The Unavoidable Choice

The Unavoidable Choice

Tenth after Trinity

Collect: Let thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament: Joshua 24:14-24 (KJ21)

14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16 And the people answered and said, “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;

17 for the Lord our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went and among all the people through whom we passed.

18 And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore will we also serve the Lord, for He is our God.”

19 And Joshua said unto the people, “Ye cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins:

20 if ye forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt, and consume you after He hath done you good.”

21 And the people said unto Joshua, “Nay; but we will serve the Lord.”

22 And Joshua said unto the people, “Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”

23 “Now therefore put away,” said he, “the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.”

24 And the people said unto Joshua, “The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey.”

If we go out to eat, it always goes like this. I say, “Where do you want to go?” She says, “I don’t care; you choose.” I say, “No, really, I don’t care; you to pick a place you’d like go.” She says, “What I’d like is for you to choose.” I say, “OK. I’ll give you three options, and you choose one.” She says, “No, I don’t want to choose. Pick something.” Somehow after 10 or 15 minutes of this game we end up going somewhere

We’ve got to choose or stay home.

As Joshua came to the end of his life, he confronted God’s people with an unavoidable choice.

1. The Charge: Choose whom you will serve.

The Lord used Moses to set his people free from slavery in Egypt and lead to the Promised Land. When Moses died, Joshua took over and led them to conquer and possess the Land. As Joshua’s days came to an end, he gave this charge to Israel.

Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord.

The charge is both positive and negative. The positive choice is to fear and serve the Lord. “Fear” is not the response of a beaten child who cowers before an angry parent. The fear of the Lord is loyalty to him as the God who redeemed us, love for him as the God who is gracious to us, respect for him in his purity and holiness, and revulsion against displeasing him. Those who fear the Lord serve the Lord. Serving the Lord is not going through the outward motions or worshiping half-heartedly but serving him  with sincerity and truth.

Fearing and serving of the Lord means rejecting all other gods. Joshua reminds them of the idolatry in their background. God called Abraham out of a life of worshiping other gods. In Egypt some Israelites got involved in the worship of the Egypt’s false gods. Choosing the Lord means rejecting all other gods. There are only two choices - the Lord and any other god, whatever form that god takes, whether the god of a false religion, or the gods we make of other people, or possessions, or pleasures, or reputations.

Joshua wouldn’t let them say, “Let us think and talk about it, and we’ll get back to you.” “Choose you this day whom you will serve.”  Joshua had made his personal choice and, as head of his family the choice also for his household. He and his would serve the Lord. But, if the people find it evil in their eyes to serve the Lord - if it is distasteful to them, if they think it contrary to their happiness, then let them worship the gods their idolatrous forefathers worshiped or the gods worshiped by the people of Canaan.

Joshua’ charge makes it clear that there is a choice that cannot be avoided. The first commandment is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Jesus said,

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

He went on to give a concrete example, “You cannot serve God and money.”

This charge comes to us every day, every hour. Whom do I trust and love? What do I serve? The choice is always between the Lord  everything else that claims our worship, trust, love, loyalty, and service.

2. The Choice: We will serve the Lord.

The people were ready with their answer. They make the right choice. “We also will serve the Lord for hs is our God.” They will not even entertain the possibility of worshiping other gods. “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.”  

Not only do they make the right choice. They make it for the right reasons. They do not say, “We will serve the Lord, because we are scared what will happen if we don’t.” The reason they will serve the Lord is because of all he has done for them:

...the Lord our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went and among all the people through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore will we also serve the Lord...

The Lord is their Redeemer who saved them from slavery in Egypt. He did great miracles of salvation they had seen. He had preserved them through all dangers of the wilderness. And he had defeated their enemies in Canaan so they could take possession of the land.

There are professing Christians who are very indifferent about being faithful to the Lord. They worry about their own happiness, not pleasing the Lord, and it never occurs to them that God could be displeased with them for the other they serve. But there also are Christians whose motivations for remaining faithful to the Lord and serving him are guilt and fear. They are like the child who is always looking over his shoulder, fearful his dad is going to catch him doing something wrong and give him the back of his hand.

