King David is experiencing one of those moments when the rubber hits the road, and he’s having a hard time maintaining control … to recap … David has just about everything – power, prestige, wealth and a solid kingdom to preside over. Then one afternoon he spies his neighbour bathing on her roof, has her brought to the palace where he sleeps with her, gets her pregnant and then tried to cover his tracks.
First he sends Bathsheba’s husband home … but Uriah won’t go, instead because his fellow soldiers are sleeping on the battle field, he beds down in the guard house rather than his comfie bed at home … next David tries to get Uriah drunk and sends him home to sleep it off with Bathsheba … even that fails … so, David sends Uriah back to the battle field with secret orders that demand Uriah be placed in the most vulnerable place on the battle field, while the Israelite army falls back and leaves Uriah to his fate …
Uriah dies in battle, and David, the benevolent King brings the poor pregnant widow to the palace …
It’s a nice tidy ending … David keeps his misdeeds relatively secret, Uriah is out of the picture, Bathsheba is now one of his wives and no one is any the wiser …
Until dear old Nathan steps up and shares with the king and the court the sad story of the poor land owner who had but one lowly sheep … a sheep he loved like a child … a sheep he tended and doted upon … a sheep that was his precious animal …
As the story unfolds the poor little land owner loses that sheep to the banquet table of his wealthy neighbour who wants to host an extravagant feast but would not sacrifice any of his own animals to his own table … instead he sends his servants over to the poor landowner and they take the poor sheep and prepare it for their master’s guests …
The king hears the story … as a shepherd he understands the connection to the sheep … the fiercely protective attitude one has towards the animals under their care …they are animals, but more … The King is out raged … “who is this man to do such an outrageous thing??? How dare he. He must pay … tell me Nathan WHO IS THIS MAN??” the king bellows …
The culmination of the story is Nathan … and I picture this moment like this … Nathan has come before the king and told the story … as the King reacts he has turned and is leaving the court … he is almost to the door when the King bellows – “who is this man ??” Nathan stops … the room is quiet … Nathan slowly turns and staring into the king’s eyes lifts his finger and says – “YOU are the man … YOU are the one who did this …”
Then in the hush of the court, Nathan moves towards the King and reminds him of ALL of the blessings that God has given to David – all of the power, the wealth, the success - ALL of it … and David couldn’t be content with it … for David it wasn’t enough, and so he had to have more … and he was willing to murder poor Uriah for it …
Nathan filled with righteous indignation and anger stands before the King and says – “YOU are that man …” and in that moment David’s world comes to a screeching halt as he stares into the mirror that is held before him…
And in our Gospel reading, we encounter the crowds following Jesus and clamouring for more of what he offers …
Jesus, no doubt tired and weary begins to press the crowd about what it is that they want … “a sign, give us a sign …” they demand … “I’ve given you signs, but it isn’t enough …”
“we want more …” the crowd calls … we want more …
Jesus likens the moment they stand in to the time in the wilderness when the people clamoured for food and demanded that Moses DO SOMETHING, only to be given manna and water and quail … but still it was never enough … it is never enough … they want more …
(Ann Weems – Gifts of God)
I like to use this poem at Communion as we prepare to break bread and pour out the cup. It is a powerful reminder that sometimes OUR ways are NOT God’s ways … sometimes we clamour and yearn for things that are unimportant and that ultimately will stand in the way of our relationship with God and with each other …
Like a cosmic Oliver Twist we stand before God with our hands outstretched as we utter the words, “Please sir I would like so more …”
Except God doesn’t mock us by saying “More, you want MOOOOORRRRREEEEEE…” Instead God quietly supplies us with more and more and more, hoping all the while that perhaps we’ll pause long enough to realize how much we really have.
That’s where the Nathan’s in our world come in handy … they are the reality checks that help us pause and consider where we’re at, and what is really important.
Sometimes they are obvious and noticeable. Other times they arrive quietly and subtly, popping up where we least expect it.
The Nathan’s in our lives are those people and those moments when we are forced – and not in a negative way – but in an open way, to reflect on our path and our journey and what is important in our lives, in our faith and in our movement in the world …
It can be something as simple and unexpected as a picture in a newspaper, or it can be something as big and dramatic as a prophetic presence standing before us with a single finger pointing at our nose … the entry into the moment varies, but the outcome remains constant … the self-reflection and consideration of what is happening in our lives is central …
It’s an inner – “what would Jesus do?” moment when we consider what we are doing with our lives and our faith and the many blessings God has poured out upon us …
Taking time to reflect on our life journey and how we are living our lives is never a bad thing …
The WWJD movement began with the publishing of a simple book called “In His Steps.” A book many of us have read. The premise of the book is that a small town church is deeply affected by the visit of a tramp – a homeless guy, who arrives in the community and dies. This profoundly affects the pastor who reflects on whether his response and that of his faith community is in keeping with the values offered by Jesus and his ministry.
The Pastor then challenges his flock to spend a year living their lives with the simple guiding principle of asking themselves “what would Jesus do?” in each and every decision they have to make …
The outcome is dramatic and challenging … one by one the characters in the story wrestle with the question – what would Jesus do when it comes to business, to pleasure, to life … their reflections lead them to challenging and interesting outcomes … but one by one they appreciate how easy it has been to live their lives without really trying to connect their faith and their day to day decisions. There has been a disconnect … the things they did Monday to Saturday, and even Sunday afternoon were not always in keeping with the values they were about on Sunday morning … so slowly they began to change. They began to take their faith more seriously. They began to place their faith in the forefront as they made decisions throughout their lives.
It wasn’t an easy process. But the outcome was a transformation of themselves and of their community … All because the pastor had an encounter with a moment in time that required of him some critical self-reflection …
Critical self-reflection is key … the 12 steps of AA are ALL about critical self reflection that leads to a better understanding of one’s self … much of the counseling and help offered to people struggling in life is about critical self-reflection to help them better understand themselves from within … I remember as a teen going to our minister in my home church and asking him tough life questions as
I struggled with issues in my life and my world.
It was frustrating that Ross would never offer a straight answer. Nine times out of ten, his answer was ANOTHER question … I would ask him a question and he would answer with a question …
I went away mad and frustrated. But looking back I’ve come to appreciate that in asking those questions – questions I didn’t want to face much less ask myself – Ross was moving me forward …
I would find the answer to my first question as I wrestled with the second questions … and as I came back and shared my reflections Ross would nod and smile and ask another DARNED question …
And so it went – step by step – question by question – struggle by struggle until I came to see with a bit of hind-sight, that each question was moving me forward and holding a mirror up before me. A mirror that required I take time to reflect on what was there, and to consider how that impacted my life …
Self-reflection isn’t easy … but, whether we are 15 or 85, it is part of remaining vital, dynamic and active in our lives, our faith and our attitudes within the world … being able to wrestle with our demons and doubts is key to growing in faith.
David stood before Nathan, no doubt with knees shaking … Nathan through a story had laid bare the King’s misdeeds and errors and called him to a different path …
Jesus stood before the crowds, weary and tired and through story challenged them to open their eyes, their hearts, their minds and their souls to what God was offering them …
We stand before a mirror, and are challenged through the story that is OUR lives, to open our eyes, our hearts, our minds and our souls to what God is offering us …
And in that moment we remember … “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases … God’s mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning … and for those who open their whole being to God, and bend their knees to praise God … for them the whole world is a gift …”
May it be so … thanks be to God … Let us Pray …
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