Rev. Eric Dillenbeck

7-20-14

“In the Weeds”

Psalm 139 and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Psalm 139:1-12

¹O Lord, you have searched me and known me. ²You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. ³You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. ⁵You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. ⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. ⁷Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? ⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. ⁹If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, ¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. ¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” ¹²even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

²⁴Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 

²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸The Householder answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” ³⁶Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷Jesus answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

“In The Weeds”

It was four years ago, my mother in law, Judy, had just moved in with us. We were both trying to figure out how this was going to work, how we would navigate this new dimension of our relationship. She wanted to contribute to the house, to feel like this was her space too…She loves working in the yard so she quickly took over the gardens and lawn care. I came home one day and noticed the grass was a little high and wanting to be helpful I pulled the lawnmower out of the garage and started cutting the grass.  

I knew Judy had created a nice little garden in the pots on the side of our house by our neighbor’s driveway. As I was bringing the lawnmower to that side of the yard I noticed that weeds had grown up around the potted gardens. Well, being the thoughtful son-in-law I used the lawnmower to get rid of those unsightly weeds and free up that space for the broccoli I saw growing in the back.  

It was later that afternoon, when Amy and the kids went out to check on the strawberries, that I found out what I had done. When I cut back the weeds, I had also cut through all of her strawberry plants. The weeds around those strawberry plants had been pretty thick; I couldn’t tell the difference between the good plants and the weeds and in my haste, I had taken out all of them.

I am not much of a gardener…I don’t know my plants…unless it is painfully obvious I can’t tell the difference between a good plant and a weed. Apparently I am exactly the kind of person Jesus was talking about in his parable. This parable of the Wheat and Weeds falls between the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. The author of this Gospel must have been in a farming mood when he shaped this chapter. 

Jesus was becoming quite popular, the locals were beginning to talk and tell others about Jesus’ words so they gathered around him in larger and larger crowds. We see here that the crowds were so dense around Jesus on the shore that day that he had to get in a boat and push off into the water to teach his disciples and all who could hear him. He had already told them and explained a parable about how His words would take root in some people’s lives and would be forgotten by others. He follows that message up with this little story.  

This parable about wheat and weeds depicts the reign of God as the work of a Good Sower who has spread his wheat seed on the field. As the days pass the good sower’s servants are surprised to discover the overwhelming presence of weeds among the crop. These concerned servants not only ask if they should rip the weeds out, but it appears as if they are somewhat doubtful of the quality of the sowers seed: “Did you not sow GOOD seed in your field?”

Are these servants worried that they are in the wrong field?

Are they second guessing the actions and decisions of their master? 

Do they wonder if the Good Sower knows what he’s doing?

I don’t imagine The Sower makes them feel much better. He tells them to leave the weeds alone…leave them be, let them grow along with the wheat. These are agricultural servants…they know a thing or two about dirt and growing stuff. They know it is possible for the weeds to overpower and choke out the good crop, they know the risks. But the Sower, their master, isn’t worried.  

Leave them be…he says. You might rip up my good crops if you try to get rid of the weeds.  Leave them be so the good crop would grow. The Sower will worry about separating them when it’s harvest time.  

I give the Disciples a hard time…call them the clueless wonders a good bit, but even I can understand why the disciples want to talk more about this parable with Jesus. They see the crowds around Jesus…they notice they are getting larger and larger…they can see the effect his words are having on them…they can see the pharisees and sadducees looking on warily as Jesus preaches and teaches, looking for any misstep he will make…

Perplexed, the disciples approach Jesus about the meaning of this parable when they are alone. “Hey Jesus…, one thing, about that parable about the wheat and weeds?  Are you serious? You really want the ‘servants’ to ignore the ‘weeds?’” In the pregnant pause that follows, Jesus looks at his disciples and breaks it down.  

I am the sower…the world is the field…the good seeds are the children of God…The weeds are the children of the evil one, placed there by the devil…the harvest is the end of the age…weeds burned up with fire…good seed will shine 

blah, blah, blah…I lost you at the DEVIL, didn’t I?  

