
Jesus reproves them and tells them to stop murmuring.
Verse 47:
Note yet another ‘Amen, amen’ saying, which is so characteristic of Saint John’s Gospel.
Verse 48:
This is a repetition, or echo, or reminder of the first of the seven ‘I AM’ (Ἐγώ εἰμι) sayings in verse 35.
Verses 49:
They are proud like their ancestors, but do not know his Father.
Verse 51:
It could be argued that the sublime sacramental theology in this part of the discourse would not have been understood by a Galilean audience at that time. It has also been argued that this part of the discourse draws on Eucharistic material from the Last Supper to bring out the deeper sacramental meaning of the heavenly bread, which can only be grasped in the light of the institution of the Eucharist.
In a deeper sense, the life-giving and living bread is Christ’s own flesh.
Saint John gives us the words: ‘The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ This appears to be a variant of the words of the institution in the Eucharist (see Luke 22: 19; I Corinthians 11: 26).
For the Apostle Paul, the Eucharist proclaims the death of the Lord until he comes again. But for John, the emphasis is on the Word that has become flesh and that gives up his flesh and blood as the food of life.
There is profound sacramental theology here. If baptism gives us that life which the Father shares with the Son, then the Eucharist is the food nourishing it.
Conclusions:
Of course, we can all cite exceptions to what I say. We know only too well there are abusive parents and there are dysfunctional families. But we also know that with God that there are no exceptions, that in Christ there is no abuse, and that Christ calls us into a relationship with his Father that is free of any dysfunction that we may have known in the past.
God’s grief for us is more perfect that David’s grief for Abaslom. God does not refuse to meet us when we reach out to him. And the love of God the Father, offered to us through Christ his Son, knows no exceptions, knows no boundaries, when it comes to his children.
John 6: 35, 41-51:
35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’
41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ 42 They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ 43 Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.48I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’
Liturgical resources:
Liturgical Colour: Green.
Collect:
O God, you declare your almighty power
most chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
Mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace,
that we, running the way of your commandments,
may receive your gracious promises,
and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Post Communion Prayer:
Lord of all mercy,
we your faithful people have celebrated
the memorial of that single sacrifice
which takes away our sins and brings pardon and peace.
By our communion
keep us firm on the foundation of the gospel
and preserve us from all sin;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested Hymns:
The hymns suggested for next Sunday in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling, include:
II Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33:
62, Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
590, My faith looks up to thee
592, O Love that wilt not let me go
Psalm 130:
564, Deus meus adiuva me (O my God, in help draw near)
620, O Lord, hear my prayer
9, There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
627, What a friend we have in Jesus
I Kings 19: 4-8:
563, Commit your ways to God
Psalm 34: 1-8:
86, Christ is the King! O friends, rejoice
99, Jesus, the name high over all
634, Love divine, all loves excelling
372, Through all the changing scenes of life
376, Ye holy angels bright
Ephesians 4: 25 to 5: 2
24, All creatures of our God and King
550, ‘Forgive our sins as we forgive’
496, For the healing of the nations
380, God has spoken to his people, alleluia
520, God is love, and where true love is, God himself is there
312, Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost
523, Help us to help each other, Lord
503, Make me a channel of your peace
636, May the mind of Christ my Saviour
106, O Jesus, King most wonderful
639, O thou who camest from above
526, Risen Lord, whose name we cherish
313, The Spirit came, as promised
597, Take my life and let it be
598, Take this moment, sign and space
244, There is a green hill far away
531, Where love and loving-kindness dwell
John 6: 35, 41-51
398, Alleluia! sing to Jesus
401, Be known to us in breaking bread
403, Bread of the world in mercy broken
379, Break thou the bread of life
407, Christ is the heavenly food that gives
406, Christians, lift your hearts and voices
408, Come, risen Lord, and deign to be our guest
413, Father, we thank thee who hast planted
647, Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
420, ‘I am the bread of life’
581, I, the Lord of sea and sky
422, In the quiet consecration
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
588, Light of the minds that know him
431, Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
435, O God, unseen, yet ever near
472, Sing we of the blessèd mother
445, Soul, array thyself with gladness
624, Speak, Lord, in the stillness
449, Thee we adore, O hidden Saviour, thee
451, We come as guests invited
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
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