2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, Ordinary 19, Year B page 1 Berkeley Springs August 12, 2012, August 9, 2015 The Rev. Bob Osborne

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1 2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, Ordinary 19, Year B page 1 Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, August 9, 2015, the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) FIRST READING 2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom. 6 So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. 9 Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 15 And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him. 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 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!" PSALM 130:1-8 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. SECOND READING EPHESIANS 4:25-5:2 25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

2 2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, Ordinary 19, Year B page 2 GOSPEL JOHN 6:35, Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." 41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." What would you do for love? Would you pay any price, if there were a way to price love? Of course love is not like going to the hardware store, filling up a bag, or asking for $10.00 worth of love today. In scripture, and in psychology one of the great problems with love is that some people withhold love of any form unless there is some corresponding return on investment. We call that conditional love, and that is a pernicious problem in relationships whether they be with children, families or the greater community. When someone has to behave in a certain way, believe or agree to a specific belief, or promote a particular agenda in order to be loved, problems arise. Withholding love is a bit like withholding air or food or water until one gets ones way. You just can t buy or blackmail love the same way we go to Walmart or Nordstroms and exchange money. That cheapens love and the humanity of the other person. We read three scriptures today about love. The first scripture is a rather violent episode in the life of King David. King David had a number of children, including Absalom, a handsome, young, and charismatic young man. David loved Absalom. Not unusually, Absalom had some issues with his father, King David, and staged a popular revolution to usurp his old man. In the end, he divided the kingdom, with many in the army choosing to follow Absalom, while a number of older, dedicated generals and leaders chose to support David. It was a strange uprising in some ways, since David and his supporters sought to lead and keep the kingdom together. And David prayed for his rebellious, and murderous son. On the eve of the final battle, David was heard to order his supporters, should the time come to deal gently with Absalom. Many heard his plea. Yet, given Absalom s rebellion and the damage he had brought the kingdom, David s pleas fell on deaf ears. Ten of David s followers quickly killed an Absalom rendered helpless on the field of battle. When notified of his son s death, David withdrew and cried out, Absalom, Absalom, would that I had died instead of you. Absalom, my son, my son! Despite the nation s need for leadership following the battle, David was nearly inconsolable. Despite his son s hatred, David never ceased to

3 2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, Ordinary 19, Year B page 3 love his rebellious son. Absalom didn t earn his father s love. His father loved him regardless, the way David understood that God loved him. The reading from John 6 in which Jesus identifies himself as the bread of life, does not speak specifically of love, but love is the current that runs throughout the passage. All that Jesus does for the people, his ministry, the feeding of thousands, is done out of God s love and desire for our healing and salvation. Gathering with a group of Pharisees, Jesus exclaims over Jerusalem, 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when * you say, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. (Luke 13: 34-35). Jesus kept returning to Jerusalem, but there God s people still came to the Temple as the symbol of their religious faith to seek out God, and Jerusalem was the capitol of the nation. Jesus said once, No greater love has anyone than to lay down their life for one s friends (John 15:13). When Jesus said, I am the bread of life he indicated that God was ready to give God-self in order that we might be sustained in him for salvation. His life was a gift of love. And finally today, we read from the letter to the Ephesians. We may not be able to set a price on love, but there are some things that we will give up out of love. If we really love, then we will put aside, stealing so that we might contribute to the common good. We will set aside harmful words and gossip, and speak only what is positive and helpful. We may be angry, but we are to avoid sin and not let the sun go down on our anger. In that we follow Christ Jesus, we are to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and compassionate living in love as Christ loved us. Love comes with costs that we come to learn. We do not intend harm or loss to those whom we love. Instead, we try to build one another up in love and seek what is best for the other. Sometimes, we seek to love those who cannot return our love in the same way. We cannot expect very young children to love us sacrificially in the same way that most parents will try to bless their own children. We sometimes sacrifice for the weaker among us that they may find wholeness with us. Sometimes, people misunderstand love and look for other motives based on their own experience. Sometimes, we don t do a good job of loving people on the fringe of our society sometimes to our loss. God s people often find that we grow together in understanding and love, especially as we gather together in Christ. We need to remember in the church, we are gathered in God s love. We may get angry, but we are not to sin and we are not to let the sun go down on our anger. We who have come together in Christ s love, who commit ourselves to Christ must strive to present an alternative to a world that acts without love, without regard for people. Sometimes we must agree to disagree hoping and knowing that there is wisdom and understanding in the Lord. Here is the catch. It s one thing to set aside an hour or so each week or so to find a peaceful community. That is a privilege and a grace we have as members of Christ s body, the church. Church though happens wherever we are, as we seek to live faithfully in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.

4 2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, Ordinary 19, Year B page 4 Love is not always easy, carefree, or an opiate of the masses or an individual. Love is the stuff of life. Without love the love of God, the love other others, the love of self life becomes empty and meaningless. We need to love and be loved in order to be fully human, and in Jesus, we see that God loves us fully, and unconditionally. We may fall short at times, but we also press on toward the upward calling of God who forgives, calls and restores us in loving grace. In this love, God calls us and sends us out in God s own image. We are a community of grace and God s love. May we grow in peace and fellowship through Christ our Lord. Thanks be to God. Prayer: We hear these words, and we pause. Who do we love and why? How much do we really love, and how much? Lord, you have loved us with a love too great to break too great to deny. Despite our worst efforts, we come before your love and bow our hearts and minds. We do not fully comprehend such wondrous love, and we would learn more. We seek to hold onto your love, to caress it, to touch it, to savor it. Today, we gather to receive your love, once again. Yet, open our hearts and minds that our loves might ring true to you and to others. Dispel bitterness and jealousy. Banish our smallness of minds that we might be a people of grace, even as you have welcomed us, poor though we often are. We offer our prayers, O Lord. Amen. Prayers of the People: It is tempting for us to grow faint of heart, O Lord. We look at the number of our years and realize that the years fly past. Where has our youth gone? Yet, you renew our strength like the eagles. We can and shall run and not grow weary. We run to complete our race, but not just for ourselves. We run, like the Prodigal Father to greet our Prodigal Children. We run to welcome the stranger for any news of our Lord. If there is word from abroad, and from among us, we welcome the grace of good news. And today, when we seek answers, Let us not settle for overly simple sound bites. Let us not be taken in by the seemingly easy ideas and answers offered up by some. Lord, you gave us a world that is complex. A world that defies old conceits, and coarse words. Give us a new song, grounded in grace, hope, and in Your Word made flesh. We pray for those who would be king (presidential elections), and those who have the opportunity to elect a leader for the peoples. We pray for our servicemen and women who serve near and far.

5 2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, Ordinary 19, Year B page 5 We pray for safety workers and others in our midst, and for those whose research may save lives around the world. We especially pray for those close to our hearts, for those named today; for those shut in, and those shut out. We pray for prayer. In the stillness of our souls, let us find you coming to us now as always, in ways we may not have expected. We would pray for healing, comfort and peace, not as we would give but as you give, O Lord. Hear these our prayers. Amen