“Crafting a Prayer” I Kings 8: 22-30; 41-54

Today ended the summer lectionary run through I and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings.  I have enjoyed the preaching opportunities this summer.  Generally speaking, I find it easier to preach narrative texts, which is part of why I enjoyed the summer preaching series.  Ia also discovered that I had never preached many of these great stories, so it was fun to explore them in the context of preaching.

I found particularly powerful NT Wright's image of a Christian praying at the fault line.  He speaks of it in terms of being shaped by Jesus who is holding things together, but my image (shaped by his image) was more of a person praying standing on one side of the gap praying to God on the other side of the gap, who is answering prayer in ways that closes the gap.  I find that to be a powerful image.

My spoken words in the section on the gap were different than what was written in the sermon text.  Not sure what I said, but i know I was not following the written text very well.

“Crafting a Prayer” August 26, 2018, SAPC, Denton; I Kings 8: 22-30; 41-54; Richard B. Culp

41 “Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name 42 —for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, 43 then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.

44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; 47 yet if they come to their senses in the land to which they have been taken captive, and repent, and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned, and have done wrong; we have acted wickedly’; 48 if they repent with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies, who took them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name; 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you; and grant them compassion in the sight of their captors, so that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people and heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron-smelter). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant, and to the plea of your people Israel, listening to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you have separated them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be your heritage, just as you promised through Moses, your servant, when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Lord God.”54 Now when Solomon finished offering all this prayer and this plea to the Lord, he arose from facing the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven; 

Introduction:  the people are gathering in the seventh month for the Feast of Booths, which is time for the ceremonial renewal of covenant that goes back to the time of Moses.  

In fact, it appears the dedication of the Temple is delayed eleven months to coincide with the 448th year since Moses gave the command to read the law every seven years (note 448 is divisible by 7) (Richard Nelson, interpretation: First and Second Kings, 50)

The ark has been put in place in the temple, which means the tablets of the law are physically present as symbol of God’s presence.

A cloud has filled the space suggesting the presence of God is in their midst. 

The time to dedicate the temple has arrived.

Solomon has made a speech to the gathered people.

Solomon lifted his hands toward the heavens.

Now, Solomon prays.

What would you pray at the dedication of the Temple, if you were Solomon?

Sort of like praying for the dedication of a sanctuary, or new church building, or building for ministry dedicated to God.

Let’s take a few moments and look at the prayer Solomon prayed that day. 

Move 1:  First of all, the prayer reveals the theology of God’s people at that time.

a.  Chapter 8 has been redacted numerous times to fine tune the theological impact of it (Richard Nelson, interpretation: First and Second Kings, 50).

1.  In other words, the pray we read as Solomon’s has probably been edited in later years to make the prayer reflect what the editors think Solomon ought to have prayed!

2.  A reflection of Israel’s central theological understandings.

c.  Solomon begins with covenant.

1.  “God, remember the covenant you made with us.

2.  Skips over Israel breaking the covenant.

3.  Reminder that at the core of Israel’s relationship with God, indeed at the core of our relationship with God, resides the covenant God made with them and us - the promise to be faithful to us.

d.  Solomon prays about forgiveness and the return of the Promised Land.

1.  Solomon does acknowledge the Israelite tendency to sin, but asks that when Israel repents and turns back to ward God, if God will be true to the promise of giving them land.

2. a reminder of God’s call to repent and God’s promise to the Israelites that they understand in relationship to the Promised Land.

e. Solomon prays about foreigners who come into their midst and lift their prayers to the God they do not know.

1.  Builds on the Israelite tradition of welcoming foreigners.

2.  But also announces their belief in the God’s sovereignty - even if the foreigners do not know God, God will use them.

f.  Longest petition in the prayer is about is exile (vss. 46-51) perhaps reflecting the fact that the story was put together while Israel was in exile.

1.  Important point is made - if the people are in exile, if they can’t be in the Temple to pray, will God still hear their prayers.

2.  In fact, if they turn toward their land, face Israel, if you will, then will that help God hear their prayers.

3. a prayer request rooted in a place, Jerusalem, but hoping in the God of new possibilities who is at work anywhere and everywhere.

Move 2:  We also notice this  divide in which the prayer is prayed in the Temple, heard in heaven.

a.  Prayer is made in the Temple, right there in the midst of the people, but God hears the prayer in heaven.  

