Healing and wholeness

Mark 1:29-34

Jesus Heals Many at Simon’s House

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the gospel of Mark, we often see Jesus enabling people to blend into their communities. Jesus acknowledges folk ostracized because of perceived shortcomings, be they physical, moral, or spiritual, and brings them back into community. For Jesus that was a costly exercise. It cost him energy and street cred. Often Jesus, in their place, took on their marginalization so that his physical, moral, and spiritual well- being was called into question. And there were few opportunities for him to recharge. When Jesus healed Simon’s mother- in- law, word soon got around and, it seems, by suppertime, the backyard was full of those seeking healing. Jesus was simply unable to move around without attracting much unwanted attention. The “Everlasting God” of Isaiah specializes in bringing the powerless to the fore and in giving courage to those who are afraid. Those who weary are called by name and given strength. Their eyes are opened to the reserves that reside within. Perhaps effective discipleship today consists of blending well with our communities and bearing witness to Jesus who stands out from the crowd, offering wholeness and acceptance to all. Discipleship then becomes an enabling ministry in which people are alerted to their own strengths and encouraged to experience the wholeness that is God’s will for all people.

Beloved and Blessed

Matthew 5:1-20

The Beatitudes

​When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

The Law and the Prophets

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Narrative Lectionary, the cycle of Scripture readings that we've been following since September, allows us to catch something of the broad sweep of the Bible, as we have it today. 

It helps us put the stories in some kind of context, as we pick up the pace of the stories of God's people: Creation stories, stories of pilgrimage, of turf wars, of judges, Kings, prophets, poets and teachers. 

We spent the autumn meandering through the drama of the Old Testament.

And now, still in Epiphany, we've moved from these dramatic Old Testament stories to the immediacy of the gospel. 

Each of the gospel writers retold the story of Jesus' birth, ministry, death and resurrection in different ways, depending on their particular take on events, their particular interests and context. Matthew's gospel, that we're following this year is very concerned to root the events of Jesus' ministry in the tradition of ancient scriptures, constantly referencing the prophets to lend some authenticity and authority to Jesus' life and teaching.

We know well that many of the stories in the Bible are not pretty or comforting.

They don't show folk in their best light.

But what they do show is a God who did not abandon flawed human beings, a God who kept inviting people into relationship.

And, as we move further into the gospel of Matthew over these next few weeks, we see God continuing to draw us close, to reveal new ways that we can be God's people.

And so the story of the history of Gods people continues today, as God goes on, holding out for us the possibility of relationship.

And so the broad sweep of the Narrative Lectionary, as well as helping us to  grasp the drama of the journey of God's people through history, also helps us to recognise that we are, today, part of God's continuing story.

We are the people of God for today.

So,what of these Beatitudes that we read today?

Some of them seem quite familiar.

Some of them we've heard oft quoted.

Some of them we've probably even quoted ourselves.

But what seems to have been lost in the translation is the shock that these Beatitudes would have been for those who first heard them.

Let's listen to them again, this time from The Message version:

Matthew 5:1-20

You're Blessed

​ When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'carefull,' you find yourselves cared for.

"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Salt and Light

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-Flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-Colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Completing God's Law

"Don't suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God's Law or the Prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God's Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God's Law will be alive and working.

"Trivialise even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialised yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honour in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won't know the first thing about entering the kingdom.

For Jesus' listeners, the Beatitudes made no sense at all.

For folk who believed that you reaped what you sowed, that blessing came to those whom God favoured, to hear Jesus seemingly randomly bless people was such a contrary notion.

The Beatitudes conflicted with every norm and tradition that folk knew, so radical were they.

But totally in line with the radical good news that Matthew is recording.

Two weeks ago we affirmed the love of God for each of us in baptism, naming us beloved children.

Last week, as we read of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness, we reminded ourselves that whatever temptations come our way, still God cherishes us as beloved children.

And, today, we read of Jesus calling folk blessed. 

These Beatitudes are not a list of conditions.

