NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Maggie Breen

Readings for this Sunday:
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 | Psalm 130 | Ephesians 4:25-5:2 | John 6:35, 41-51

We have been reading this story of David all summer. Now I don’t know about you but I have had a hard time following along. I have grasped bits and pieces and been able to connect ideas here and there that are relevant to my life today, but overall I haven’t really been captivated by all that’s been going on. And this week as we jump six chapters ahead from where we left it last week to this story of Absalom, I have been left wondering why we are even reading this?

And then there is the difficulty that comes when we try to read it – try to pay attention. I don’t know about you but I get so tripped up on the names and who belongs to who in these incredibly complex and foreign family structures that I lose the story. And then there is all the killing. There is a lot of battle and murder, so much revenge and intrigue in these stories. It is just so very hard to look for what on earth they are trying to tell us.

But there they are every Sunday this summer – part of our lectionary – part of our story. So I thought I better look a little closer this week and as I did so I remembered that if we really take our time; if we give the names time to sink in, try to hold onto to who is related to whom and who is allied with whom; if we know and accept that the battles and complex families were the stuff of court life in the time of David we will find in these old stories much that is similar to our own family stories and much that we can learn about this life with God and its promises to us. Promises that are so very valuable precisely because they have remained true, remained with us, through the ages.

So l thought maybe we could take a closer look together this week. I’ll try to distill it a little and we could take a look at who is who, what’s going on, and where God is.

First thing we have to know about this story today - Absalom is David’s son.  One of many, many sons. Absalom has a sister Tamar that he loves. David’s other son, Absalom’s brother, Amnon was attracted to Tamar – very very attracted.  When this other son Amnon couldn’t have what he wanted from Tamar, he listened to a cunning friend, tricked his family, and took what he wanted anyway in a violent and abusive way right as she, Tamar, was in the act of trying to care for him. People were deeply hurt by his actions. Absalom became estranged from a family who did not deal with this wound and held with him a grudge against Amnon and his family. Eventually this grudge boiled over into violence against Amnon. Absalom and David moved a little closer together physically as David refused to condemn Absalom but could not find a way to be in each other’s company. They lived in the same town, close in proximity, but distant – so much still unresolved. Absalom began to build a group who cared for and loved him and ultimately he turned this group against his father. The battle we read about today is the climax of this division. And in the midst of it Absalom is lost – killed by David’s followers.

It really would seem, wouldn’t it, that despite the context of the story that can at first make it so hard for us to follow there is so very much in this story that we know all too well.  Is there a family or a community, alive that doesn’t have unresolved grudges, long held animosity? That doesn’t have members who even if they are in close proximity can’t speak and work through the things that divide them. There is so much ill-will in our neighborhoods, in our country, between our countries because someone took what they thought they needed and violence was written into our relationships, gulfs were created and have grown deeper as these issues fester, and peace is kept at bay. Division and misunderstanding and pain, attempts to put things right through more violence and a seemingly never ending current of loss. These are the stories of David’s Court – David’s family; and they are also the stories of our time.

But if we look even closer we will see that in the midst of these stories, sometimes lost, oftentimes overlooked, that God is there continually working to bring us together, offering opportunities to set things right?  And as it was with David’s stories, so it is with ours. So where is God in David’s story? Well, I think one place God shows up and reveals God’s desires for us is in the action of David himself. You see within the context of battle and retribution that is David’s court there is this odd, kind of bewildering response of David to the ones who would stand against him. There is this desire, this understanding on David’s part, and this demand that they be spared from retaliatory violence. Even as David and his court must act to retain what is his, must protect the boundaries of what God has given him, he refuses to take the life of the one from whom he is divided. We saw the same thing with Saul and now with Absalom. It’s in the context of killing and battle and so can be hard to pull out and understand. But when there is division and misunderstanding, when there is a tear in the fabric of their life together, David will not render it unrepairable. Will not compound the damage by taking the life of the one from whom he is estranged. Now David is not God – he takes life as much as he grants. He messes up - we saw this in last week’s story as he leads Uriah to his death so that he can have his wife. But there is something in his actions to retain the life of Absalom that goes beyond favoritism I think and is reflective more of a desire for reconciliation, is about understanding that life is complex and hard, and is about not closing the door on the way to peace.