Don’t let that devil imagery distract you from the point of this parable. Here’s the thing we have to remember, Biblical authors used images people could relate to explain the world around them. As a church and denomination, we have backed away from the devil as a personified entity with horns and a pitchfork and a pointy tail…but we do believe in the problem of evil in the world. We see plenty of evidence of the beauty, joy, and peace in the world but we also see more than enough evidence of the brokenness of creation.

Jesus and the disciples saw the very same dichotomy. Jesus’ field, the world around him, in which he preached was a political minefield with economic, social, and religious land mines everywhere he looked, every where he spoke. He challenged this landscape and in so doing he planted good seed that would last, but there wasn’t enough space in the ground for the good seed to expand fast enough. The power structures of his world were constantly battling for control and domination over all aspects their lives. 

We know a thing or two about this dynamic at work in the world. The weeds are making themselves known as we grieve for a good friend and community leader. His tragic death rocked our community and the aftershocks will continue to be experienced for months to come. The weeds of guns and senseless violence broke through the ground cover of our community. 

For days now our TV screens and new feeds have been filled with images from the latest violence between Israel and Palestine. A plane carrying 108 AIDS researchers and scientists was shot down in Ukraine. The weeds of war and international unrest continually push through our manicured lawns to create chaos in this world. Children fleeing violence and hunger in Central America cross hot deserts to stream across our borders looking for a safer, fuller life here in our country. The weeds of poverty, hunger, and intolerance have been on full display in our fields this week. 

In response to these weeds I have heard many voices, many perspectives telling us how we should deal with this field we live in. The Palestinians are wicked and should be punished. The Israelis are committing atrocities and there should be retribution. We don’t want those Guatemalan children here; they should be sent home.

“Do you want us to go and gather the weeds?”  the servants asked.

“No,” replies Jesus. “For in gathering the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.”

This field is a mess and the wheat and weeds are so close together, so connected. Who can tell the “Weed from the Wheat”? 

Maleficent is the fairy who curses Princess Aurora into becoming Sleeping Beauty. If you have seen the animated Disney movie you know Maleficent is the villain of the story, a true weed in the world. That impression has remained intact throughout most of my life. That is until this past week when I went to see the recent movie about Maleficent. In it we see her backstory, we come to appreciate the many ways she protects the Moors, the mythical land in which she lives, from the war-like humans who only want to pillage her home. We see how she falls in love with a human boy and trusts him and then we watch as this boy betrays and hurts her so he can become King. The story helps us see how she becomes a thick bristly weed in the world. Before that betrayal and violent act, she was wheat, providing for the needs of her home. As the movie progresses, her relationship with Aurora helps the bristles that pain her heart loosen until she once again the is able to bend and move with agility and grace. Maybe this is another reason why Jesus cautions his disciples against casting out those they perceive to be weeds. 

Because at some point or another, everyone is a weed. Everyone has those days when we make the wrong choice or say the harmful words. No country can look back and say it made the right choice at every point in its history; One may look an awful lot like a weed right now, but later turn out to be wheat after all. 

Jesus tells his disciples to be patient, to live with the weeds of the world, to live in the uncertainty and trust that God will work it out.  

We are called to live in that same tension. We are called to live in this beautiful world that is riddled with weeds and we are called to hold back from plucking up and casting out those we believe are unworthy. In fact, we are called to do more than live with the weeds, we are called to address their needs, to bind up their wounds, to love and care for the soil of their lives so that it may enrich them and help them grow. Because we never know, maybe that weed, when nurtured by the Good Seed might grow into a beautiful wheat. We are called to live with the weeds and TRUST in God’s love and grace at work in the world, to TRUST that God’s justice will work itself out.  

So go home today, and let the weeds live. 

If someone complains about it, 

just tell them Jesus said it’s OK. 

Invocation at a College Graduation

Case Western Reserve Convocation

May 18, 2014

INVOCATION - Eric Dillenbeck

O God of fierce Holiness, yet of tender mercy…

We give you thanks for THIS Day, 

for the roads that have brought us here,

for the love and support that has carried us this far,

We are grateful for these graduates 

and the privilege it is to share in this commencement spirt, 

to share in this moment full of dreams fulfilled and horizons expanded.  