It's not a contract that Jesus is setting out.

On a mountain, surrounded by his disciples, Jesus states the facts.

Starkly and simply.

You are blessed.

Not - you will be blessed if you  fall into a particular category, if you undergo suffering, if you are bereaved, if you are persecuted, if you sacrifice enough.

None of that.

Just - You are blessed.

It is simply a way of being in relationship with God revealed in Jesus.

You are blessed.

Whatever our circumstances, God sees us and God blesses us.

That message was a huge surprise to those who heard Jesus say it.

To hear that those who were usually invisible were in God's sights.

To hear that God blessed the lowly and the lonely, those whom others barely noticed.

To hear themselves described as blessed.

Was as shocking then as it is now.

Today God's story continues.

And we, here, are included in that story.

Not just included.

In fact we help to write the next chapter.

We are the people in God's sights today.

Known and loved and blessed.

We don't look at Scripture to determine where God is in our story today.

What we find is that we are included in God's story.

Beloved children.

Resisting when the world conspires to tell us differently.

Beloved and blessed.

And those are just for starters.

Three weeks in Matthew's gospel and we encounter major themes in God's relationship with us.

And are invited to be part of the next  instalment, invited, in relationship with God to be a part of God's story.

To allow our status as blessed, beloved children to infect the world.

To be salt and light,  for all the world.

Writing the story alongside God.

Are we prepared, today, to live into our blessedness?

To take up our mantle as God's people today, and, knowing ourselves beloved and blessed to see with God's eyes.

Noticing those who are so often overlooked and seeing them as also beloved and blessed.

Not looking for potential.

But celebrating what is.

The Beatitudes are not a statement of intent.

Not even a statement of promise.

The Beatitudes state what is.

You and I, today, are blessed.

Thanks be to God.

For such a time as this

Esther 4

Esther Agrees to Help the Jews

​When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry; he went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. In every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

When Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he would not accept them. Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why. Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and charge her to go to the king to make supplication to him and entreat him for her people.

Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying, “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—all alike are to be put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden sceptre to someone, may that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for thirty days.” When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Esther is one of those books of the Bible tucked away among the books of the Prophets. A small book, often little known and little read.

It tells the story of a young Jewish orphan, brought up by her cousin, and taken into captivity by the King of Babylon.

Esther became part of the king's harem and went on to become queen.

She alerted the king to a plot to assassinate him and thus saved his life but earned a few enemies in the process.

One of the king's advisors was determined to destroy the Jews who lived in the kingdom, so he started to spread stories about how they disobeyed the King's laws in favour of the God whom they worshipped and managed to persuade the king to issue a decree to kill them.

The part of Esther's story that we read today was an elaborate tale of how Esther managed, at great personal risk, to get the Kings attention so that she could alert him to the consequences of his proposed action. While the king might have easily decreed that the Jewish people in the kingdom should be killed, he wasn't prepared to see Esther, his queen killed. And so the general became specific. And a people that, up until that point had seemed of no consequence to the king, was given a very human face - that of Esther, a young Jewish woman. Esther and her people were spared - but at great personal risk for Esther - she risked death by attracting the attention of the king without being summoned. When she wavered over the risk she was about to take, her cousin, Mordecai, spoke these words: Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” 

There is much more to the story of Esther,so much packed into a small story. Unfortunately, while the Jewish people were spared and granted the right to defend themselves and to take up arms, they abused those privileges and exacted revenge on those who held them captive, sadly a story that is repeated time and again throughout history, where those granted freedom become the oppressors, sadly a story that we are al ,too familiar with today.

But, for this morning, I want to focus on that more hopeful phrase, spoken to Esther to encourage her to take a risk: Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” 

And,on this second Sunday of Advent, I'd like us to consider the question - to what are we being called today?

What risks are we being called to take to make a difference?

How can we make the general specific?

What is God's plan for us - that unique purpose that only you can fulfil?

