Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, October 21st, 2018click here for past entries
Loving God, your people continue to make bad decisions and to hurt one another. Yet, you offer us forgiveness through Jesus. Help us to know the power of your love, and turn our hearts to you, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Had the story been told from Bathsheba’s perspective, it would have sounded quite different. There she was, taking the ritual bath that was required as part of the Jewish Law. As soon as she is finished, some messengers appear from the king asking her to come and see him. Since this is a request from the king, saying “no” isn’t really an option. The king forces himself on her, in spite of the fact that both of them are already married. She returns home, and in due time discovers that she is pregnant.
Seeing as her husband is away fighting the king’s battles, she knows who the father is and sends word to the king. Soon, her husband gets sent home, for the king hopes to cover up their adultery. However, being the principled man that he is, Uriah refuses to go and be with his wife when all of the other men are out on the battlefield. Thus, King David sends him back to the troops, and orders his superiors to make sure that he dies in battle.
It is unlikely that Bathsheba knew about David’s role in killing her husband. However, now her husband is dead and here she is, expecting a child. In that situation, no man would want her and she would be left to fend for herself. Thus, she is given no other choice but to marry her rapist, who happens to be the king. Then, to add insult to injury, the child she gives birth to dies after a brief illness.
We might have heard this perspective, except Bathsheba is essentially a character in someone else’s story. This is David’s story that is being told in 2 Samuel. We’ll get to David in a moment, but it is important to know that God did not forget about Bathsheba. She had more children as David’s wife, and one of those children eventually became king. By the time we get to 1 Kings, her son Solomon has become king and Bathsheba sits on a throne at his right hand (1 Ki. 2:19).
It is also important to know that none of what has happened is okay with God. David sinned. He committed adultery and murder, and tried to cover it up. However, the prophet Nathan confronts him with a message from God. He holds up a mirror to David by telling the story of the poor man’s lamb, and then announces, “You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12:7).
Nathan also informs David that there will be consequences to his actions. There will be violence in his own household. In fact, some of his sons will be killed by family members. At the same time, some of David’s own family will turn against him and try to take over the kingship. The sword will never depart from his house, and the child of his adulterous union will die. In the midst of all of this, David confesses that he has done wrong and has sinned against the Lord, and Nathan announces God’s forgiveness (2 Sam. 12:13).
We might perhaps wonder if there was ever any confession and reconciliation between David and Bathsheba. After all, David’s sin was also against her! However, we only hear about what happened between David and God.
While David was forgiven, it seems that he was also punished. Under the Jewish Law, he deserved to be put to death for what he had done. However, instead of David dying, others around him die. God’s forgiveness shows up in David not being put to death and continuing to be king of Israel. God also never abandons the covenant promise that was made to David that his offspring would rule in Israel forever (2 Sam. 7). We might ask, however, if the same thing happens for those who put their trust in Jesus. Does God forgive us but also send punishment?
It is hard to think of anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus announces forgiveness to somebody and also God’s punishment. While the parable that we heard today seems to suggest a miserable death for the wicked tenants, it is not Jesus who suggests this (Mt. 21:41). The vineyard is generally understood as a thinly veiled reference to Israel, where many of the prophets were put to death, as well as Jesus the Son. God, however, does not put the Israelites to death, and does notforget the covenant with them.
When we sin against God and against others, there are often undesirable consequences. Sin hurts people. Sin creates barriers between people and harms ourselves and others. Sin separates us from God. In some ways, God has no need to punish us for our sins, for we have already both experienced and inflicted pain.
To take the example of adultery (because it happens to be in today’s reading), any number of relationships become fractured when adultery takes place. If both parties are married, then two different marriage relationships experience a world of hurt. If an unwanted pregnancy occurs, now there is a child in the midst of all this who might be terminated before birth, or looked on with suspicion because he or she doesn’t look like the supposed father, or arrived at the wrong time. There is plenty of distress and hurt to go around, all because of a sinful union. God doesn’t need to step in and punish anybody. All of those involved have already suffered.
Now, if one of the people involved were to confess their sin to God, put their trust in Jesus, and strive never to do such a thing again, God would forgive them. God would forgive them because of Jesus, who already suffered the effects of all of our sins. This is the good news for us and for all. There is not only forgiveness, but resurrection and new life, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Pentecost 22 (NL 1) 2 Samuel 11:1-5, 26-27; 12:1-9
October 21, 2018 Psalm 51:1-9
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church Matthew 21:33-41
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
© 2018 Lynne Hutchison All Rights Reserved
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