We give thanks for the gift of being able to breath in deeply of this moment…

the stress of exams is past…

the stress of writing papers is done…

the frenzy of grading complete…

the tuition payments have cleared… 

and now those gathered here are able to enjoy the depth of the joy of this milestone.  

We are grateful for the friendship and collegiality that has shaped the lives of those gathered to mark this auspicious occasion. 

For the thoughtful conversations with professors and classmates that opened new opportunities for growth and understanding; 

for the laughter and good times that carried these gifted minds through the anxiety and pressures of campus life.

We are grateful for the vision of the world these relationships placed in their hearts and for the next steps that lie in front of all those who are so ready to receive their degrees. 

Even as we give thanks for this leg of their journey, we ask that you surround them as they embark on the next roads their lives will take.

O God of Limitless Embrace, 

Help these graduates to remember the values, 

the knowledge 

and the friendship they have learned in this place; 

allow it to fill their hearts and their minds and then help them to share that with all the world 

so that their blessing can become a blessing to others.

Eric Dillenbeck

March 23, 2014

Exodus 17:1-7 & John 4:5-42

"Living Waters for Contested Hearts"

Exodus 17:1-7

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” ³But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” ⁴So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” ⁵The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

John 4:5-29

⁵So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. ⁷A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹²Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” ¹³Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” ¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” ¹⁷The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” ¹⁹The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

²⁷Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

"Living Waters for Contested Hearts”

 On Thursday, Russia's Lower House of Parliament voted to approve a treaty with the Ukraine that includes the annexation of the Black Sea Peninsula of Crimea. On Friday the upper house of the Russian Parliament finalized the treaty, even as the Ukraine was signing a treaty with the European Union.  

The news of this Russian Treaty is somewhat surprising to Ukraine since they don’t remember requesting a treaty with the Russians; they didn't realize they were looking to unload 1/3 of their coastline and access and control of valuable natural gas deposits. This move should not be too surprising since the Russians have been blockading Ukranian troops on their military bases for weeks now. Major economic sanctions have been imposed to try and convince Russia to change its plans.  Meanwhile, as this political play unfolds Ukrainian citizens of every ethnic persuasion live in contested lands…which means they live in the midst of political unrest and in constant threat of violence and war.   

Too many others in the world today know what this is like.  

Venezuelans find their lives disrupted and in peril as violent clashes between government officials and protestors continue to rock the capital city, Caracas. At issue there, access to necessary goods, high inflation and high crime. Government officials blame the protestors; protestors blame corrupt government officials…meanwhile Venezuelan citizens find themselves living in contested lands.  

Rueters is reporting that “South Sudanese rebels and government troops both said they controlled the capital of an oil-producing state on Thursday after days of fighting.  This comes as another attempt to resume peace talks in neighboring Ethiopia fell through,” leaving the South Sudanese living in contested lands.  

Residents of Israel and Palestine are no strangers to what it means to live in Contested lands. The world watches as the two sides struggle to find peace, the world cries as these efforts fail again and again. Walls have been erected to divide the one from the other…those same walls cut off many from important sources of livelihood. Actually, our denomination has called for a boycott on certain items made by Israeli companies in the contested territories.  One of these is the Soda Stream company, specifically because of its use of water from contested lands. Apparently the issue of the water in these contested lands is an age old problem.  You see this well discussed in today’s passage from the Gospel of John was located in contested territory. 

Even though the well was in Samaria, it was recognized as Jacob’s well, the place where he met Rachel and as such was a place of special significance to the Jews. And even though both the Jews and the Samaritans claimed Jacob as a patriarch, through the years the Samaritans had come to feel like 2nd class citizens in their own land. 

You see, for generations the Jews and the Samaritans were at odds over where worship should take place. The Jews claimed Jerusalem was the only acceptable place of worship while the Samaritans claimed Mount Gerizam in the north was the only acceptable place of worship. The power and influence of Jerusalem far surpassed that found in the northern lands so the Samaritans were vilified and denied access to the the Temple. And then came the Babylonian invasion and the destruction of the temple.  When that happened the powerful and important were carried away into exile. Those left behind, largely the Samaritans, were deemed unimportant which reinforced the belief that the samaritans were unworthy. When the Jews returned from exile generations later the old patterns and prejudices began to reassert themselves, but at the time this story was told the Samaritans still had this well. They controlled this important place, this place of life that sustained humans and animals alike.  

