May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard. Amen.
There’s a story I heard once, that I’d like to share with you. It takes place in the Garden of Eden.
“God, I’ve been thinking.” says Eve one day.
“What’s on your mind Eve?” says God.
“Well, I know that you created me and this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful creatures, but lately I’ve been feeling that maybe there’s more to life.” “Go on…” says God.
“Sometimes I get a bit bored – I fancy a bit of fun. And I get a bit fed up with all the heaving lifting and carrying, and warding off the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers, not to mention that bloody snake. This garden can be dangerous place.” “I see,” says God, pausing for thought.
“Eve, I have a cunning plan,” says God, “I shall create Man for you.” “Man?” asks Eve, “What is Man?” “Man…” says God, “Is a flawed creature. He will have many weaknesses and disgusting habits. Man will lie, cheat and behave like an idiot – in fact mostly he’ll be a complete pain in the backside. But on the plus side he’ll be big and strong, and will be able to do a lot – hunt and kill things, which might be handy sometimes. He will tend to lose control of mind and body when aroused, but with a bit training can reach an acceptable standard in the bedroom department, if you know what I mean.”
“Hmm,” says Eve, “Seems like this Man idea might be worth a try, but tell me God, is there anything else I need to know?” “Just this,” says God, “Man comes with one condition… In keeping with his arrogant, deluded, self-important character, Man will naturally believe that he was made first, and frankly we all have better things to do than argue, so you must keep all this a secret between us, if that’s okay with you. You know, woman to woman.”
Okay, so we are not studying Genesis, and yes, there are plenty of men who don’t fit this stereotype, but King David certainly does in the story from 2 Samuel that we heard today. Now, the story of David’s life reads like a Hollywood movie script…in fact, apparently it will be a movie script again. Think about it:
David goes from forgotten brother to a hero who slays a giant. A real Rocky Balboa of his day. There are also elements of a buddy-movie [well, really – if you read the text – a gay romance] in David’s relationship with Saul’s son, Jonathan. And then he becomes King! This is truly Hollywood gold! Violence, power, and sex – a blockbuster trifecta. Except if we really read the text, we come to know there is more to the story.
Today’s scripture from 2 Samuel tells of the rape of Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband Uriah. In the past, our church, as it seems we do, tried to somehow blame Bathsheba – why was she on the roof bathing? Really? Ahh, the church – where women are either the Virgin Mary – free of all sin, or the sinner Mary Magdalene. So, I want to set the record straight on at least a few of these things: Mary the mother of Jesus did not die a virgin (whether or not you believe in the virgin birth, Jesus did have brothers and sisters), Mary Magdalene, whose saint day was celebrated on Wednesday this past week, was never a prostitute – the church made that up, and Bathsheba was not complicit in this adultery, committed by David. There is absolutely no evidence of that in the biblical text.
So let’s look deeper at the text, because there is so much to be learned from it – because so much of it is happening today. Okay – you may not be able to see nude sunbathers from your roof – but this is not a story about that or about sex. It never was.
Bathsheba is bathing on the roof of her home – likely the most private place a woman of that day had at her disposal – but at any rate, that is where the pool for bathing was. “David sees her, and wants her, […] and sends his servant “to get” her, the Hebrew word is actually better translated “to take” her. Bathsheba, a woman married to a foreigner, certainly did not have the power in that ancient culture to refuse the advances of the king….[nor did the servant who was sent.]”1
David rapes Bathsheba. Now, some might say that is a bit harsh, but the truth is – she had no ability to refuse him, and even in the laws of our country – we understand that consent must be something that one is able to give. David turned a blind eye to the unspoken power he had…Bathsheba could not, even if she said yes, give free consent. And the result is found in the only words given to her in the account of this story, “I am pregnant.” Were it not for those words, David’s crime might have gone unnoticed by anyone but God. These three words changed everything. David then plots to fix things by having her husband Uriah recalled from the battle field, enticing him to sleep with his wife. He refuses to enjoy life’s pleasures while his men are left on the battlefield – acting more like a king than the king. Now if there is one thing that will annoy a person is someone whose virtuaous character serves to highlight their own flaws. So, David sets him up to be killed in battle. David goes from good looking boy-shepherd hero to a sinful King drunk with power. Sex, power, murderous plots…those who think the bible is boring obviously never read it.