This second Sunday in Advent is also vocations Sunday in the Church of Scotland, when all of us are encouraged to prayerfully consider that particular role to which God calls us. How will we serve God in the church and in the community, in our homes, in our schools and in our work places? 

What does serving God look like in our lives.

To what specifically is God calling us today?

As you know, one of my roles is as a National assessor in the Church of Scotland, interviewing and assessing those who offer themselves for ministry.

And one of the most wonderful aspects of that role, is hearing the story of some one's call.

Hearing how an inkling gives way to a niggle that grows until it cannot be ignored.

Hearing how God speaks in so many different ways to convict folk to respond to this sense of calling - through word, through worship, through other people, through opportunity, through changed circumstances, through everyday life, through joy and adversity - God uses so many ways to get our attention.

We are not all called to ministry of word and sacrament, but we are all called - to serve God in the church and, perhaps even more importantly, to serve God in the world today.

For such a time as this.

Our world needs people to step up and to speak out.

For such a time as this.

Our world needs us to take risks, putting ourselves in the line of fire, to make a difference for those whose voices are not heard, whose struggles are ignored.

For such a time as this.

You and I are called to speak out against the injustice that pervades our society today.

For such a time as this.

We are called to use our position of privilege to benefit others.

Whatever struggles we endure every day, most of us have food on our tables and a roof over our heads.

However impotent we might feel, we are not silenced or persecuted - our children are not murdered-  because of our race or colour.

For such a time as this.

In this second week of Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the light that came into the world, the light that darkness could not overcome, we are called for such a time as this to carry that light into our community and into all the world.

We are called to live into the privilege that we have to call for justice and to work to change a system that denies people basic human rights and that keeps people in poverty and fear.

For such a time as this, you and I are called to speak up and not keep silent and then to step up so that our actions match our words.

For such a time as this - you and I are called by God.

This Vocations Sunday, this Advent, may we respond to God and live into our calling as the people of God for such a time as this.

For the glory of God, Amen.

Receiving

Jeremiah 7:1-7

" Jeremiah Proclaims God’s Judgment on the Nation

​ The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.”

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever."

On this, The Reign of Christ Sunday, the last Sunday of the Christian Year before we set out on an Advent journey, we pause to think again about the notion of kingship as Jesus modelled it.

Often the reading on this Sunday is the Matthew 25 passage -

Matthew 25:35-40

for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

These verses underpin the work of Broken Chains.

A ministry that reaches out to the least of these.

In our reading this morning, the prophet Jeremiah urges us to amend our ways. And to truly act justly with one another.

This, after cautioning us not to hide away in our sanctuaries. 

Spending time with God's people, hearing God's word, singing God's praise is not an end in itself. The time we spend here week by week, motivates us to go and serve God in our world.

But more than that, listening to God's word reminds us that, as well as being able to serve others, we can allow others to serve us.

Those on the margins of society today aren't there just so we can reach out and feel good about ourselves, feel that we're better Christians because we change the lives of others.

People existing on the margins of our society today are there because we subscribe to a system that is flawed at best and, often, is broken. While it may not be intentional on our part, our life style and our affluence is won at a cost to others. Spending time with those who have to turn to food banks. Spending time with those who have sought alternative life styles to help them cope with an unfair society teaches us some valuable lessons and reminds us of what is important in life.

So often, when we set out to "truly act justly" we find ourselves ministered to in ways we had never imagined.

But that goes against the grain.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive" has been drummed into us from early days that we've almost forgotten how to let others minister to us.

We're so used to being strong that we avoid any sign of weakness.

Yet God minsters to us through those we'd least expect when we own our vulnerability and when we open ourselves to the gifts of others.

Truly acting justly with one another!

May God show us this week how to minister and how to be ministered to.

For the glory of God.

Amen.

Radical Relationship

Micah 5:2-4

" The Ruler from Bethlehem

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,

who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to rule in Israel,

whose origin is from of old,

from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has brought forth;

then the rest of his kindred shall return

to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth;"

Micah 6:6-8

" What God Requires

“With what shall I come before the Lord,

and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?"

