2nd Sunday in Lent 2014
Psalm 51 1 Thessalonians
4:1-8 Matthew 15:21-28
The Failure of the King
I recently received a letter in the
mail from a well-known publisher, wanting me to buy more books, of course. But
the opening line of their letter made me stop and think. They wrote: “Which
book would you choose as your sole companion on a desert island?” Although the
letter was generic, my first reaction was to ponder on what a strange question
it was to ask a clergyman…but then, on later reflection and given the manner in
which the Bible has been largely cast aside by many of our modern day clergy,
it may not be that odd a question after all.
But is this really such a ‘modern’
problem? Reading the words of Paul to the church in Thessalonica seems to indicate
that the all too human tendency to ‘do it my way’ (to quote Sinatra) without
reference to God’s Word was a very real problem that faced this young 1st
century community of faith. The Apostle had taught them the basic guidelines
for life in the kingdom – indeed, his trademark was to teach all the churches
the whole counsel of God, which is probably why some complained that his
teaching was so hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16) – and he wanted to
encourage them to continue to walk in an appropriate and godly manner. But he
was not naïve as to the nature of man and so he reminded them that they were
not called to uncleanness, but to holiness – in other words, to a life
characterized by keeping what God had commanded in His Word.
But going even further back than
Paul, we find that David, a godly king, considered to be a man after God’s own
heart, struggled with the very same problem when the sight of a lovely woman
bathing on her rooftop in the cool of the evening drove God’s Word far from his
mind. You no doubt know the story well…the author of 2nd Samuel
tells us that “in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to
battle (a statement that causes the reader to wonder why David did not go out
with his forces), that David sent Joab (his general) and his servants with him,
and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But
David remained in Jerusalem .”
So it seems like a perfect set-up for clandestine activities. The king was
alone and was bored, no doubt, and, as the old English saying goes, satan finds
evil work for idle hands to do. Perhaps the king thought his rest was well
earned…he had, after all, been fighting for his kingdom all his life and a
little retirement from the fray wouldn’t do anyone any harm. And so, strolling
along his palatial porch one evening, watching his pot plants grow, his eye
caught sight of something he would not have seen had he been out with the rest
of the Lord’s army doing what he ought to have been doing. Why Bathsheba chose
to perform her bathing ritual in full sight of the palace, and why there is no
mention of her resisting the advances of the king, or protesting, or crying
out, or quoting the Law of God to a man who ought to have known better, we will
never know. All we are told is that the lust of the eyes turned into the lust
of the flesh and that conception was the result.
Perhaps we need to pause at this
point to think on how this sort of thing is all too common. It happens every
day. Boy meets girl, girl meets boy…young, old, single, married, divorced…he
likes what he sees and she likes what she sees…one thing leads to another and
bingo a tiny human being begins to make his or her presence known. The sense of
panic of being found out and the wrong choices resulting from this sense of
panic is another common feature. David tried to cover his tracks – he got Uriah
her husband back from the front in an attempt to get him to foot the bill, so
to speak, but Uriah refused to enjoy the legitimate pleasures of married life
while his fellow soldiers were giving their lives for the sake of king and
country. So David was left with only two other alternatives – public repentance
or murder – and, unfortunately, rather than loose face (or perhaps loose his
life – Proverbs tells us that the wrath of a jealous husband is a terrible
thing), David chose the latter – he chose the easy way out – he chose murder –
in his case, the murder of Uriah, but today, it is all too often the murder of
the unprotected, unheard, and unseen pre-born child.
But murder is murder (whether in or
out of the womb), adultery is adultery, and sin will always be sin…and sin has
a way of destroying the lives of all involved.
Perhaps the most troubling part of
this whole tragedy is the fact that King David knew the Word of God as the
kings of Israel
were required to make their own copy of the Law to read throughout their life
so that he might learn to fear God and obey his statutes (Deuteronomy 17). He
also knew first hand what had happened to a king when he chose to turn his back
on the Word of the Lord…David’s knowledge that God had forsaken his
predecessor, King Saul, may very well be behind the cry in Psalm 51:11 “Do not
cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” And
yet he still did what he did – seemingly blind to the obvious iniquity of it
all, adding wrong upon wrong.
Worst of all, is that when Nathan
the prophet confronted him with a prophetic parable in which he told the king
of a rich man who had refused to take a lamb from his own flock, but rather
took the only lamb of his poor neighbor and slaughtered it to feed his guest,
David responded with wrathful indignation. “As the Lord lives, the man who has
done this shall surely die (a little over the top as the Law did not require
the death penalty for theft nor for oppression of the poor)! And he shall
restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no
pity (which is the penalty for theft required by the Law)!” But think on this. David…knowing
in his heart that he was guilty of a far greater crime…knowing that he himself
had sinned…David had no qualms in casting the first stone. But the stone struck
home as Nathan whirled around and declared, “You are the man!”
To David’s credit he did not
attempt to justify himself, nor did he try to further cover up his sins by
blaming others (as did his predecessor, King Saul when confronted by Samuel!),
nor did he attempt to silence the messenger. He could easily have had Nathan
killed as well…in this day and age, of course, no one literally kills those who
point out sin(at least not in the West), but they are slaughtered verbally
before all too sympathetic audiences in the next church down the road. But
David did not choose any of these options. Rather, his immediate response was
confession…and Psalm 51 is the result.