Most women from the town of Sychar would come to this well in the mornings when it was still cool to gather their water, to spend time with other women, and to protect one another.  

But not this particular woman…

This woman came to the well by herself at noon.  Through the years, many Biblical Scholars have called this woman a prostitute, but I and many others don’t see any evidence for that in the text. Certainly, it is clear she has had a tough life. She has had 5 husbands…we don’t know why.  Maybe they left her because she couldn't have children…maybe they died…it is most likely that at least one of them died because the man she is with now is not her husband…she could be living with that man because she was dependent on, or be in what’s called a Levirate marriage (where a childless woman is married to her deceased husband’s brother in order to produce an heir.) Someone in that situation was not always technically considered to be married. 

What do we know?  This woman came to the well at noon…this was the authors way of signaling to the readers that she was excluded from the morning fellowship and safety net, this was a woman who understood isolation and uncertainty; a woman who lived on the margins; this was a woman with a contested heart. 

Contested hearts…Contested lands…these are not safe places for strangers…These are not places for people to go poking around… Certainly you would not break EVERY social norm just to ask someone with too many burdens to bear for a favor…Certainly you would not stay longer than absolutely necessary…Most assuredly you would not stay and have the longest conversation you have ever had with someone in a situation like that.  And in that conversation you would, without a doubt, NOT risk creating friction by bringing up old stigmas, and highlighting a person’s brokenness and vulnerability… Certainly any sane person wouldn’t do something like that…certainly Jesus wouldn’t do something like that.

But then again, this is Jesus we are talking about. When he leaves Judea for Galilee he takes a mighty curve.  In verse 4, the text says, “⁴But he had to go through Samaria.”

No he didn’t…the Jews didn’t get along with the Samaritans…they hated each other…there was no reason he HAD to go through Samaria.  He could have avoided it…he could have gone around like everyone else.

When Amy and I moved to Cleveland 5 1/2 years ago we left Atlanta right after Amy finished her last day of work. I had the cars packed and when she got there we piled the three kids, the fish and the dog into the two cars and drove through the night.  As we got close to Cleveland it was about 3:00 AM.  When we checked our GPS route and saw that we were going up 77 to E55 to Kinsman we quickly hit that handy REROUTE button…we didn’t want to brave those contested lands at 3 in the morning.  

But no, Jesus wasn’t about to hit the REROUTE button. He HAD to go through those contested lands…he had to see for himself. But why? What drew him to that well? 

The contested heart of a lonely woman who, I think, represents the distance between all God’s people. Knowing what could happen, Jesus goes to the town of Sychar and waits at the well. As this broken woman approaches he engages her and reveals himself as the Messiah of God, filling her with his light, casting out the shadows in her heart, leaving her with no other option but to rush back into the heart of those contested lands to become the first witness of the Messiah. Jesus enters without fear into the contested areas of life and calls us to follow, inspires us to run out and share the news. But following Jesus into contested lands is scary. 

I mean, the disciples were not far behind Jesus and they were asking themselves, “what are we doing here,” they are desperately trying to hit that reroute button…

and when they finally catch up with Jesus they are speechless. Jesus isn’t only talking to a samaritan, he is talking to a Samaritan WOMAN!  And now she’s running off to the town to tell everyone.  It is time to go. It’s about to get real uncomfortable for these disciples…but Jesus doesn’t go. There’s more division that needs to be overcome…there’s more reconciliation that needs to happen…there’s more LIGHT to share in that place.  

We LOVE the idea of sharing the light of Jesus in this world. For many years our tagline was “Fairmount: the Light in the Heights.” We imagined ourselves as a great big lighthouse on a hill, spreading the light of Christ’s welcoming love out into the world, a beacon of hope and peace drawing people into warm welcome of God’s embrace.  

