Sermon 2 Samuel 1 June 28, 2015 HPMF 2 Samuel 1:1-27 Title: Greatly beloved were you to me 2 Samuel 1:1-12, 17-19, 23-27 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 On the third day, a man came from Saul s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance. 3 David said to him, Where have you come from? He said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. 4 David said to him, How did things go? Tell me! He answered, The army fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died. 5 Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died? 6 The young man reporting to him said, I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him. 7 When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, Here, sir. 8 And he said to me, Who are you? I answered him, I am an Amalekite. 9 He said to me, Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers. 10 So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord. 11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did the same. 12 They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said: 19 Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places! How the mighty have fallen! 23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with crimson, in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. 26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of a spouse. 27 How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
Our biblical text for today is a story of loss and grief. It is a story of loss for all of Israel, for an entire nation they have lost their first ever king, their George Washington, as well as the 1 st son, Saul s son Jonathan has also died. The first king and his son have died in battle, a time for mourning, for the playing of Taps and putting the flag at halfmast in their time, it is a time of fasting, and putting on sack cloth and ashes. It is not only a time of national loss, but of very personal loss for David, the next king. And I think we catch a glimpse here into why God chose David to be the next king, despite David s many faults and the way that power perhaps corrupts him in the future, here we see a bit of David s heart we see a bit of what God saw in choosing David to be the next king. David has been in hiding and on the run from Saul for years ever since David was chosen by God to be the next king, Saul has been trying to kill him. Saul wants his kingly line to continue, he wants his son Jonathan to be the next king and his reign to continue; Saul certainly does not want to give up the crown to this new, young national hero. Despite the attempts on his life, David does not rejoice when he learns that Saul, the man who has been trying to kill him is now dead. David does not celebrate that his enemy has fallen, he does not gloat in the reality that he can now take the throne without threat of death or even of a divided kingdom. Israel is now his to rule and the one who has been trying to kill him is dead. We might expect David to celebrate, or express thanks to God for the deliverance of his enemy. Instead, he tears his clothes and cries out to God in his sorrow: how the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perished!
This story made me think back to our country s reaction four years ago when a national enemy of our country was killed. When we learned of the death of Osama bin Laden, many in our country took to the streets in celebration. This did not just happen in one city, it happened in cities all over our country the celebration of the death of a national enemy. We later made a movie about it, Zero Dark Thirty, which was nominated for numerous awards and was by far the largest grossing movie the week of its release. It is uncomfortable to think about the celebration of someone s death. I can understand relief. I can understand many feeling justified, that it might help them move on; I can understand some feeling that this avenged the death of a loved one. But it is hard to
understand celebrating the death of any of God s creatures we are all created in the image of God, even those who seek to do us harm, even those who try to kill us. David, though, does not celebrate. He grieves not only for his dear friend Jonathan who he loved deeply, but also for the loss of his enemy for the one who tried to have him killed: Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! He tore his clothes, and fasted he let all his supporters know that this was not a time for celebrating or moving on, it was a time of mourning. A time of lament. A time to sit uncomfortably in the moment of loss. Over the past two weeks we have seen quite a contrast between the reaction of many in our country four years ago at the death of our enemy, with the response of family members when they faced Dylann Roof who shot and killed their loved one during a Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina. This was the oldest Black church in the south, and as you may have heard, Dylann Roof drove two hours to get there.
They welcomed Dylann into their Bible study where he sat with them for an hour before pulling his gun out and killing 9 of them. These murders, a result of a deep and lasting racism in our country, what Jim Wallis has called, America s original sin. It is painfully true writes Wallis, that in our time, in this year, in the United States, there is still no safe space for black people in America even in their own churches. Racism is America s original sin. And just a few days after this horrible and tragic event, the family members of the victims had a chance to speak to Dylan in court, over a courtroom screen where he could be seen and heard by them, and where he could hear them they faced their enemy, the one who had killed their loved ones. And this is a bit of what they said: -Felecia Sanders, mother of victim Tywanza Sanders said, We welcomed you Wednesday night in our Bible study with open arms. You have killed some of the most beautifulest people that I know. Every fiber in my body hurts... and I ll never be the same Tywanza Sanders was my son, but Tywanza was my hero. Tywanza was my hero. But as we said in Bible study, may God have mercy on you. -Bethane Middleton-Brown, representing the family of the Reverend DePayne Middleton-Doctor said this:
"For me, I'm a work in progress and I acknowledge that I'm very angry. But one thing DePayne always joined in my family with is that she taught me we are the family that love built. We have no room for hate. We have to forgive. I pray God on your soul. And I also thank God I won't be around when your judgment day comes with him. -Anthony Thompson, representing family of Myra Thompson told Dylann, I forgive you, my family forgives you. We would like you to take this opportunity to repent. Repent. Confess. Give your life to the one who matters the most, Christ, so he can change your ways no matter what happens to you and you ll be OK. Do that and you ll be better off than you are right now. -And Nadine Collier, daughter of Ethel Lance also expressed forgiveness: I forgive you. You took something really precious away from me. I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul. It hurts me, it hurts a lot of people but God forgive you and I forgive you. These words are stunning they are surprising. They provide such a contrast to our political culture while so many search for evidence of their victimization in order to justify anger and revenge, here, genuine victims of a horrible crime responded with mercy. Dylann Roof chose a historic African American church for a reason writes Michael Gerson of the Washington Post, For centuries, black churches have been a place of refuge, a voice for social justice and a target of racist violence. Dylann Roof undoubtedly wanted a symbol and he got one. Against all his intentions, it is now the symbol of a living faith. The killer set out to defile a sacred place and ended up showing why it is sacred, because it is a place that forms people in the love of Christ. At the heart of the Christian faith is an impossible demand: to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Michael Gerson). This teaching was demonstrated by its author, Jesus Christ, who offered forgiveness on the cross to all those that had a part in placing him