As with David, all too often we
only truly appreciate our need for grace, mercy, and forgiveness once we have
been confronted with the awful gravity of our own sin. Thus the confession of
the fallen king begins, not with explanations (I couldn't help myself – I had a
troubled childhood), or accusations (Lord, that woman you gave me!), or
justifications (well, I’m only human, you know) – no, David begins with an
acknowledgement of his own guilt and with an appeal to the character of God.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness; according to the
multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.”
The words “blot out” indicate a
removal of handwriting from a book, in this case the wiping away of the penalty
for his sin. This image was later used by Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians
in reference to what actually happened at the cross: Jesus, he said, “having
wiped out (or blotted out) the handwriting of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us…has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross.” Paul also borrowed from David’s next statement in which the king asked
to be washed thoroughly and cleansed, both terms usually used for the
laundering of clothes. Addressing those who once were fornicators, idolaters,
adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and
extortionists, Paul said, “and such were some of you, but you were washed,
but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus
and by the Spirit of God.” Isn't it sad that this understanding of being
cleansed from something one once was is so different to the modern acceptance
of categories of people the Word clearly states will not inherit the kingdom of
God? This is just one more indication that the Word of God is no longer the
foundation of the modern Western
Church
As most of us know, sin has a way
of sticking around, even when it is accepted and excused. It looms up before us
like a demonic phantom, accusing us and exposing us for what we know we are
inside. And so it should come as no surprise to hear that people who live in
various states of sinfulness turn to drugs and alcohol to soothe their pricking
consciences…they may blame society or science or biology, but the bottom line
is that they know that what they are doing is wrong. Sadly, they try to shoo
the phantom away with everything but confession.
But there is a more serious problem
that David brings to the fore in this Psalm, namely that sin is something
committed against the highest authority of all – God himself. Of course, sin
can be committed against ourselves or against others, but ultimately sin is
against God because he is the Creator and Lord of all. We are not our own – we
have been bought with a price – and we all are created in the image of God. So
sin can never be a private matter and it is therefore always an affront to God
who owns all because he created all and sees all. It is in this light that
Psalm 51 reveals the main dilemma of humanity – a nature so corrupted by the
fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, that sin is inescapable in that it is
part and parcel of who we are as human beings living in a broken world. We are
all warped creatures as we all come from faulty stock.
But if the essence of humanity is
corrupt and wicked (as the prophet Jeremiah tells us), then the only possible
solution to this dilemma is surely an entirely new creation…and it is to this
hope that David turned. “Purge me,” he prayed, but that was not enough. “Wash
me,” he cried, but even the purest driven snow will eventually become tainted
with dirt. “Create…” Ah, yes. “Create in me a clean heart.” Only the creation
of a clean heart (as opposed to the deceitful heart of stone) would suffice.
Surely at this point we must hear an echo of Paul’s words to the Corinthians:
“If anyone is in Christ (the one who blotted out the handwriting of requirements
that was against us by offering up his sinless self on the cross in our stead),
he is a new creation; old things have past away; behold all things have
become new.” The cry of Psalm 51 was heard and answered at the cross
of Christ – it was heard and answered in the plea of the Syro-Phoenecian woman
– and it is still heard and answered today wherever and whenever a sinner
confesses his or her sins before God’s throne of mercy and grace.
Once confession is heard and
absolution is received, only then can joy return…no drug, no alcohol, no
therapy can ever do what confession does for the troubled soul. And so the
forgiven transgressor becomes the teacher of fellow transgressors. Not a judge,
but a teacher. I am a sinner, but I found grace…I am a sinner, but I found
mercy…I am a sinner, but I found peace…I am a sinner, but I found cleansing…I
am a sinner, but I found true joy in Jesus, because his broken body blotted out
my transgressions and his shed blood washed me thoroughly from my iniquity.
The failure of King David thus
becomes a paradigm for fallen, sinful Israel …for the fallen, sinful
Church. His physical adultery speaks to our spiritual adultery; his realization
of the inadequacy of any kind of earthly offering speaks to the inadequacy of
the various forms of ritual we turn to, religious or otherwise; his confession
calls to us across the expanse of time and teaches us that what leads to
freedom from the phantom of our sins and what leads to true joy is a broken
heart, not a proud, hard heart…a contrite spirit, not a self-defensive,
self-justifying spirit…that is what is acceptable to God.
David’s story and the story of his
descendants served as an example for Israel in exile. Having been
chastened for their sin, the words of the Psalmist convicted, challenged, and
yet also provided hope. They had done wickedly and their sins had found them
out…just like the great king David. They were facing the consequences of their
sin…just like the great king David. But would they now confess their sin and
receive absolution…just like the great king David? That was the question they
faced…and that is the question we still face today when we read the words of
Psalm 51.
Before we come to the Lord’s Table of mercy and grace, we like the great king David, must be confronted with the awful gravity of our own sinfulness. Therefore, ask the Holy Spirit, who alone can reveal to us the deep hidden recesses of our heart, to show us our sins as He sees them…and as we cringe in the dirt of our own unworthiness, let us lift up our hearts to embrace the most gracious gift of a new creation…and having received the symbols of this gift, let us leave cleansed, washed and recreated so that we might go our into the darkness of this world to teach fellow sinners of his merciful ways.
© Johann W. Vanderbijl III Lent
2014
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