And you know what…we are all of those things.  This community is filled with the light of Christ’s love…I see it everyday. Our worship inspires, our welcome is genuine and palpable…we truly believe and strive to express that God’s love is for ALL people.  Come and join us for you are welcome here. Come and join us and know God is present.  

When we have identified contested lands and contested hearts in our midst we have immersed ourselves in the Living Waters of Jesus’ love and had our own really long conversations that have resulted in witnesses going out to share the good news of the messiah at work in this place.  

Having grown up on coastal SC, I feel like I know a thing or two about lighthouses. First of all they are stationary. That one is kinda obvious, I know…but for us it is an important factor. The other things to consider, the light from a lighthouse only goes SO far.  In fact, a lighthouse will usually cast light no more than 15 miles out to sea and I am being generous there.  This light pulls the ships into safe harbors.

We have always considered ourselves to be more of a lighthouse, drawing folks to us, but as we see in today’s text Jesus shows us that we have to do more.  We are called out into the contested lands…to encounter the contested hearts. And there are many contested lands out there and many contested hearts.  In the Ukraine and Venezuela, in South Sudan and in Israel/Palestine, in La Romana and on Kinsman, in Chagrin Falls and Pepper Pike, in East Cleveland and in Cleveland Heights.  There are many contested lands and hearts just beyond our horizons.  And we can’t hit reroute.  

Which means we need to turn our lighthouse into a Lighthouse Ship.  Otis Moss III just introduced me to the idea of a lighthouse ship.  I had never heard of these things before. You see a Lighthouse Ship is a SHIP that takes the light out onto the seas.  These ships were designed to withstand over 100 MPH winds and their light was designed to go beyond the horizon so that ships in peril can find their way home. Lighthouse ships are mobile...they can go where there is trouble; they can provide light beyond the horizon, past the places we allow ourselves to see. On his way to Galilee so long ago, Jesus boarded his Lighthouse Ship to cross the contested areas where "good people" wouldn’t usually go. And in that place Jesus’ light shined bright allowing so many to find their way home.  

Our light shines bright in this place, but it only hits the horizon.  You are called to carry this light out into the contested places; to offer the Living Waters of grace, peace and love to all who need to hear it. Jesus calls YOU out past the horizon so that others may know the Messiah has come near.  

Amen and Amen.

Rev. Eric Dillenbeck

2-23-2014

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13 & Psalm 32 

Old Testament Core Stories: This isn’t Cheap Grace

Psalm 32

¹Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered ²Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. ⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. ⁶Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. ⁷You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. ⁸I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. ⁹Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. ¹⁰Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. ¹¹Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13

²⁶When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. ²⁷When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, ^12:1and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had very many flocks and herds; ³but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 

⁴Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.’ ⁵Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; ⁶he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ ⁷Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; ⁸I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. ⁹Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. ¹¹Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. ¹²For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ 

¹³David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ 

Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has passed over your sin; you shall not die.

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

“Old Testament Core Stories: This isn’t Cheap Grace”

“I'm gonna be a mighty king

So enemies beware

I'm gonna be the mane (main) event

Like no king was before

I'm brushing up on looking down

I'm working on my roar

I just can’t WAIT to be king”  

Everyone can probably recognize these lyrics.  They have dominated popular culture for almost 20 years now. These are the words of Simba, the lion cub prince from Disney’s classic, The Lion King.  

When Simba sings these words he is yearning to be the top cat on the savannah, he wants the power that comes with being King; he wants to be able to do what he wants and tell people what to do.  

Poor Simba, he’s only a cub…he doesn’t know what he’s yearning for.  

We like to believe that people in positions of power would out-grow those feelings and inclinations, but too often we see how easy it is for monarchs and political leaders to get trapped in this mindset. This is the attitude God’s prophets tried to warn against back in the book of Judges, when the people were crying for a king.  The Prophet Samuel kept saying no, because the prophet knew kings would just take from the people instead of caring for the people, but the people wouldn’t listen, they kept asking for a king. “We just want to be like everyone else” the people cried to God. Finally God relented, and gave the people Saul, the first king of the Jews.  When Saul died in battle David assumed the throne.  There were high hopes for David.  

