12th Sunday after Pentecost
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15,31-35, Psalm 130, Ephesians 4:25-5:2, John 6:35, 41-51
By the Rev. Dr. Kim McNamara
As you know, our weekly lessons come from a common lectionary that divides and organizes the Bible into three years of readings, including a reading from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the New Testament and the Gospel. Every week, we read about people who lived thousands of years ago. I have often heard folks say that it no longer makes sense to spend all this time with the Old Testament, because it is no longer relevant in our world. Let’s consider this morning’s readings from this perspective.
We are currently in year B of the 3-year cycle. During this season after Pentecost, our Old Testament readings have come from the Books of first and second Samuel. Before this season after Pentecost has passed, we will also read some of the first book of Kings. I want to begin with a brief summary of the content of these books from this summer’s readings.
1st Samuel describes the birth of the prophet Samuel, how he was presented by his mother to the Prophet Eli, raised in the temple and became a great and trustworthy prophet of the Lord. Early in their beginnings as the people of Israel, God have given the Israelites wise leaders, like Moses, and prophets, like Samuel; wise leaders who listened to God and guided the people according to the word of the Lord. But the people were no longer content with letting prophets lead them. Not all the prophets listened to God as closely and as successfully as Samuel had. So, the people asked Samuel to find and appoint a king to govern them. The people wanted a King to lead them and fight their battles like the other nations had.
Samuel was not happy with the people’s decision. However, God explained to Samuel that the people were rejecting God as their king, just as the people had forsaken God and worshipped other gods even though God had brought them up out of Egypt and led them to their promised land. God told Samuel to listen to the voice of the people with their request and tell them about the problems with Kings. Samuel told the people that Kings would take their children and use them for soldiers and workers. Kings would take the best harvests from their fields and the best of their herds and flocks until the people cried out against their King. Despite the warnings, the people persisted in demanding a king. Saul was the first king appointed by Samuel. David was the second king.
As readers of these Old Testament stories, we can see right away that kings may or may not be skilled leaders, just rulers, and wise judges. King David was skilled, just and wise. His people loved him, and he became somewhat of a gold standard for kings, which is why the connection between David’s bloodlines and those of the Messiah were so important. As reported in 1 and 2 Kings, some of the kings were good leaders, others were terrible. Some kings were just and equitable, others were selfish, motivated by greed, and brutal. Some kings listened to God, others did not. Even those considered good kings, like the beloved King David, even they used their power in corrupt ways. The story of David’s infatuation with Bathsheba, which ended in the killing of Uriah, her husband, is just one example.
The living conditions for the people were dependent on the fitness of their king, although they usually blamed God for their problems. If you want to read the entire books of 1 and 2 Kings, you will undoubtedly come to the conclusion that, regardless of the king, the world for the people seemed always to be a violent battle for power; a battle where the people paid the price. As our reading this morning describes, twenty thousand slaughtered in one day. When you reflect on the people’s history with kings, you can see why kings may have created more problems for the people than they solved. This became especially true, when kings were chosen by bloodlines rather than skill and when other kings decided they needed to destroy a king in order to conquer a people and take their land.
Our Gospel readings in Year B’s season after Pentecost have come, primarily, from John’s Gospel. Our reading, today, is part of a series of sermons, in which Jesus attempts to explain who he is. In today’s sermon, Jesus identifies himself with bread. Jesus gives bread. Jesus is bread. “I am the bread of life,” he says, “whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Biblical scholars agree with the general concept that in these sermons, the bread Jesus is referring to is wisdom. However, this is not what those listening to Jesus understood. They were at first confused by his words, then, still not understanding Jesus, who spoke in difficult to understand parables, they became angry. In today’s readings, Jesus has angered the crowd with his statement, “I am the bread who has come down from heaven.” It is the last line of today’s reading, “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh,” that infuriates his listeners and turns many against him. Even the disciples agree that these teachings are difficult. It gets worse. Stay tuned next week.