Real Christian faithfulness doesn’t begin until we see all that God has done to redeem us from sin and judgment. He did mighty miracles of salvation for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He promises to preserve us through dangers, toils, and snares until he brings us to the heavenly Promised Land. We faithfully worship and serve the Lord not out of guilt but gratitude. Faithfulness is our response to God’s grace of salvation.

3. The Challenge: You cannot service the Lord.

Joshua’s response seems strange - he challenges what they say:

And Joshua said unto the people, “Ye cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins: if ye forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt, and consume you after He hath done you good.”

Why did Joshua this? Does he intend to discourage them? Does he want them not to follow the Lord?

First, when he says God is jealous, we need to remember there are two kinds of jealousy. There is jealousy that comes from insecurity and possessiveness - the husband who becomes upset when at a social gathering his wife has a conversation with another man. But there there is the right kind of jealousy - when a wife and husband pledge their love to each other and both expect the other to be faithful to their vows and loyal to one another.

Second, when he says God will not forgive but will turn on them and consume them, he does not mean that God is not willing to forgive those who sin and then return to the Lord. He does not mean that God is not patient but will quickly destroy his people if they are unfaithful. Look at the history of his dealings with his people - his patience and mercy through century after century as they flirted with other gods and wandered away from the Lord. What he means is that there is an end to God’s patience when he will judge his people.

Third, when he tells them they cannot follow the Lord, he is being a realist about human nature - how weak and fickle it is. One of my favorite hymns is based on this reality:

Oh, to grace how great a debtor

daily I'm constrained to be!

Let thy goodness, like a fetter,

bind my wandering heart to thee:

prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

here's my heart, O take and seal it;

seal it for thy courts above.

4. The Confirmation: We still will serve the Lord.

The people’s response to Joshua’s challenge of their commitment was to confirm their commitment to the Lord.

And the people said unto Joshua, “Nay; but we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua accepted their confirmation and impressed on them the seriousness of their commitment:

Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve Him.”

The people responded,

We are witnesses.  

Joshua challenged them not to stop at words but to act on their commitment:

Now therefore put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.

And the people again expressed their loyalty and commitment to the Lord.

The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey.

Every Sunday when we come to worship as God’s people, we express our commitment to the Lord. “Lord you are our God. You redeemed us and saved us. We are yours.” And every week the Lord responds to us, “Then put away all your other gods and worship me only.”

We sing with Anglican poet, William Cowper:

The dearest idol I have known,

Whate’er that idol be

Help me to tear it from Thy throne,

And worship only Thee.

Truth or Consequences?

RWorkowski/ July 24, 2016   TRINITY 9 Morning Prayer TED FALLS, Lector

Homily:  Truth or Consequences?

OT:  Ezekiel 14:1--11

NT:  1 Thess. 4:1--12

In the 1950’s ---up until the 1970’s, there was a zany, wacky, hilarious game show called Truth or Consequences.  The host would call up 2 people from the audience---& they had to tell something or answer a question truthfully---or pay the consequence.  BUT, since the questions were Trick Questions, the contestants found out (to their shock & dismay) that while they thought they were telling the truth, their truth had been cleverly hijacked--& now they must suffer the Consequences. They had to perform the silliest stunts---like searching for a $100 bill---but the bill [they were told] was placed at the bottom of 1 of the 50 lemon meringue pies on the stage—& they had to find the $100 bill with their hands tied behind their back, doing all the digging thru the lemon meringue with their tongue & nose & face. It was quite a scene.  

What made it especially humorous was that the audience, before the contestants were brought out, were informed that the $100 bill was not in the pie at all, but on the back shirt of the contestant.  The show was harmless & fun for the TV audience.  But the premise was quite realistic----if you don’t tell the truth, there are consequences.

When it comes to telling the truth---whether in Religion or Politics or Medicine or Education or in any other area of life, there are Consequences.  And there are consequences as well, if we tell a lie.

Ezekiel was telling the people of Judah the truth---the truth about Babylon, about Nebuchadnezzar, about what God was revealing to him.  If they acted on the Truth of God, there would be 1 outcome; & if they preferred their own pathway, the outcome would be deadly & filled with misery.