This is THE David, the victorious teenager who triumphed over Goliath with just a slingshot and pebbles. This is THE David, the author credited with all those Psalms we find in the Bible.  

This is THE David, the anointed King, the one described as “a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14b), the defining ancestor of Jesus.  

It seems, that somewhere along the line David’s train of righteousness went off the tracks.  This beloved David could be singing his own version of Simba’s song. 

“Oh it sure is good to be king.

I can have anything I want…

I can send my men off to war…

I can take another man’s wife

and place that man on the front lines to die.”

That is the background for our passage today.  In verse 26, we find Bathsheba in mourning for her husband who died in battle. David, who is King of Israel and husband to many wives of his own, should have been out leading the war effort, but instead he is at home in his palace when he spies Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop. Her beauty captures his attention, and even though he is repeatedly told she is a married woman, he sends for and commits adultery with her. Through the years many have interpreted this scenario in different ways…

some have tried to make it into this mad love story where these two just couldn’t live without one another…others have tried to say that Bathsheba seduced David by bathing on her rooftop. 

But, let’s be clear here.  This relationship was not about love and it wasn’t Bathsheba’s idea.  

David was the King; he was the most powerful man in Israel. Bathsheba was the wife of one of David’s soldiers…she was in no position to refuse the King. We have no idea how Bathsheba felt about what happened.  The text doesn’t tell us. She is silent; her only communication was a note sent to King David letting him know that she is pregnant with his child. When he receives this note he immediately recalls her pious husband, Uriah, from the battlefield. King David tries to convince Uriah to enjoy “personal time” with his wife, in order to mask the paternity of the child, but Uriah honors the rituals required for battle and abstains. Frustrated by Uriah’s piety, King David instructs the commander of the army to place Uriah in a position in battle where he is sure to be killed and that is exactly what happens, leaving Bathsheba a widow.

I bring up this sorted tale because I want us to be clear, this whole escapade was David’s own doing. King David does not need to “brush up on looking down” like Simba because this series of events, orchestrated by David, clearly demonstrates the many ways the power of being king has affected this once very pious man.  

I know it, David knew it, and apparently God knew it too because God sent the Prophet Nathan to have a little chat with David, to confront his brokenness and call him back to faithfulness. This Nathan is good.  He doesn’t come at David directly. He uses his story to spin a fine web into which David throws himself with much energy and style.

“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!” 

“YOU are the man!”

David is confronted by his own eagerness.  He has done these things…he has committed these atrocities and now he is being called to the carpet for them. As David sits there, dumbfounded and tongue-tied, Nathan doesn’t pull any punches.  He very pointedly reminds David to whom he is accountable because it appears David has forgotten that he is accountable to anyone. He has forgotten that he has been given much and more would have been given if only he had asked. And to kick him while he is down, Nathan tells him the consequences for his actions: “the sword shall never depart your house…trouble shall come from within your house…”  

What comes next is extraordinary…we don’t see an irate king take out his frustration on the prophet…we don’t see a politician shifting the blame…

What we see, is a broken man, throwing himself at the feet of God…what we see is a contrite heart softened by honesty, ready to accept responsibility…what we see is grace, but it isn’t cheap… 

David admits his sin against the Lord…I wish he would also have admitted his sin against Bathsheba,

but he owns his mistakes in the eyes of God.

In that moment, the Lord forgives, but doesn’t let him off scot-free. God loves David fully and without question, but there are consequences to his actions that even forgiveness can’t wipe away; there are consequences to our actions that even forgiveness can’t wipe away; a brokenness that dwells within you…it’s how you choose to live with that brokenness and what you cake around it to make it feel better that makes the difference.    

I did a lot of reading on my Mission Study Leave.  One of the books I read was “The Weight of Mercy.” In it I encountered many faces and stories of homeless and addicted people living on the streets of Greenville, SC. One of them was named Mason, a recently out of work prison guard who had left his job to move home to be with family. That move didn’t go well for him and he found himself on the streets after being kicked out by his family. He lived under a bridge for two days and found himself living off the mercy of the Salvation Army and the Triune Mercy Center.  