Our meanderings through the Old Testament this autumn have taken us from the story of Noah and the flood, onto Abraham and his pilgrimage, following where God led. We've looked, briefly at Joseph and his role in saving a nation from famine, with a few hiccoughs along the way. Then Moses, leading God's people to freedom from the Egyptians, followed by a 40 year wander in the wilderness, picking up God's laws of love on the way. 

We saw how Moses was succeeded by Joshua who was the one to actually lead God's people into the promised land - remember Joshua's "Choose you this day whom you will serve" speech as he led God's people? 

From there we saw God's people plead for a king and saw them settled for a time under the reign of David and Solomon. 

But after this brief time of settlement for the people of God, infighting resulted in their splitting into two kingdoms. And, of course that left them more open to attack by other, foreign powers. And it is in the midst of this war filled time that the Prophet Micah appeared with his message of peace and a message of hope. Gods people, once more, find themselves living in an occupied country, their leaders have been defeated and their religious practice and even identity have been eroded. Into this melee, the prophet speaks. Micah wants to offer them a new way of seeing power and a new way of experiencing relationship.

Sadly, the people have once again been exploited by those in authority. They have been led into war and defeat. And, even those in religious authority have used their faith against them and demanded higher and greater sacrifice in order to fulfil their skewed ordinances of religion. So these words of the prophet:

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,

who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to rule in Israel,

whose origin is from of old,

from ancient days.

These words of the prophet come from left field.

For they promise something unimaginable.

A defeated clan, insignificant on the political stage of its day, although having a rich and ancient heritage. From this little clan will come a ruler promises the prophet Micah.

It is inconceivable to those who languish in the jaws of defeat and near extinction.

But the prophet proclaims a message of hope - from this little clan will come a ruler - nothing like the rulers now known - but a ruler who:

shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth;"

And that brings us to the second part of the prophecy that we read today.

Micah has proclaimed hope in the leader who will emerge from this little clan.

Now he turns to how we should live to honour that ruler and to attain peace.

The message these people have heard for so long is that they can somehow appease God.

That they can try harder. That they can make ever more elaborate offerings to win God round.

Micah draws their focus away from the teaching of corrupt religious leaders.

And reminds them that God has made clear what is required:

What does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?"

Sounds simple, doesn't it?

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.

And it's certainly a message with which Micah's listeners were all too familiar.

They had heard this message all through the years, from all sorts of teachers and preachers.

But, somehow, they had become sucked into the notion that God was a God who could be bought, a God who could be coaxed and cajoled into giving rewards by strenuous religious practice.

But the alternative of which Micah reminds them, to do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with God is certainly not by any stretch an easier route than performing rituals.

Doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly with God are a way of life, a way of being.

Demanding much more than fulfilling a check list of religious practice.

Doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God speaks of not just a new way of living but a new way of being in relationship with God.

Someone asked me last week - what is the point of all these ancient Bible Stories - these fanciful tales from the Old Testament.

I have to confess that I have been amazed as we have travelled through the Old Testament this autumn at how much and how piercingly acutely these ancient stories speak into our lives, our communities and our societies today.

And so the prophet Micah's words - calling into question our actions and our relationships are incredibly incisive for today.

Incisive for us who keep score of our goodness, who compete in our point scoring in our relationships, working out the best ways to get what we want and to manipulate others to do our bidding.

Incisive for the communities of which we are a part and which we serve, communities disappointed in political leadership and hungry for change.

Micah points to a new kind of ruler and a new way of being in relationship - with God and with one another.

We cannot pray for the hungry and refuse to share our food.

We cannot pray for the homeless and refuse to offer shelter.

We cannot pray for peace and refuse to forgive others.

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God - is not a prescription to be fulfilled but a radical way of living to be embraced.

And, on this Remembrance Sunday, when we acknowledge that the hope of those who gave their lives - that peace would be born - has not been realised, we know that something much more enduring is called for.