This is the character of the God as we know in Jesus isn’t it? Merciful, seeking reconciliation. Making claim to what belongs to him – to us, the people of the world – but merciful. And ultimately willing to give himself to the forces that would keep what us from God so that we might know how deeply we are loved. Here is this parent God that forever seeks reconciliation. That will allow us to make mistakes, to blame others, to be hurt, but who always, always seeks reconciliation, always, always seeks after us.  Always always waits, always, always makes a way and always, always hopes for the best.

This God shows up in the stuff of life, not outside of it.  Not a magical distant presence but with us, incarnate. In the mess, with David, with us. As incarnate as the very bread we eat to stay alive. 

I saw this same God, the God that is revealed in David and in Jesus in work of the Center of Hope and one of its families this week. Center of Hope is if you are not aware a day center and overnight emergency accommodation for homeless families run by REACH on behalf of the churches in Renton, on behalf of the Body of Christ. St Andrew is currently hosting one of the overnight shelters. God shows up, incarnate, made flesh, in the stuff, in the mess of that place. In the people of that place as they do their work, the way the care for each other and support reconciliation. And in the families of that place as they wait and move towards life.

Sharon came to the Center just over a year ago. She was one of the first single women that we took in. She was quiet, distressed sometimes, paranoid and very anxious at other times. She got a little ticked off when things did not work out. She was distrusting, carrying a lot of hurt. She blamed the Center now and again when she could not get what she needed when she needed it but she kept showing up – knew I think that she was safe there. She slept at our churches and interacted with our families. She struck up friendships, shared a beautiful smile with the moms and kids, but mostly she kept to herself, quiet, trying to find her way. She could be difficult, she could be lovely, and the volunteers and staff carried their worry for her in prayer and kindness towards her.

She took off after about a year still looking for what she needed and Linda the director and her staff and volunteers after a year of faithful companionship had to watch her go – hoping for the best. But then a few ago weeks she came back. She knew she could come back. She knew she would be welcomed in. A few weeks after she came back she told Linda, “My mom is coming over from Idaho to pick me up.  I am going to try again back at home.”  Linda told her I want to meet your mom. So off they went to the parking lot of City Hall. A pick up pulled in and out came mom. They hugged and cried. And after a little while mom turned to Linda and said, “I haven’t seen her for 10 years.  I never thought I would see her again. Thanks for sticking with her as she worked it out.” Sharon turned to Linda and said, “I am sorry for the times I made it hard on you.  Thank you for not giving up on me.”

They drove off and Linda cannot tell that story without crying. She got to see the Spirit of reconciliation at work. I can’t hear it without feeling chills on my arm because I know that God showed up and was made real in work of the people at the center and in the way Sharon’s mom waited and waited and received her when she came back.  

I was privileged to hear Linda this week as she explained on a couple of different occasions the journey of the center as it has been operating these last two years. She explained all that we have learned about the boundaries that must be in place and how they work so diligently to keep our clients accountable, but she said, the foundation of what we do is utterly unchanged and will remain unchanged. “It’s about love.” She said. “It’s about faith and trusting in the possibility of reconciliation – reconciliation with family, with ourselves, with the idea that we have something to offer and are worth the trouble, worth the work that has to be done to get where we want to go. We don’t do that work for our families, they do – they have to. But we love them. We stick with them and we encourage them to do it and be everything God wants them to be.”

This is the God that was with David, that came for us in Jesus, and that is amongst you now. A Spirit Incarnate, alive and deep in the mess of our lives, a Spirit of reconciliation, a Spirit of Mercy, a spirit of Love. It can be hard to catch, hard to see because just like in David court there is so much going on to keep it from view. But if we slow down and look we will see its common thread offering reconciliation, offering mercy, offering life. It’s there in your love and care for others and in others love and care for you. It’s there waiting for us as sure and as vital as the very bread we eat to stay alive. 