Here’s the thing, folks living on the margins and on the streets learn pretty quickly that there are consequences for their actions…they also learn that not many people are willing to look past their very obvious brokenness to see Christ looking back through those weary eyes.  To deal with their own failures and the pain of their brokenness some turn to unhealthy vices that mask their pain. I would be remiss to point out that many who are not homeless and on the margins do the same thing.

Mason, could have easily done that, he was tempted to, it would have been all too easy, but he wrapped his brokenness up in the belief he was held in the loving embrace of God. 

Mason lives in the shadow of his brokenness, but he didn’t let it define him.  He moved forward with this life and looked beyond his last mistakes, trusting in the grace of God.  

I imagine King David was a total mess after Nathan leaves.  He has been shamed, he as been held accountable in a very public fashion…he knows everyone is talking about him. He is wearing his brokenness on his sleeve for everyone to see. We’ve all been there before, haven’t we?  We’ve all experienced situations, where we have messed up and been called on the carpet for our actions. Humiliated, we have had to pick up the pieces and move forward.  We have lived, wondering how God or anyone else could possibly love us.  

But here’s the thing, God does love us.  God loves us just the way we are, warts and all.  

David trusted in that grace.  

In the face of his humiliation it would have been understandable if he had hidden in his palace until their was a regime change, but that’s not what happened. David and Bathsheba’s first child died.  The tragedy of the situation is beyond understanding. That would have been enough to wreck even the best king, but David trusted in the grace of God. Their second child grows up to be Solomon, the builder of the temple, the wise king the ancestor of Jesus. 

David messed up.  But trusting in God’s steadfast love, David confessed his wrongdoing and believed that God’s grace was still for him.  And it was.  

God loved David…

God still worked through David to care for God’s people and secure their future….

Generations after his death, God still loved David and worked through the first cries of David’s ancestor to secure the future for all God’s children everywhere.  

We all get it wrong sometimes…we all miss the mark…we are all walking around with various degrees of brokenness but God’s love is still for us. Trust in that love…Trust that God is working in and through you to secure the future for all God’s children.  

Amen.  

Rev. Eric Dillenbeck 

1-5-14

Isaiah 60:1-6 & Matthew 2:1-12

“Lift Up Your Eyes”

Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. ²For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and The glory of the Lord will appear over you. 

³Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 

⁴Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 

⁵Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. ⁶A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. 

They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ²asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 

³When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 

⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 

⁷Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 

⁹When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 

¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

“Lift Up Your Eyes”

Pigeons, everywhere you go, you will find pigeons.  Usually they, along with seagulls, are the cause of much consternation to those perfectly coifed pedestrians who must walk from place to place.  But really, pigeons are pretty amazing.  

Pigeons have this amazing ability.  They always know where they are and where they are going, no matter where you bring them.  Pigeons have saved lives because of this ability.  

In 1943, a pigeon named GI Joe saved the lives of thousands of British soldiers.  The British had just liberated a small Italian village from the Germans in the 2nd World War.  

Thinking the Germans were still in control of the village the Americans were scheduled to bomb the town.  

The base where the American’s were located was 20 miles away and the British didn’t have a way to let them know of the turn of the events.  

It all depended on GI Joe, the pigeon.  The amazing part, the pigeon, was in a box for the whole journey.  But the British tied a life-saving note to his feet and let him fly.  

Over mountains and through valleys he had never seen GI Joe flew.  He went right to his home on that base just in time to call off the arial assault of that small Italian village.  

Researchers are still not sure how pigeons find their way home, but I am guessing the Wise Men would have really enjoyed having a pigeon from Bethlehem with them on their travels so long ago.  

These Wise Men were probably not kings as we often see the story told, but rather priestly sages from Persia.  These priests were important people in Persia who, judging from the gifts they bring, obviously had access to immense wealth.

They were trained in astrology and spent much of their time studying the stars and interpreting their findings for those who would come to learn from them.  

I imagine at some point one of them noticed something new in their skies.  He sought out the others, and when they confirmed the arrival of this new star they sat together to divine it’s purpose.  