1. In fact, in several of the sections of the prayer, Solomon describes the Israelites praying in exile, or on earth, or in the Temple, and God hearing the prayer in heaven.

2.   what do we make of that distinction?

b.  the point is not a distant God.

1. Remember, we have already been reminded us that the God is present in the Temple.

2. But the belief that God is present in their midst is in tension with the idea that the Temple cannot contain the presence of God.

3. Solomon’s prayer points out the gap between our world, the place where we lift our prayers, and the heaven where God hears our prayers.

4. A reminder that even our most informed, our most theological, our best prayers in every sense of the world cannot know what God knows or ask for what God desires to give because we are asking out of our human experience and God is answering out of God’s plan for our lives and our world.

c.  Prayers try to bridge the gap by inviting us to offer our needs, our praise, our desires to God and in turn listening for what God desires of us.

1.  for the pantheist, prayer is simply getting in tune with the deepest realities of the world and of oneself.  Divinity is everywhere, including within me.  Prayer is therefore not so much addressing someone else, who lives somewhere else, but rather discovering and getting in tune with an inner truth and life that are to be found deep within my own heart and within the silent rhythms of the world around....For the Deist, prayer is calling across a void to a distant deity.  This lofty figure may or may not be listening.  He, or it, may or may not be inclined, or even able, to do very much about us and our world, even if he (or it) wanted to...Christian prayer is about standing at the fault line, being shaped by the Jesus who knelt in Gethsemane, groaning in travail, holding heaven and earth together like someone trying to tie two pieces of rope with people tugging at the other ends to pull them apart. “ Simply Christian, N. T. Wright (163-164).

2. Facing the gap, God’s people pray.

  

2.  Solomon in his time stood at that fault line, praised God, and asked for God’s answer to their prayers.

3. When we pray, we stand at that fault line as well, turning to God in the name of Christ, the one who stands with us, and asking for God to move us beyond where we are to the new places God calls us.

Move 3:  Prayer opens us up to possibilities beyond ourselves

a.  Solomon may be praying about specific situations, but as he prays to the God of endless possibilities, he hopes God will move Israel forward in ways he cannot even impinge or articulate.

1. At the end of his prayer, he has laid out his hope for what God and Israel will do.

2.  But he has no idea what God has in mind for Israel.

3.  Solomon might have imagined that if Israel ended up in exile in the future,  God would send a ruler to Persia like Cyrus who would allows the exiled Israelites to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.  Actually, on the day of dedicating the Temple, Solomon’s imagination would not have been so wild.

4. But could Solomon ever have imagined that God’s Israel’s sinfulness would be to come in the person of Christ?

5.  Solomon could have prayed all day and all night, and he would not have gotten there.

b.  As we hear Solomon pray, we are reminded that God’s answer to our prayers probably do not fit with our best solution.

1.  As quoted Kathleen Norris, the Christian writer notes (as quoted by Ann Lamott):  ‘Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.’” Grace (Eventually):Thoughts on Faith (11).

2.  The risk of praying to God is that God is going to hear and answer, and the answer calls us to do something, often something different than we had in mind.

3.  I am reminded of the story told about a minister who hears a woman is near death in the hospital, so he rushes to visit her.  He walks in and she appears to be comatose.  He leans over her bed and prays for her healing. She sits up.  He races from the room, down the stairs out to his car, where he pauses and says, “dear God, don’t you ever do that to me again!” 

c. Solomon does not know it in the moment.  

1. In fact, he will not live to see all the ways in which God answers his prayers.

2. But God does answer.

3. God answers Solomon prayer in ways Solomon never could have imagined.

Conclusion:  Final image:  did you notice that Solomon begins the prayer standing with his arms extended and finishes on his knees!

the image of Solomon on his knees reminds us of the weight of turning to God in prayer, in awe knowing that the one who hears our prayers does indeed answer;  with answers that can overwhelm us with the new possibilities God has in store for us.

Reflections on 'Living the Dream" I Kings 3: 15-28

I had fun preaching this sermon.  Because we had a Young Adult Volunteer from the church sharing about what she has been doing in the last year and what she will be doing in the next year, I considered it a "live" illustration the congregation would receive after the sermon.  I think that worked well holistically for those gathered for worship.

I really liked the "listening heart" insight Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann.  It changed how I approached and understood the text, and allowed me to build on the image of God as the one who cares for the widows, orphans and powerless and sends us to care for them.  