War does NOT bring peace.

The message of hope that the prophet Micah preached - Doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God, if followed not as a rote or as a ritual but as a revolutionary way of life is a message of hope for us today.

As we remember and as we move forward toward Advent, preparing to celebrate the birth of that ruler called out from the littlest clan, we are assured of a new kind of leader and a new way of relationship.

A relationship that, if we embrace, will lead us to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God.

In that, will our Remembrance, instead of bringing despair at how little has changed, rather be filled with hope - the hope of peace in our time. 

Doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly with our God.

For the glory of God.

Amen

In the mirror

2 Samuel 12:1-9

​ and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites."

Psalms 51:1-9

Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon

To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

​ Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you alone, have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are justified in your sentence

and blameless when you pass judgment.

Indeed, I was born guilty,

a sinner when my mother conceived me.

You desire truth in the inward being;

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities."

We continue our journey with the stories of the people of God through the Old Testament.

Two weeks ago, we looked at the Ten Commandments, God's laws, given in love to God's people who, having escaped from Egypt were wandering in the wilderness.

Last week, as they reached the promised land, Joshua, the leader who took over from Moses, invited them to "Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"

This week, we encounter God's people under the reign of a king, King David.

A recurrent theme, you'll have noticed, is that though the people are always full of good intentions, their memories are short.

So they go from one crisis to another, very quickly forgetting at every turn the amazing promises that God has made and the amazing things they have learned of God.

One of the things about the Narrative Lectionary that we're following that's a bit frustrating is the wee snippets of stories that are scheduled as readings Sunday by Sunday. It seems we'd have to read a whole lot more- not just verses but chapters - or spend half the service putting the stories in context to really get a grip on how the stories fit into the overall arch of the Old Testament Scriptures.

And perhaps that's no bad thing.

If the readings, Sunday by Sunday whet our appetites to delve a bit deeper, then that's good.

Already a few folk have commented on how they haven't noticed before some of the stories we've read these past few weeks.

It seems that the people who put together the Sunday Readings for the Narrative Lectionary tried to find less obvious but extremely tantalising bits of the Bible stories for us to consider in worship week by week.

And today's story is no exception - it merely touches on all that was happening in the life of David when this particular encounter happened.

At first glance, it seems like an innocent parable.

The prophet Nathan, coming to tell the king a story.

The story is of a poor man who has been wronged by a man of wealth.

King David, on hearing Nathan's story, indulges in righteous anger.

Of course this is unjust he decrees. The rich man, with all the riches at his disposal has no right to rob the poor man of the one cherished possession that he has.

The rich man must recompense the poor man - 4 fold.

It is then that the prophet, Nathan, informs the king: You are that man.

And the story unfolds - or more like, unravels.

Behind this story is one much darker- the story of David and Bathsheba.

The somewhat censored version is that David had his way with Bathsheba while her husband Uriah was off fighting for his king and country.

When he discovers that Bathsheba is carrying his child, King David has her husband killed and makes it appear that he was killed in battle.

You can read for yourself the uncensored version!

It's the kind of story line we see in our nightly soaps - or in more brutal terms on the Jeremy Kyle show.

We see it in individuals and in corporations when they lose sight of their connectedness to one another and allow greed to overtake them.

We see it in organisations and institutions set up to serve but losing sight of their purpose, using their power to abuse and corrupt.

These are everyday stories.

Stories that we hear about, or see unfolding around us and feel outrage.

Just as David did.

But what King David didn't realise was that, in telling him that story, Nathan the prophet was, in fact, holding before him a mirror.

A mirror in which was reflected the wrong that David had done.

Nathan wasn't there to pose hypothetical questions.

Or to ask the king to judge a theory.

He was there to hold a mirror up to the king and to force him to take a look and confront his own wrong doing.

Sometimes we're so caught up in life.

Sometimes we've managed to convince ourselves that our lives are OK.

That what we have done is for the best.

That the end justifies the means.