Yet this story of King David seems to be unconnected to the to our lives, right? Not if we look at the other scriptures, because there we begin to understand even more the lesson that this story in 2 Samuel gives to us today.
Now, we all know what Jesus did, but there is another character in the story from the gospel – one whose behavior stands in stark contrast to that of Davids’s. It is the boy with the barley loaves and fishes. From this boy’s lack of power, – his poverty – came a powerful example of how to live. How do we know that he was poor? Barley. Barley, and loaves from it, were the lowest quality of bread, a staple of the poor and slaves. This precious commodity, precious to the boy to be sure, was given over. He could have hidden it away – kept it to himself to eat or sell. And from that scarcity, from that lowliness, God chose to reveal something about power and grace.
Jesus could certainly have just produced a whole buffet for everyone without relying on the boy’s loaves and fishes, but instead, used the boy’s meager means to empower others by showing everyone that real power – the power of God’s love – is available to all. That scarcity – be it in mind, body, spirit, or means, is closest of all to God’s abundance, and in that, in God’s love, we are all filled with power to work wonders.
Why would Jesus feel that was important? Wasn’t it better to do something flashy and just go “poof” with a whole load of food appearing in the middle of the field – sorta all Harry Potter like? I mean, wouldn’t THAT have really made them understand who he was?
What defines leadership, spiritual or otherwise, is not the ability to do as one pleases or is able, or even to do for others, but to enable others to be everything they can be – to lift them up, empowering them to be the child of God they are. Power, true power, is not about control, but about opportunity – opportunity to change the world – opportunity to empower others – opportunity to make a real difference. That boy made a difference. He acted in a way those in power should – giving of what he had that others may be fed. That power comes not from wealth or might, but by living as we hear in Ephesians.
The author of Ephesians, which may or may not be St. Paul – that is still under debate by scholars – writes “I pray that…you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may…be filled with all the fullness of God…who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…”
And folks sometimes think the bible has nothing to offer us today. Rooted and grounded in love, filled with the fullness of God, whose power working in us enables us to accomplish more than we can ask or imagine. Imagine THAT being the guiding force in the lives of people in power today!
The truth the scriptures give us is that the measure of a person is not about how much money they have, or how much earthly authority they claim, or how physically beautiful they may be…no, the measure of a person is whether they are rooted and grounded in God’s love. – no matter what name for God they use – Adonai, Brahma, Allah, Father, or Mother. And those in positions of authority, those who have power – either through position, wealth, or accorded status, have an even higher calling to live as a people called to love.
Unfortunately today, far more people behave like David than like the boy with the loaves and fishes. We certainly only look at the news to see what happens when people in power use that power against others. We have seen it in so many places, from politicians to police, from CEOs to clergy. And worse – we think this is something only those with accorded titles do – not in ourselves. We often don’t see it – not in our participation in the marginalization of others, sometimes not even in how we are privileged in some way. Worse yet, the church is often complicit in it – especially when it comes to gender, as David’s story does. We, the church, have perpetuated the privilege of men over women for centuries, and because we hold a position of authority in society, we are also complicit in the results of what we teach and uphold. Now some might think – what sexism? Women have equality, right? I mean, just look around!
Yes…well, I want to offer a shortened version of a list of things I got from the internet (and added to) that men (and for some of these things – white straight men in particular) take for granted. If you are a man you can assume…
• Your last name stays put.
• You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
• Car mechanics tell you the truth.
• The world is your urinal.
• Same work, more pay.
• Wrinkles add character.
• Dry cleaning your shirt will be half the cost – and don’t even compare the cost of haircuts.
• People will never stare at your chest when you’re talking to them.