Ezekiel was not only a prophet, he was also a priest---& these 2 strains (Prophet/Priest) run throughout all 48 chapters.  As a prophet, he was not only a PREACHER of what God told him to preach,---but he was also a PREDICTER of unseen future events.  Some have even called him a psychic---for he was able (from Babylon) to PREDICT an instantaneous death of a particular man in Jerusalem---- even though he (EZEKIEL) was 700 miles away from that person.   

And as a PRIEST, his zeal was for the proper worship of God----a properly made altar, a properly proportioned Temple,--& a properly made people---holy, prayerful, zealous for the Lord God Jehovah, offering to him the sacrifice of not only their lips, but their lives. And these 2 stands are woven throughout the Book.  But there is more to the Book.

Every book of the Bible has a story, a theme, a message.  The immediate context of EZEKIEL (& Jeremiah) is this:  the prophets of God warned Israel in the north, & Judah in the south, that they must repent & turn to the Lord….or face the consequences!  

They tried to rouse the people because the Lord was preparing Assyria,--- like a pack of wolves, -- a vicious & consuming pagan army.  They would rip & tear & devour & impale.  They would skin their victims alive, & then drape the human skin drapery from the city walls as a warning to other resisting cities.

Until the advent of WW2, there has never, in the annals of history, been a more vicious & annihilating army---& the grisly record of what they did is still, to this day, carved in stone.  They wanted their deeds to be remembered by everyone --& for all time!  

ISRAEL & JUDAH heard these truths from God’s Truth Tellers—Jeremiah & Ezekiel---but these warnings fell on deaf ears.  TRUTH or CONSEQUENCES!  The disastrous consequence was that for all recorded history, the Ten Tribes that constituted “Israel” disappeared from history & were never seen again.   In time, Assyria was defeated by the Babylonians, & it was now JUDAH’s turn to face the Babylonian war machine. There would be 3 successive invasions.  

Ezekiel sees himself as a Watchman; someone on the tower of the city wall.  He’s elevated & from his vantage point can see the danger.  It’s in the distance, but it’s coming with an alarming swiftness.  YET,--- the princes & the false prophets & the priests & the people doze on---all is well, all is OK, all is peace.  Our security is behind these thick walls, our security is that we are Jerusalem & God would never destroy his own Temple; our security is listening to OUR voices, our soft & reassuring voices.      

Ezekiel was living in interesting times---we certainly could say “Disturbing Times”. We too are living in interesting times---we might say disturbing times—as we notice the erosion of Judeo-Christian values & ethics & morals & standards.  

Until recently, the European & American “way of life” has not been challenged by Islamic forces since their last defeat in the Middle Ages.  But now those forces, seemingly inconsequential a decade ago, are now very evident.  Murders & massacres & bombings, & even overthrow of governments----is before our very eyes. Yet, many doze on.

In addition to this, we have “interesting times/disturbing times” on the political scene as well.  If you’ve been keeping up with the political climate in the Democratic & Republican camps there is much that is not only disturbing, but decidedly against our cherished Judeo-Christian values.  And this erosion has been going on for a long time.  

But Disturbing Times are not just on the world stage or in the political arena, but most frighteningly in the holy Catholic & Apostolic Church---the people of God, the flock of God, the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

It is not just in general society [where it might be expected] but in the CHURCH that the Bible is disregarded & devalued.  

Mainline Protestant denominations have led their people so far astray, that they now endorse (& vigorously promote), as Church Policy, same-sex marriage (clergy & laity), abortion, rejection of Creation & wholehearted endorsement of evolution, ----and since the Bible is not true & Jesus is NOT the Way/Truth/Life---but only 1 of many ways of reaching harmony & brotherhood & happy days-----then it is, to my mind (& perhaps to your mind as well), that our departure from God & God’s Word & God’s Son----has brought us to his low degree.  

A similar moral & spiritual erosion was taking place in the days of Ezekiel, & the end result was the TOTAL destruction of Israel & Judah & Jerusalem---including the Temple.

I suggest that a good Bible verse to remember in these troubled times is PROVERBS 14:34—Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

The Book of Ezekiel is informative in any number of ways….& I’ve titled my homily/sermon “Truth or Consequences” because that’s part of what Ezekiel is saying to the people of Judah----either you listen to TRUTH---the Word of the Lord---as it comes from my lips; OR, if you don’t & continue on your present path, you will pay the consequences.