We can explain, we can convince, we can rationalise all that we do.

And sometimes, we need someone like Nathan to come along and hold up a mirror to our lives.

To let us see what we're really like.

In the words of Robert Burns:

O wad some pow'r the giftie gie us

Tae see oorsels as ithers see us.

(From the poem: To a louse)

Or more contemporary, the lyrics of Michael Jackson's Man in the mirror:

I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish Kind Of Love

It's Time That I Realise

That There Are Some With No Home, Not A Nickel To Loan

Could It Be Really Me,

Pretending That They're Not Alone?

A Widow Deeply Scarred,

Somebody's Broken Heart

And A Washed-Out Dream

They Follow The Pattern Of The Wind, Ya' See

Cause They Got No Place To Be

That's Why I'm Starting With Me

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror

I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways

And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World A Better place

Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change

Man in the mirror.

The Psalm we read today, is David's response to being confronted with himself:

​ Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

David, even though he was a king, could hide no longer from the wrong he had done.

There was no escape.

All he could do was throw himself on the mercy of God and seek forgiveness.

And, in among the sleaziness of our story today.

In all the scandal and outrage.

In all the shame and wrongdoing.

This is the good news:

We are loved by a God who knows us with all our faults and failings, a God who loves us nonetheless.

A God who confronts us with our wrong doing.

But a God who promises forgiveness when we face up to who we are.

King David, even in the depths of his despair when confronted with the wrong he had done, yet knew the love of God that reached into those depths to offer love and forgiveness.

As we affirmed in baptism this morning, each of us is loved by God before we even know it.

And none of us can stray so far that God cannot reach us with that love, drawing us back.

So,let's be prepared to take a good look in the mirror.

The sight may not be pretty.

But we have the assurance that there is no darkness that God cannot reach.

And, as we focus on our own reflection, may we be conscious of the power that we have, power that can be used for good - to change the lives of others.

Change begins with us.

A better world begins right here in our hearts.

We give thanks today for the love of God that knows no bounds.

We give thanks for those who act as Nathans for us, holding up a mirror to our lives.

And we give thanks for the power to change the world, beginning with us.

You received a piece of paper as you came into worship this morning. 

I am known and loved by God

How about taking that affirmation and sticking it on a mirror on your house today.

And, in the days to come, every time you look in the mirror, whether you like what you see or whether you don't, you will be reminded that you are known and loved by God.

Glory be to God who knows us, who confronts us, who forgives us and who loves us.

Amen.

Old, old story

Exodus 14:10-14;21-29

As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

As you know, the Bible Readings we are looking at in church this autumn are taking us into the ancient stories from the Old Testament.

Although we can only read a snippet each week, we are being reminded of the story of God's people, the heroes and the villains. And the readings must rank as the first ever Horrible Histories.

On Friday, I spent some time with the Primary 4s at Forehill Primary School, talking about Passover. For the past few weeks, during RE, they have been learning about Moses.

About how he had to be hidden when he was born because the king had ordered that all boy children born to Israelite women must be killed - because they were becoming too many in number and might one day decide to rebel and overwhelm their overseers.

The two midwives who cared for Moses mother, however defied the king and let him live.

But he had to be hidden away.

Moses mother decided that she would make him a basket and float him in the river, hoping that one of the Egyptian women might rescue him and care for him when she couldn't hide him any longer.

They learned how it was, in fact, the princess who found him and had him taken to the Royal palace where he was brought up.

They told me the part of Moses story where he was out tending to his sheep when God spoke to him from a burning bush and called Moses to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt.

And they took great delight in telling me about all the plagues God sent on Egypt to persuade the Pharaoh to let the people go.

Plagues of locusts, of boils, of frogs, of water turning into blood - all of which convinced the Pharaoh that he should give the people their freedom - until, every time, he changed his mind.

So my job was to tell them about the final plague that God sent.

The one where the eldest child would be killed unless the blood of a lamb was painted over the door of a house.

That finally persuaded the king to let the Hebrew slaves leave.