• You can walk anywhere, anytime (unless you are a man of color or gay).
• You won’t fear walking on the street in the summer due to catcalls.
• Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
• You can play with toys all your life (and no one thinks it’s weird).
• Sex means you’re good, not bad.
• In this country at least, you look at currency, the boardroom, the oval office, well, at symbols of power and authority anywhere and see a whole lot of folks with your same anatomy.
• No church search committee ever looks at you and thinks…no, we had a male priest before, thanks. There is no stained glass ceiling for you.
Of course sexism and misogyny isn’t the only ill of our society, but the power of men is at work in our story about King David, well, all of scripture, and it seems that we, the church, would rather not look as much at this particular issue. I remember one male priest, after the death of Trayvon Martin proclaiming that white people like himself can walk anywhere. I reminded him privately that white, straight, men can – but not women (white or otherwise) or gay men. And, while I loved General Convention when I was there, a few things bothered me. One was that I heard comments about Katherine, our Presiding Bishop, that if said about Michael, our Presiding Bishop Elect would have raised cries of racism. Then, at the Bishop’s Against Gun Violence March for Common Ground during General Convention, I was troubled by one comment many of the bishops made. At the rally, they kept speaking about the “unholy trinity of violence, poverty, and racism,” I wanted to shout out that domestic violence, which is most often male against female, is rooted in misogyny, and that violence against women by men is a worldwide pandemic. That unholy trinity should be: violence, poverty, hatred, and yet I wonder if racism is easier to talk about because it affects men too, and men do most of the talking.
Why is this important? See, the thing is, all of the “isms” – racism, sexism, heterosexism, religious and cultural bias – anything that marginalize others are all based on ignorance, self-loathing, and hatred. And when that infects the hearts of those who have privilege and power, the results are horrific. You cannot talk about one, and not talk about the others. And the unfortunate truth is that the church has been, and continues to be in so many ways, not only a perpetrator of sexism, but a promoter of it too.
No one says men are unsuited for leadership in the church or elsewhere by pointing to the failings and foibles of men like David, or for that matter Abraham, Jacob, Peter, Judas, Paul…well, a long list to be sure – no, we lift them up as patriarchs! Yet women like Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdelene, and Bathsheba are made charicatures of purity or debauchery, forgetting that these texts were written in a patriarchial era by…wait for it – men, and preached for centuries by…oh wait – men. Add to that the use of all male language for God and even the Holy Spirit (which goes against the original Hebrew and Greek) and is it any wonder that the church finds it okay to marginalize women, and that society follows along? And abuse of one part of society is a slippery slope to abuse in other parts.
The narratives of King David and that of the boy with the loaves and fishes in today’s scriptures are a lesson for all of us, people of all cultures, faiths, and races – male and female, rich and poor, powerful and oppressed. They are pericopes of a culture which exists even today all around the world, not solely about sexism and misogyny, but how those come into being through the foundations of hate. They are about a culture where we accord some people the right to take more than their share, and how one responds. They are stories about the abuse of human power, and also the power of God’s love. These are stories about those who are oppressed – those who are marginalized – and…our silence. And these are stories about how we are supposed to live.
So how do we live? How do we move from our own silence to reclaim her voice – Bathsheeba’s and all the Bathsheeba’s around the world? How do we become less like David, and more like the boy with barley loaves? How do we live a life rooted and grounded in love, where the abundance of God’s grace is felt by all who encounter us, regardless of our status in society – or because of it? In other words – how do we change the world, and empower others to do the same – as Jesus did?
Well, like a good Hollywood movie, you’ll have to wait for the sequel, because this story of King David has a part 2…or, in the parlance of TV – for the answers to those questions, come back next week – same bat time, same bat channel.
Amen.
1 homileticsonline.com
[Sermons as written may not be as delivered on any given Sunday]The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
July 26, 2015
Pentecost 9 – Year B – Track 1
1st Reading – 2 Samuel 11:1-15
Psalm 14
2nd Reading – Ephesians 3:14-21
Gospel – John 6:1-21