there. And we saw this impossible demand turned into a reality again in the statements from those who lost ones who were greatly beloved to them. What a statement. What a symbol of our Christian faith. What a glimpse of people who have been formed in the love of Christ. And part of what resonates so strongly with me is that, in their words, they do not pretend it is easy or that they are not hurting they are in deep pain, they are angry, AND they refuse to allow hate to win. They know, as Dr. King said, darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that; hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. But part of what I want to say is that while these words are inspiring, a shining example of the best of what it means to be a follower of Christ while these words are life-changing for those who uttered them as well as for those of us who heard them; for Dylann Roof the perpetrator of this atrocity, for his family, perhaps even for our country these words are life-changing. And, these words do not mean that we can all move on. They do not mean that this story is over. Forgiveness being offered from the victims does not mean we can move on to the next event in our world and in our lives without pause, without reflection, without deep grief and mourning for what is and what was. These words do not mean the work of becoming a more loving and just people, a more loving a just nation, is over. And this is part of what David s lament here in 2 Samuel reminds us of, what the practices of grief and lament in the Old Testament remind us of, that we have to sit with
the grief. To mourn. To cry. To weep. Henri Nouwen says that, our tendency is to run away from the painful realities or to try to change them as soon as possible. And he is so right, whether looking into the pain on the face of one dear t us, a tragedy in our world or nation, or even in our own personal pain our tendency is to run away from the painful realities, or to try to change or smooth them over as soon as possible. And I think that this could be a temptation for us, for me, upon hearing these words of forgiveness that I now want to move on to the next event or story, to the Supreme Court decision, or the upcoming National Mennonite Convention, or to a distraction like watching baseball. I think we especially want to run when we are not sure what to do. Because sometimes there is not much we can do. But we cannot dismiss, we do not move on to the next thing we do not just jump right into the next distraction, or activity without pause. We cannot move forward without a time for lament without a time for letting this tragedy continue to sit with us; to continue to let God work and move in our discomfort. To let God s spirit work in our pain and through our pain to be moved to new depths of understanding in such events as this. I think we need to pause and lament at times to share the sorrow and reality of where we still are as a people and nation still in progress. So today, let us remember those who have died, those whose welcomed a stranger into their midst, into their church, even though it meant their own death. Let us sit for a moment with the discomfort of lament, because God does not want only our thanks and
praise God also wants our grief and our cries of pain, anguish and disappointment as well. - Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a 41-year-old pastor and South Carolina state senator, the youngest black representative ever elected to the state legislature. He was a father to two children. - Tywanza Sanders, who at 26 years old was the youngest victim of the shooting. He was a graduate of Allen University s business administration program and wrote poetry. He died trying to protect his aunt, Susie Jackson, who was another of the victims. - Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, a 45-year-old pastor at Mother Emanuel, as well as a speech therapist and girls track coach at a local high school. Her son plays baseball for Charleston Southern University. - Cynthia Hurd, a 54-year-old library manager who worked in the Charleston County Public Library system for 31 years, and was the sister of former North Carolina state senator Malcolm Graham. She left behind a husband and 5 siblings. - Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, a 49-year-old mother of four daughters who worked as the director of federal community development block grants for Charleston county until retiring from that job in 2005. She had recently started a job as an enrollment counselor at Southern Wesleyan University, and was also a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. - Rev. Dr. Daniel Lee Simmons, Sr., a 74-year-old pastor, and a veteran of the Vietnam War who was awarded a Purple Heart. He served as a pastor for three decades at area AME churches, and in semi-retirement had joined the ministerial staff at Mother Emanuel. He was said to have a great sense of humor and was a proud grandfather.
- Ethel Lance, a 70-year-old woman who had worked as a custodian at Gaillard Municipal Auditorium for more than 30 years, and served as a sexton at Mother Emanuel. She had five children, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. - Susie Jackson, at age 87, the oldest victim, was aunt to Tywanza Sanders and cousin to Ethel Lance, and at one time sang in the choir at Mother Emanuel. - Myra Thompson, a 59-year-old former middle school teacher in the Charleston County School District. She left behind a husband, two children and two grandchildren, as well as 12 brothers and three sisters. She had recently decided to pursue a calling to join the ministry, and received her license on the night of her death.* Let s pray together God in your great love and mystery you have called upon your people to love and forgive in the face of hate. And so we lift up nine of your beautiful children to you, O God. And we lift up those who are mourning their loss that they were slain at the hands of hate and racism. Continue to surround those who knew and loved them. And may the process of forgiveness continue to work in and through them by the power of your Spirit. And for Dylann Roof, we pray also. May the words of forgiveness he heard stir in his heart, soul, and mind that he might repent that he might be changed, that his heart of stone might be softened by the painful love extended to him. And may your Spirit continue to move in this tragedy. In our lives. In our nation. Help us to sit in the pain and discomfort of our country s original sin, that we may be well in our own soul and part of the worlds healing this day. That we might be well in our own soul and part of the worlds healing this day. Amen. *Information taken from Sojourner s Magazine.