It was called Passover because the angel of death passed over the houses painted with the blood of the lamb. 

And the p4s already knew the next bit of the story - the bit we read today - where the slaves were escaping and the Egyptians tried to get them back. There was a huge sea between the slaves and freedom. When God's people tried to cross it, the waters parted and they crossed in safety. But when the Egyptians went after them the waters flowed back and drowned them.

The story of Moses in 30 seconds!

It's the sort of story that the eight and nine year olds to whom I spoke on Friday just love.

Full of blood and gore.

And that was a tamed down version!  

There were some fascinating questions.

One of which was: Why do we still read these stories today? 

Good question!

In trying to explain something of the Passover to the children, I talked a lot about how Jewish children, from earliest days learn the stories of faith - and especially this story - the story of when Gods people were freed from slavery and travelled to their own land - a journey that took a long time, that had many setbacks along the way, but a journey in which they became established as the people of God, laying down markers, setting up traditions, discovering the God who gave them life.

In the Passover meal, this story is told and symbolised over and over again, so that it should never be forgotten and so that it can be handed on from one generation to another.

But why do we still celebrate these stories?

Why are they still important to our faith?

I'm not sure that I want to follow a God such as that depicted here or in similar stories that describe God interacting with people.

A God who takes sides.

A God who rescues some people and allows others to drown.

Although such a God might well suit our government and world leaders today as we are dragged into more and more conflict, this is not the nature of God.

A God not of war but of peace.

A God not of hatred but of love.

In these ancient stories, folk were trying to fathom God.

Trying to work out the nature of God and the relationship that humans might know with such a God.

Like every human discovery, the nature of God's interaction with human beings has been revised and refined with fresh insight as time moves on and as circumstances change.

God is continually reaching out to us, trying to reveal to us how we might enjoy the intimacy of a relationship based on love.

I saw one of those Facebook memes this week that said: Jesus is God's selfie.

A bit cheesy perhaps - but helpful in our understanding of who God is.

It is by looking at how Jesus reveals God that we might get a picture that is more helpful for us in embracing faith today.

Jesus revealed God as a God who would hang out, not with the in crowd but with those marginalised in our communities today.

Not taking sides - but certainly being more comfortable with the poor and the homeless, with those on benefits than with those in government.

More at home in our kitchens than in our front rooms.

A God who journeys with those who take risks - whether that risk is in the daily fight for survival or whether the risk is in putting our hope in a God who is constantly being redefined in relationship with people today and yet whose faithfulness is for every time and generation.

That is why the ancient stories are important.

They speak of a journey.

A journey undertaken by the people of God through the ages as they come to know the love of God in every age. 

And for us today, rediscovering that God involves us being prepared to risk.

To risk putting on hold what we think we know.

To risk leaving the security of the things we hold on to.

To risk putting our toe in the water to see where God leads us.

To risk travelling light into the future that God has for us.

Some of us are ready to take those risks.

Some of us are too busy holding on to hurts and grudges or even memories of how things were, things that hold us back from moving forward into the path of God for now.

God is revealed to us in new ways every day.

If we're too busy looking back, we'll miss that fresh insight.

We'll miss those new horizons that await.

We will miss the promised land and repeat the pattern of the slaves freed from Pharaoh's oppressive regime in Egypt, wandering about in circles In the wilderness, afraid to risk stepping out onto unfamiliar paths, taking new directions.

The ancient stories are not told to keep us in a time warp.

But to free us to be the people of God today.

Developing a new relationship with a God who loves us and leads us down dark alley ways and through scary places to discover that we have what it takes today to stand up to injustice and oppression, to speak,out against evil, to say "Not in my name" when our government leads us into war. 

We are free to stand up and be counted , a force to be reckoned with, living out and passing on faith to a new generation.

"Tell him of his baptism, unfold to him the treasure he has been given today"

Those are vows not just for our new parents this morning but for all of us as we go forward in an ancient faith made new every morning.

Thanks be to God.