The reference to a comedian and a script writer worked better in my mind than it seemed to work for the congregation.  I could have told a joke about three wishes and a genie, but all the jokes I know like that seemed to stereotype women/men or husbands/wives in ways I decided I did not want to do from the pulpit!  If I had found a good joke to use, it might have worked better.

“Living the Dream” August 19, 2018, SAPC, Denton; I Kings 3: 15-28; Richard B. Culp

I Kings 3: 15 Then Solomon awoke; it had been a dream. He came to Jerusalem where he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He offered up burnt offerings and offerings of well-being, and provided a feast for all his servants.

16 Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. 19 Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.” So they argued before the king.

23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; while the other says, ‘Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 So the king said, “Bring me a sword,” and they brought a sword before the king. 25 The king said, “Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other.” 26 But the woman whose son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned within her—“Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!” The other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.” 27 Then the king responded: “Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.” 28 All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.

Introduction:  We began the summer with Samuel, the last great judge, who anointed Saul and David to be king.

We spent most of the summer dealing with those two, particularly David.

Now, we will finish the summer in Samuel and Kings with a couple of weeks of Solomon.

Under Solomon’s leadership, Israel reaches perhaps its greatest heights as a world power.  

And, as the opening verse of the first reading today noted, Solomon was recognized as loving the Lord (although do not miss that we are also told that Solomon “offered incense at the high places,” which was a huge religion sin.

Bottom line - Solomon, like his father David, is a powerful, successful king (at least by the world’s standards), who was also a flawed person.  

Move 1:  In many ways, Solomon’s power begins with a dream.

a.  Solomon’s political power may have come from marrying right and his leadership skills, but Solomon’s moral authority and theological foundation came from a dream in which God offers him a wish.

1.  If i were a comedian, it would be more like three wishes from a genie; the wishes would be about the person and his or her predicament in life; and it would end with a funny punch line.

2. If I were a script writer, it would be like the Disney’s version of “Aladdin” and a story would unfold as the three wishes were played out. And, of course, the three wishes would be about the person and what would benefit the person (to read more about Solomon’s request and the Aladdin story see  http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/proper-15b/?type=old_testament_lectionary; Stan Mast)

3.  But, alas, I am but a preacher, so the story sticks to the biblical texts, there is one wish for Solomon, and instead of asking for his something that will give him wealth, or power, he asks for an “understanding mind.”

4. We often equate that with “wisdom,” since when Solomon puts it to use he makes what others observe is a wise decision, but Solomon literally asks for a “listening heart”(https://www.huffingtonpost.com/walter-brueggemann/i-kings-2-10-12-3-3-14-who-will-be-americas-next-leader_b_1776777.html; Walter Brueggemann)

b.  A “listening heart.”

1.  The request fits the context - Solomon’s request is modeled after the the God who hears the cries of the people; the God who rescues those in need; the God who has special concern for the powerless.

2. the God who again and again shows a listening heart is asked by Solomon to give him a listening heart to use in his role as king.

3.  As Solomon discovers, the blessings he receives far exceed a listening heart.

4.  Solomon will again and again look to all his riches and power and see them as blessings from God, but the first gift from God is a listening heart.

5.  Put that part of the story in your memory banks - the first gift was a listening heart.

Move 2:  This story also highlights how Solomon acts on the dream.

a.  Solomon does not just ask for a gift and then forget about the gift God gives.

1. he uses his gift from God.

2. We see it in his decision when two women approach.

3.  Arguing over whose baby it is.

4. Solomon comes up with a brilliant way to determine who the actual mother is.

5. Everyone applauds his wisdom and takes great pride that their king is so wise.

b.  But maybe instead of applauding Solomon’s wisdom, we should see in his decision a his listening heart.

1. the decision is not just wise.

2. Solomon hears the cry of the mother whose child could be cut in half.

3. Solomon is moved by the love of a mother who will give up her child, instead of having her child killed.

4.  Solomon reveals a wisdom that grows out fo a listening heart.

c.  Do not miss that Solomon uses the gift God gives him.

1. Think about your own life - have you ever asked God to give you an ability or a gift?

2.  or evaluated your life and noted the gifts God has given you? 

3. How are you doing putting those gifts, those blessing to work?

d.  For our Minute for Mission today, Laurie Lamonica is going to share about the Young adult Volunteer program of the Presbyterian Church.

1.  As she went through the process, I know she prayed for God’s guidance and for God’s blessing.

2.  Then, she acted when God answered.

3. Part of our church’s responsibility is to provide opportunities for people to put their gifts to use, to help them live out the calling to which God has called them.