Just as the moral erosion in our country & in the Church has taken quite a while, step by step, a mild denial here & there, --or a rejection of ONE truth, & then a 2nd & a 3rd ---so it was in Ezekiels day---& in the days & generations before him.

We’ve all heard of King Hezekiah, & under his reign there were good times & bad times, but during his reign there came a period of refreshing.  There was a revival.  The gods & goddesses were put away, the prostitution groves were closed, the practice of witchcraft & Spiritism was abolished. There was a cleansing, a purifying.

Temple worship was restored. The Bible was read & memorized & given 1st place.  The land prospered & there was emotional & spiritual healing, & that peace that passes understanding.  

But in time, with the death of the King, his son Manasseh came to rule.  His reign was the longest in the history of Judah, ---& also the most evil & corrupt.  All the old practices were revived---pagan temple prostitution, child sacrifice, denial of Jehovah as the One True God, & compromise at every level.    In turn, other Kings came & went---some evil, some holy & exemplary (like Josiah), but all in all the trend was a steady downhill descent.

Ezekiel & Jeremiah & other prophets tried to turn the King & people around, but these godly voices of TRUTH were banished or tortured or mocked.  False prophets had the Kings ear (& his nobles)-----& when Jeremiah or Ezekiel said NO, don’t listen to those siren voices---they were mocked & treated roughly & rebuffed, & the Word of the LORD was not listened to or obeyed.  

Their trust would be in political alliances, intrigue, plotting, massive brick walls & forts, chariots, a handsome portfolio,---- & trust in man & things, but not in God, or in God’s prophets speaking God’s WORD.

To this very day, this very hour, like Ezekiel on the watchtower who saw the danger & trumpeted the truth,---- we are to be a city set on a hill, a light in a dark world,----and we contest against the Kingdom of Darkness & all its principalities & powers.  

But, at the same time, we are confident that He dwells in us & we in Him.  What better place to be than in God’s care & keeping.  In Psalm 121 we hear David say----I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills: Where shall my help come from?  My help cometh from the LORD, who made heaven & earth.

So, amid many fears, we are not fearful, but rather, CONFIDENT, for as the Scripture says in 1 John 4:4: “…greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

The ending chapters of the Bk of Ezekiel are not so much an ending, as a beginning---a prophecy of Truth, --a wonderful word of Assurance & Promise:  there will be a new, radiant, glorious Temple, and a glorious city with streams of living water.  And the very last words of the book are these:  “…the name of that city shall be THE LORD IS THERE.” [Yhwh shammah]

There he stands----the Preacher of Truth---700 miles from home; the people exiled---foreign culture, foreign language, foreign gods,---and yet, so far from home, YHWH Shammah---the Lord is there….just as he was with Ezekiel’s other fellow-exiles---the 3 young men thrown into the fiery furnace; Daniel in the lions den. Their dwelling place was in that holy city, whose name is The LORD IS THERE.

The LORD IS THERE is the city where Ezekiel & all God’s people (stranded in Babylon) have their real & true & permanent dwelling place.  And today, & until he come again, even at this very hour, stranded in our own Babylon, we have our citizenship in heaven & have our abode in HIS City:   THE LORD IS THERE. He is with his Holy Church forever.

And I saw a new heaven & a new earth, the holy city coming down from God out of heaven,…& a great voice saying God is with his people…& he will dwell with them; God himself shall be with them. In these disturbing times, may we rest in this blessed assurance:  Jesus is LORD, & we dwell in his city---Jehovah shammah, the LORD IS THERE!

+ In Nom Pat/Fil/SS. Amen

(REV. 21:1—4, selected)

A Day for Forgiveness

A Day for Forgiveness

Shimei Throwing Stones at David

Collect of the Day: O God, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 19:16-23

16 And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was of Bahurim, hastened and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.

17 And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Jordan before the king.

18 And there went over a ferryboat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was coming over the Jordan,

19 and said unto the king, “Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart;

20 for thy servant doth know that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”

21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”

22 And David said, “What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? Shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?”