And then there is the difficulty that comes when we try to read it – try to pay attention. I don’t know about you but I get so tripped up on the names and who belongs to who in these incredibly complex and foreign family structures that I lose the story. And then there is all the killing. There is a lot of battle and murder, so much revenge and intrigue in these stories. It is just so very hard to look for what on earth they are trying to tell us.

But there they are every Sunday this summer – part of our lectionary – part of our story. So I thought I better look a little closer this week and as I did so I remembered that if we really take our time; if we give the names time to sink in, try to hold onto to who is related to whom and who is allied with whom; if we know and accept that the battles and complex families were the stuff of court life in the time of David we will find in these old stories much that is similar to our own family stories and much that we can learn about this life with God and its promises to us. Promises that are so very valuable precisely because they have remained true, remained with us, through the ages.

So l thought maybe we could take a closer look together this week. I’ll try to distill it a little and we could take a look at who is who, what’s going on, and where God is.

First thing we have to know about this story today - Absalom is David’s son.  One of many, many sons. Absalom has a sister Tamar that he loves. David’s other son, Absalom’s brother, Amnon was attracted to Tamar – very very attracted.  When this other son Amnon couldn’t have what he wanted from Tamar, he listened to a cunning friend, tricked his family, and took what he wanted anyway in a violent and abusive way right as she, Tamar, was in the act of trying to care for him. People were deeply hurt by his actions. Absalom became estranged from a family who did not deal with this wound and held with him a grudge against Amnon and his family. Eventually this grudge boiled over into violence against Amnon. Absalom and David moved a little closer together physically as David refused to condemn Absalom but could not find a way to be in each other’s company. They lived in the same town, close in proximity, but distant – so much still unresolved. Absalom began to build a group who cared for and loved him and ultimately he turned this group against his father. The battle we read about today is the climax of this division. And in the midst of it Absalom is lost – killed by David’s followers.

It really would seem, wouldn’t it, that despite the context of the story that can at first make it so hard for us to follow there is so very much in this story that we know all too well.  Is there a family or a community, alive that doesn’t have unresolved grudges, long held animosity? That doesn’t have members who even if they are in close proximity can’t speak and work through the things that divide them. There is so much ill-will in our neighborhoods, in our country, between our countries because someone took what they thought they needed and violence was written into our relationships, gulfs were created and have grown deeper as these issues fester, and peace is kept at bay. Division and misunderstanding and pain, attempts to put things right through more violence and a seemingly never ending current of loss. These are the stories of David’s Court – David’s family; and they are also the stories of our time.

But if we look even closer we will see that in the midst of these stories, sometimes lost, oftentimes overlooked, that God is there continually working to bring us together, offering opportunities to set things right?  And as it was with David’s stories, so it is with ours. So where is God in David’s story? Well, I think one place God shows up and reveals God’s desires for us is in the action of David himself. You see within the context of battle and retribution that is David’s court there is this odd, kind of bewildering response of David to the ones who would stand against him. There is this desire, this understanding on David’s part, and this demand that they be spared from retaliatory violence. Even as David and his court must act to retain what is his, must protect the boundaries of what God has given him, he refuses to take the life of the one from whom he is divided. We saw the same thing with Saul and now with Absalom. It’s in the context of killing and battle and so can be hard to pull out and understand. But when there is division and misunderstanding, when there is a tear in the fabric of their life together, David will not render it unrepairable. Will not compound the damage by taking the life of the one from whom he is estranged. Now David is not God – he takes life as much as he grants. He messes up - we saw this in last week’s story as he leads Uriah to his death so that he can have his wife. But there is something in his actions to retain the life of Absalom that goes beyond favoritism I think and is reflective more of a desire for reconciliation, is about understanding that life is complex and hard, and is about not closing the door on the way to peace.