Somehow they seemed to know that this star signified the birth of the new King of Jews.  We aren’t privy to how they came to this discovery, but we do know that the news called them to leave the comfort of their homes to travel to the place where the light shined brightest.  They needed to pay homage with gifts fit for a king.  

I bet following a star in the sky is not easy work.  I bet they would have really enjoyed a nice pigeon to lead their way through the deserts.  

I imagine they are road weary as they approached Jerusalem, working hard to keep their eyes on the light of the star.  But Bethlehem is so close to Jerusalem it must have been easy to confuse the destination.  

Plus, Jerusalem is the seat of power, the natural place to find a kingly child.  

As I read it, they enter the Holy City with no thought about the sitting king.  The text tells us they come to the city during the time of King Herod, not that they seek him out first, which makes sense because they were not kings.  

Kings would immediately seek out kings, but wise sages would go to other wise men, they would go to other priests, they would go to the faithful who gathered for worship. 

It is to these that the Wise Men present themselves asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?”

For an Occupied people living in perilous times those words must have been a mixed blessing.  They all yearned for the King of the Jews, for the Messiah to come and bring about redemption and freedom from Rome.  

But at the same time, these words would have filled them with fear because they knew the current King, Herod, who was appointed by Rome, would not like the news.  

When he hears the murmurs of the wise men he pulls together his “Think Tank” which included the Chief Priests and scribes of the people, the ones who would know of the Prophecies concerning the Messiah. The words from the poem in Isaiah would surely have been hanging in their ears.  

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”  

The poem describes the moment when the people of God will be caught off guard, when all of a sudden God’s light will shine upon them and the wealth of the nations will stream to Israel in recognition.  

But it is to the Prophet Micah that these Biblical scholars point, saying “‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Once Herod knows the answer, he calls for the Magi.  He doesn’t want everyone to remember the prophecy so he calls for them secretly.  

He tells them what he knows but only after they tell him how long they have been traveling and then he sends them off to Bethlehem.  

I imagine the relatively short journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem was eye opening.  Once they got outside the glow of self importance cast by Jerusalem they encountered once more the Bright Light of God’s star beckoning them to lift up their eyes to what was always right in front of them, to look and see how God’s light was leading them forward.  

As they journeyed by camel down that road, leaving the fear and pretension of Jerusalem behind they come upon the humbleness of Bethlehem and they wonder, how can a king be born here?  How can God’s Messiah come from a place like this?  

But they follow the light and encounter at its resting place the Joy of the world.  They see in Mary and the Christ Child, the future God has in store for all people and they paid him homage, offering him gifts, granted they were not child-friendly gifts; they were gifts fit for a king.  

In this moment Isaiah’s words were never more true.  “Arise, Shine; for your light has come, and the Glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”  

That light shines so brightly in them that the Magi see new roads that lead to different lives lived in joy.  

But not everyone sees that same light when they hear the good news of this birth.  In the text that follows we see the powers of Herod have not waned; we see how his fear and insecurity block the light and end up chasing Jesus and his family from Israel into Egypt.  

That same kind of fear and insecurity lives and breathes in us today.  

Our minds might be living in Jerusalem as we worry about our jobs, about our homes, about our communities, about how we will get everything done.  

Our hearts might be living in the darkness of fear because those we love are ill  

or in the shadows of grief because our loves ones or friends have died.  

We yearn to follow the Magi out into the world, to search out God’s Gift for our lives but in this world of Google we yearn for more information, for more certainty, for a better idea of what’s in store for us.  

There are many things in our lives that keep us from feeling and seeing this Light but Isaiah speaks to us saying, “Lift up your eyes and look around.” 

The story of Jesus’ life tells us that fear and insecurity do not win; 

Jesus’ life and light beckon us to follow, 

beckon us to leave our comfortable places in order that we might find new and joy-filled pathways to God’s peace.  

Lift up your eyes and look around…the Glory of God is upon us. 

May it fill our hearts and change our lives so that we may be God’s light for others this day.  

CHARGE AND BLESSING:

Lift up your eyes and look around…The light of God’s love is already leading us toward the gift of joy.  May we be bold enough to follow.

may the grace of JC, the Love of G and the communion of the HS surround you on your journey this day and everyday.