23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, “Thou shalt not die.” And the king swore unto him.

(Today’s homily is based on today’s Old Testament Lesson. It deals with a situation that forms the historical context of last week’s homily from Psalm 63. In Psalm 63 David is in the wilderness of Judah because his son Absalom it trying to take the throne. David abandoned Jerusalem and fled to the wilderness. In today’s Old Testament lesson David is on the way back to Jerusalem when he meets a man named Shimei, a man he had met earlier as he headed for the wilderness to try to save his kingdom.)

Have you ever experienced a person who turned against you when you were down and who later, when things turned good for you, tried to get back in your favor? That’s what happened with David and a man name Shimei.

1. Shimei’s Sin against David

• David had traveled about a mile and a half from Jerusalem when he was confronted by Shemei. Shemei was from the tribe of Benjamin which was the tribe of the first king of israel, Saul, who had committed suicide in battle and had been replaced by David.

• Shimei had walked along a hill overlooking the road on which David was traveling, and he hurled curses at David and all those who were accompanying David. In addition to to insults and curses, Shimei threw stones and dirt at David and all the members of his his court who were accompanying him.  

He yelled insults at David and at  David’s family, court, army and advisors:

“Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.” (1 Samuel 16:7,8).

Shimei resented that David and David’s family had supplanted Saul, and he blamed David for the murders of Saul’s general, Abner, and Saul’s son, Isboseth, though Scripture makes it plain that David was not responsible.

• What Shemei did was stupid. Why curse the king is you do not yet know what will be the outcome of the coup that Absalom was staging. We has Anglicans may remember the history of the Tudor family and how those who joined in potential rebellion against Henry, Mary, and Elizabeth, were brutally suppressed and executed. Shemei must have had a great deal of resentment against David to risk his life in denouncing David.

Shimei’s act was not only stupid. It was sinful. The law of Moses said:

“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people” (Exodus 22:28).

It was a great sin to revile God or to curse the King. Shemei deserved to die. And one of David’s men named Abishai was ready to take care of him. He said:

Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.

• But David  would have none of it - for four reasons: 1) David believed that it was possible that Shimei’s cursing was the Lord’s chastisement for David’s past sins. 2) Whether that was the case or not, David knew Shimei’s cursing in the Lord’s providence, and he submitted to that providence. 3) If David’s own son was out to kill him, why resist the cursing of this man? 4) Perhaps the Lord would set things right in the future.

• However none of this had any effect on Shimei. He followed David, looking down on him at from the ridge and continued to curse, to hurl stones, and to throw dirt.

David continued on into the Judean wilderness while Shemei looked forward to the defeat of David’s army and the death of David himself.

2. David’s Forgiveness of Shimei

David’s army organized itself in the Judean wilderness and fought a battle with Absalom’s army. Absalom’s army was routed, and Absalom was killed by David’s general Joab.

• With the defeat of Absalom David and his people began the march back to Jerusalem. A large group met David at the the crossing of the Jordan. Men from David’s tribe of Judah, 1000 men from Saul’s tribe of Benjamin. A man named Ziba who had been one of Saul’s servant came with his 15 sons and 20 servants to see get the king’s household across and to do whatever David needed or wanted. These people had not gone into the wilderness with David when retreated there. They had not shown loyalty to David, and their meeting David at the river was an apology, an expression of loyalty to David, and an effort to reconcile with the king. Were they sincere? Some perhaps were. Others no doubt were dealing with political reality. If Absalom had won, they would have met him. But David had won, so they met him.

• Most prominent among them was Shimei who had cursed David and thrown stones and dirt at him when David was weak and on the verge of losing the kingdom. Shimei knew he was in serious trouble and likely to be executed when David and his victorious army returned from the wilderness. He probably decided he had nothing to lose. He decided to take his chance, meet David as he crossed back into Judah, and cast himself on the king’s mercy.

He fell on his knees in front of David and said,

Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do

thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart; for thy servant doth know that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

It was a hail Mary pass to try to save his life.