This is the character of the God as we know in Jesus isn’t it? Merciful, seeking reconciliation. Making claim to what belongs to him – to us, the people of the world – but merciful. And ultimately willing to give himself to the forces that would keep what us from God so that we might know how deeply we are loved. Here is this parent God that forever seeks reconciliation. That will allow us to make mistakes, to blame others, to be hurt, but who always, always seeks reconciliation, always, always seeks after us.  Always always waits, always, always makes a way and always, always hopes for the best.

This God shows up in the stuff of life, not outside of it.  Not a magical distant presence but with us, incarnate. In the mess, with David, with us. As incarnate as the very bread we eat to stay alive. 

I saw this same God, the God that is revealed in David and in Jesus in work of the Center of Hope and one of its families this week. Center of Hope is if you are not aware a day center and overnight emergency accommodation for homeless families run by REACH on behalf of the churches in Renton, on behalf of the Body of Christ. St Andrew is currently hosting one of the overnight shelters. God shows up, incarnate, made flesh, in the stuff, in the mess of that place. In the people of that place as they do their work, the way the care for each other and support reconciliation. And in the families of that place as they wait and move towards life.

Sharon came to the Center just over a year ago. She was one of the first single women that we took in. She was quiet, distressed sometimes, paranoid and very anxious at other times. She got a little ticked off when things did not work out. She was distrusting, carrying a lot of hurt. She blamed the Center now and again when she could not get what she needed when she needed it but she kept showing up – knew I think that she was safe there. She slept at our churches and interacted with our families. She struck up friendships, shared a beautiful smile with the moms and kids, but mostly she kept to herself, quiet, trying to find her way. She could be difficult, she could be lovely, and the volunteers and staff carried their worry for her in prayer and kindness towards her.

She took off after about a year still looking for what she needed and Linda the director and her staff and volunteers after a year of faithful companionship had to watch her go – hoping for the best. But then a few ago weeks she came back. She knew she could come back. She knew she would be welcomed in. A few weeks after she came back she told Linda, “My mom is coming over from Idaho to pick me up.  I am going to try again back at home.”  Linda told her I want to meet your mom. So off they went to the parking lot of City Hall. A pick up pulled in and out came mom. They hugged and cried. And after a little while mom turned to Linda and said, “I haven’t seen her for 10 years.  I never thought I would see her again. Thanks for sticking with her as she worked it out.” Sharon turned to Linda and said, “I am sorry for the times I made it hard on you.  Thank you for not giving up on me.”

They drove off and Linda cannot tell that story without crying. She got to see the Spirit of reconciliation at work. I can’t hear it without feeling chills on my arm because I know that God showed up and was made real in work of the people at the center and in the way Sharon’s mom waited and waited and received her when she came back.  

I was privileged to hear Linda this week as she explained on a couple of different occasions the journey of the center as it has been operating these last two years. She explained all that we have learned about the boundaries that must be in place and how they work so diligently to keep our clients accountable, but she said, the foundation of what we do is utterly unchanged and will remain unchanged. “It’s about love.” She said. “It’s about faith and trusting in the possibility of reconciliation – reconciliation with family, with ourselves, with the idea that we have something to offer and are worth the trouble, worth the work that has to be done to get where we want to go. We don’t do that work for our families, they do – they have to. But we love them. We stick with them and we encourage them to do it and be everything God wants them to be.”

This is the God that was with David, that came for us in Jesus, and that is amongst you now. A Spirit Incarnate, alive and deep in the mess of our lives, a Spirit of reconciliation, a Spirit of Mercy, a spirit of Love. It can be hard to catch, hard to see because just like in David court there is so much going on to keep it from view. But if we slow down and look we will see its common thread offering reconciliation, offering mercy, offering life. It’s there in your love and care for others and in others love and care for you. It’s there waiting for us as sure and as vital as the very bread we eat to stay alive. 

Thanks be to God.Thanks be to God.