4.  And, of course, as disciples of Christ, we are continually challenged to step out in faith and use the gifts  God has given us.

5. Solomon asked for a gift from God and used the gift from God.

Move 3:  What if the dream becomes a nightmare?

a.   if we read Solomon’s story to the end, we discover his dream turns bad.

1.  The biblical text will tell stories of palace intrigue; 

2.  conscripted labor that turns the people against Solomon; 

3. Too many foreign wives; 

4.  Perhaps the greatest of all sins from a theological perspective, worshiping other gods in the high places.

b.  Solomon amasses riches and power, but somehow loses the dream from which he started.

1.   I suspect if he had paid more attention to listening heart had heard the cry of the widows for justice, and the orphans begging for love, and the sinners crying out for forgiveness, the powerless asking for grace, he might been focused less on his power and more on God’s desires (read more about this concept at https://www.huffingtonpost.com/walter-brueggemann/i-kings-2-10-12-3-3-14-who-will-be-americas-next-leader_b_1776777.html; Walter Brueggemann)

2. we, of course, can see Solomon’s flaws because we recognize them as our own.

Conclusion: Solomon began with a dream of using God’s gift to serve God’s people.

A dream worth living.

Reflections on "Grieving" 2 Samuel 18: 19-33

I have preached sermons on grief, but had never preached this text.  I found David's words about Absalom to be very powerful.  As a side note, last night as I was working on this sermon we were watching "The Miracle Season," a movie about the death of high school volleyball player.  Watching her father grieve in the movie added to my sense of David's grief.  

I had  a couple of comments about the sermon being so serious or a "downer," but I also had comments bout it being a powerful sermon.   

“Grieving” August 12, 2018, SAPC, Denton; 2 Samuel 18: 19-33

2 Samuel 18: 19-33 When Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run, and carry tidings to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the power of his enemies.” 20 Joab said to him, “You are not to carry tidings today; you may carry tidings another day, but today you shall not do so, because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. 22 Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you have no reward[e] for the tidings?” 23 “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.

24 Now David was sitting between the two gates. The sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he looked up, he saw a man running alone. 25 The sentinel shouted and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, there are tidings in his mouth.” He kept coming, and drew near. 26 Then the sentinel saw another man running; and the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also is bringing tidings.” 27 The sentinel said, “I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good tidings.”

28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well!” He prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground, and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” 29 The king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent your servant,[f] I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.” 30 The king said, “Turn aside, and stand here.” So he turned aside, and stood still.

31 Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” 32 The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”

33 [g] The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Introduction:  This is a particularly dark part of Israel’s history, full of betrayal and and treachery - brother against brother, or half-brother; father against son; Israelites against God.

A time when it’s hard to find many redeeming qualities in anyone.

but this sordid plot is interrupted by the death of Absalom, King David’s son and David’s grief.

Move 1: Grief overwhelms and impacts us, no matter the circumstances.

a.  Absalom and his father king David have had a difficult relationship, to say the least.

1.  Rooted in the rape of Absalom’s sister and Absalom’s revenge because he did not believe his father dealt with it, not to mention the usual lust for power, Absalom has turned against his father.

2. In fact, Absalom’s warriors have chased David and his army out of Jerusalem. 

3.  David has been working to defeat Absalom.

4.  Although when David gives the pep talk to his army as they do into battle against Absalom’s army, he  does that they not kill his son.

5. then, in a bizarre scene, Absalom dies.

6.  when David hears the news, he utters perhaps the most gut-wrenching words we have in Scripture: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

7.  Each time David utters “my son,”  he reveals his regret; his guilt; his anger; his grief.

8.  Even when David is a war with his son, he griefs his death.revealing 

b.  A reminder - none of us can escape grief.

1.  rabbi Lewis, in his sermon on his looming death, tells the story of the minister who begins his sermon by announcing, "everyone here in this parish [congregation] is going to die."  A man breaks out into a smile, which causes the minister to stop and ask him, "Why are you smiling?"  "I'm not from this parish [congregation].  I'm just visiting today." Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith:  a true story (231)

2.  None of us will escape death or dealing with the death of friends and loved ones.

c.  Even our faith does not shield us from grief.