• Abishai, who had volunteered earlier to cut Shimei’s head off, spoke up again. Shimei must be executed. Abishai said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” In the movie, Elizabeth the Golden Age, Queen Elizabeth, must deal with the treachery of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. Because Mary is her cousin, Elizabeth is inclined to spare Mary. But her Secretary of State, William Cecil, tells Elizabeth that it is not safe for her or her county to ignore Mary’s treachery, so Elizabeth orders her executed. Abishai argues that David must kills such a scoundrel as Shimei.

• But, as David would not allow Abishai to kill Shimei when he cursed David as David left Jerusalem, so now he will not consent to Shimei’s execution as he heads back to Jerusalem.  David rebuked Abishai:

What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? Shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

David asks “What have I to do with you?” Even though

Abishai is a loyal citizen and soldier who has shared in

David’s hardships and fought for David’s cause, David sees

that he and Abishai are of different spirits. David’s kingship

is now secure. This day is not a day for killing enemies.

• No doubt there was political calculation in what David did.

There has been a civil war. David’s army has put down the

rebellion. Now is a time for healing the rifts, not for

creating resentments. National unity is more important

than revenge on enemies.

But there is more than politics at work. David knows the Lord has been gracious to him and therefore he will show grace to his enemies. It would have been just had the Lord taken David’s kingdom from him. His sin with Bathsheba which involved not only adultery but the arranged death of her husband. He had betrayed the nation by his sin, and had dishonored the name of the Lord. But the Lord did not give David what he deserved. He preserved David’s kingdom. He saved David’s life. Now, because of the goodness of the Lord he is on his way back to Jerusalem to live in his palace and reign from his throne. This day calls for mercy in gratitude for the Lord’s mercy.

One day St. Peter asked Jesus, “How often do I have to forgive someone who sins against me? Is seven times enough?” Jesus said, “No, you should forgive seven times seventy - 490 times.” Then Jesus told the story of a servant who owed a great debt to his master. When the master called him in to settle accounts, the servant could not pay, so the master ordered that the man, his wife and children, and all he owned be sold with the proceeds to go to settling the debt. The man fell on his knees and pleaded for mercy and time to repay. The master had pity on his servant. No only did he rescind the order, but he forgave the man the whole debt. The man received great mercy.

There is coda to the story. The man left his master’s house forgiven and encountered a fellow servant who owed him a small debt. The forgiven servant grabbed the debtor by the throat and demanded immediate payment in full. He had the man thrown in jail. Other servants who witnessed this reported it to the master. The master had the forgiven servant brought back and said,  ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

He had this ungrateful, unmerciful servant thrown into to jail to be kept till he payed all the original debt. And Jesus said, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” If we have any idea of how greatly we have sinned against God and how merciful he has been toward us when we could never make up for our offenses against him, we must be merciful to those who sin against us. If we are unmerciful  to others it reveals how little we grasp the gravity of our sin, how much we have been forgiven, how great is our debt of gratitude. The first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, understood that, and died saying, “Lord, charge not this sin against them.”

• David said to Shimei, “Thou shalt not die.” He swore an oath that he would not have Shimei executed. Unfortunately that is not the end of the story. When David was near the end of his life, and his son, Solomon, was anointed his successor he said to Solomon, “And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put thee to death with the sword.’ Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoary head bring thou down to the grave with blood.”

The further David got from his own experience of God’s

mercy, and the more he brooded over what Shimei had

done, the more resentful he became and the more he was

determined that Shimei should get justice - should pay for

      his sins. And eventually Solomon executed justice.

• There is an important question for us. The Lord has forgiven our sins. Not once, but over and over, day after day. We never stop sinning, never stop needing mercy and forgiveness. Now how do we know that in the end God will not decide to give us what we deserve? How do we know his forgiveness is not temporary? How do we know God will not in the end rescind his forgiveness? How do we know we will finally get justice?

The answer we find at this Table. Christ has died for our

sins - all of them, the big ones and the little ones, the ones

committed once and the ones committed many times, the

ones done in public and the ones done in secret, the ones

People know about and the ones even we are not aware of,

known only to God. Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins.

God cannot and will not rescind the pardon he has issued.

It is sealed with the blood of his Son. Christ “by his one

oblation of himself once offered” made “a full, perfect, and

sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction” for our sins.