Jesus worked hard to teach us the good news of God’s love for us. He wanted the people to understand that they were to model God’s love by accepting and loving each other. However, while Jesus wanted all of us to understand and practice this love, many of his messages were directed at the leaders in his world. He challenged the systems of corrupt political and religious powers and the leaders who used their power to harm God’s people. As we know, Jesus lost his own life in the process. Yet, by sharing this wisdom with us, Jesus brought the idea of a loving and forgiving God into the world and attempted to guide us to this good news God.
Where Jesus may have confused the people with his deep and complex parables, St. Paul simplified the message and gave us a clear set of guidelines. In his letters to the Ephesians, he describes the characteristics we should adopt and those we should leave behind to foster a just and civil world. Speak the truth. Do not steal. Put away envy, greed, bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, and malice. Be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. With this wisdom, Jesus, with Pauls’ help, got us to think about love as the goal of life. From the vague concept of love, came the broader goals of justice and a new vision for a more benevolent form of governance.
It has taken us thousands of years to attempt to undo the system of kings. Our country’s unique approach to governance created a democracy, where the people ruled themselves by choosing representatives and voting on decisions. In the centuries since then, many of the monarchies around the world have been dismantled. After World War 2, the world’s leaders came together to create an international agreement that provided forums where countries could work out their issues with one another in non-violent ways; ways that did not put innocent people in the line of fire. There was a tremendously hopeful surge of international communication and collaboration and the belief that, in this new world, tools of civility and reason, would replace the tools of death and destruction. Given the progress that had been made in our new world, perhaps we believed we had learned the lessons from the Old Testament well enough, we no longer needed to study these stories.
Yet, very recent and current events in our world today suggest otherwise. We have been shocked and horrified to see the brutal torture and killing of so many people in Ukraine and Israel. Sadly, we have more in common with the Old Testament people than we had hoped. Powerful leaders still rule us and, as the Israelites found, it is still very tempting to want a king to tell us what to do in these difficult times. As people, we are attracted to power and powerful leaders. We seem to be hardwired to look for and be associated with people who project confidence and knowledge, people who seem to know what and who we need to solve our problems.
Given the topic of kings, we might find ourselves headed down the path of politics. However, we are in church, so, let’s talk about religion, where, as it turns out, we have also structured ourselves around leaders; leaders with titles such as bishops and priests; leaders who, as we have learned, can also be part of a system that hurts God’s people. During the thousands of years between the time Jesus walked on earth and today, we continue to give power and voice to the leaders of the church. We have created powerful leaders who run the now complex administration of the church, interpret and tell us what the words of Jesus mean for our lives, and govern and judge our behavior according to standards that Jesus never even mentioned.
Here in the Diocese of Olympia, several courageous and forward-thinking congregations decided to return to an earlier model of church leadership; a model where the people of God work together to perform the functions and deliver the mission of the church; a model of church that is led by the community of believers. Here at St. Hugh, we are one of those churches. Thirty years ago, we chose a new way of being church by adopting a new model of ministry. We once called ourselves the Ministry of the Baptized, but our bishop at the time did not like the acronym, the MOB, so we become Total Common Ministry congregations. We called people from our congregations into both lay and clergy leadership positions. The diocese provided local training for us, and we have served without pay, in positions we refer to as non-stipendiary. For years, our model depended on people showing up in our congregation; people willing to be called, complete a five to six-year training process, and then serve as your priest without pay for another five years. Today, we are being impacted by the decline in church membership around the country and it is looking like I may be one of your last Total Common Ministry priests here at St. Hugh. As I enter into my fourth year of service as your priest, I am working with the diocese, the remaining Total Common Ministry congregations in our diocese, and with you to figure out what our future model of ministry will look like. Already, several of our congregation members have enrolled in a training program to help us discern our future. Our new leader at the diocese, Bishop Phillip LaBelle, will be consecrated on September 14. Given his authority, Bishop LaBelle will have a powerful influence on our future. We have already introduced ourselves to him and are working to get on his calendar for a conversation as soon as possible. Stay tuned.
As we sit here today, know that our congregation here at St. Hugh will see significant change in the next few years. I invite you to work with us as we discern our future by listening to God and seeking his guidance. I ask you to pray for us.
Almighty God, we entrust our beloved church to your never-failing care and love, knowing that you are doing for us better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.