1.  As Christians, we still experience death and loss that lead to grief.  

2.  Even the most faithful among us, will grieve.

3. Everyone, regardless of their faith or lack of faith, will experience grief.

4. To live means to participate in the cycle of life and death.

Move 2:  Grieving is personal

a.  in my role as minister, I have held hands with family members as their loved one died; 

1.  I have been the one to tell someone their family member has died; 

2.  I have walked the journey of grief with many people.  

3.  I have dealt with the death of close friends and other relatives.

4.  Many of you have done so as well.

b. But, when I found myself grieving the death of my father and sister, it was different.

1.  It was personal.  No one could know exactly what went through my mind, or what memories kept filling my dreams. 

2.  No one, not even my brother, who I suppose would have the most similar relationship with my father to mine, knew exactly what I felt and thought.

3.  I can tell you both from the theoretical of studying grief; from the real-life experience of having watched others grieve; and from the personal experience as one who has grieved, that grief is personal.  

c. that is not to say that others cannot share with us from their own grief and help us based on their own experience of grief.

1.  We know the grief and despair of our own loss, so we can offer great comfort to others out of our grief.

2. comfort that comes from sharing in a similar sense of grief, but still not knowing exactly what the other person feels as she grieves.

3. one of the powerful roles a community of faith brings is comfort

4. From Stephen Ministers who visit those in grief to cards sent to those grieving to the warm hug to someone who sits with you when you feel alone in church, the church community can play a critical role as we grieve.

Grief is personal, but we need support.  

Move 3:  We need to grieve, and grief plays an important role for us.

a.  “all those years I fell for the great palace lie that grief should be gotten over as quickly as possible and as privately.  But what I’ve discovered since is that that lifelong fear of grief keeps us in a barren, isolated place and that only grieving can heal grief; the passage of time will lessen the acuteness, but time alone, without the direct experience of grief, will not heal it.”  (I found this qoute with my sermon illustrations, but it had no reference.  It was with several other Ann Lamott qoutes from her book Traveling Mercies, so it may be from there.)

b. I can say with certainty that we must grieve when people we are close to die.

1. we can put it off - I have had people face death and tell me that they are going to put off their grief until some particular point in the future.  But, the plan to put off grieving never seems to work very well.

2. We can run away from it.

3. But grief will find us one way or the other.

4. and that's a good thing.

          5.  Until we grieve and move through our grief, th grief controls us.  

         6.  As we grieve, we open ourselves up to new possibilities and the hope God gives to us.

Move 2:  Grieving brings us back to God.

a.  Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann writes about David’s story and the whole of Israel’s story during this time of life and death in the 10th century.

1.  he notes that David’s experience is paralleled by Israel’s experience.

2. That is, David, the king with all the power and the heart for God is looked to as someone who can give life, but instead, David is the bringer of death, instead of giver of life (Journal of the American Academy of Religion; 40 no 1 Mar 1972,  96-109; Walter Brueggemann; “Life and Death in Tenth Century Israel;” 106).

3. David, who is arguably the greatest of all the leaders of Israel, even David is surrounded by death.

4.  Likewise, Israel, which seeks powerful leaders to give it new life, instead discovers death and destruction again and again.  

5.  The only place David and Israel can look to find hope and new life is God.

6. As David cries out, “O Absalom, my son,” the only one who can answer his cry is God.

b.  Facing death and going through the grieving process brings us face to face with the questions about life and death that matter.

1.   In other words, death and grief send us back to God.

2.  Grieving can call into question who we are and whose we are.

c.  we Christians have a word to speak about God in the face of death.

1. I hear lots of things said to people in their time of grief.  I had lots of things said to me as I stood in line and greeted people.

2.  Much of it is well-meaning.

3.  some of it has theology that I do not think is true to the God we discover in the biblical text.

4.  But we have a word of hope.

5. Hope grounded in the love of God - the God who created us out of love; the God who loves us every day of our lives; the God who sends Christ to join us in our death; Christ whose death saves us; the God who resurrected Christ to offer us hope in the face of earthly death.

6.  Frederick Buechner writes this about David:  ”If David could have done the boy's dying for him, he would have done it. If he could have paid the price for the boy's betrayal of him, he would have paid it. If he could have given his own life to make the boy alive again, he would have given it. But even a king can't do things like that. As later history was to prove, it takes a God.” http://www.frederickbuechner.com/blog/; August 6, 2018;Frederick Buechner blog

It takes God.

Conclusion:  David cries out, “O my son, Absalom, my son, my son Absalom…”

To which God replies, “O my son Jesus, my son my son Jesus - he has come to give life, even life after death.

Amen.