The Gospel Reading for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Luke 7:36-8:3) is summarized in Jesus' words to Simon, his Pharisee host: "...her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love" (7:47). That is precisely what David says in Psalm 32 – which is also the alternate Psalm for this Sunday: "Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sin is put away! Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt..."
Think of David's crimes in the First Reading. Then look at his confession in Psalm 51: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight..."
Even Ahab who "did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him (1 Kings 16:30), and compared to no other "who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord...(and) behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols..." (1 Kings 21:25-26) had God's forgiveness when he repented (1 Kings 21:27-29).
Some people still find it difficult to find reconciliation between David's sins – especially with regard to Uriah's murder – and his place in history as the greatest king of Israel, and, lest we forget, the house from whom Jesus comes. Yet, that is precisely the point in these readings. It is about God, love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness – to be seen in God's perspective.
These surpass human understanding. In the Epistle Reading from Galatians 2:15-21 Paul says they come "not by doing the works of the law" but through Christ. He further says, "...it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me".
Tough to grasp and contemplate but we are called to imitate God, especially in our relationship with one another.
The two alternate First Readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost portray greed and injustice at their worst. King Ahab of Samaria – or northern kingdom of Israel – lusts after Naboth's ancestral piece of land on the edge of the Jezreel Valley (1 Kings 21:1-21). If you have seen the Jezreel Valley – the most spectacular and picturesque land in all of Israel – you will probably understand why Ahab lusted over Naboth's land.
But then, King Ahab put Naboth in an impossible situation because it was ancestral land, he could not simply transfer it to anybody, and Ahab knew it. Furthermore, he was the king. What he had was in abundance relative to poor Naboth's possession. Ahab's lust and injustice resulted in Naboth's murder, a worse crime than the contributing offenses.
There is a similar picture in the alternative reading from 2 Samuel 11:26-12:15. Here King David lusts after Uriah's wife, commits adultery, attempts to cover it up, and ends up committing murder, again a crime worse than the contributing offenses. Note too, that David was king, the most powerful man in his time and he had no business lusting after Bathsheba – even though the scripture says, "the woman was very beautiful" (2 Samuel 11:2)."
In the Collect we pray that the Church, "through God's grace may proclaim God's truth with boldness and minister justice with compassion".
Perhaps the greatest challenge the church is facing today is discerning God's truth in our ever-changing society. Social issues continue to divide the church as different voices believe theirs represent God's truth. Some even look at contemporary social issues in the light of Ahab and David's deviations from God's truth.
The dilemma is between justice and compassion; and while the former, for humans, often leads to judgment, the Collect invokes faith, love and compassion for the church.
There is more on this, next.
In our discussion of God's sovereignty, protection and provision for all – especially the needy and the least in society – we ended with the observation that Elijah was active in the Zarephath and Sidon (Phoenician) region or what is today Lebanon; in a foreign land. Similarly, the widow whose son Jesus raised from the dead was from Nain in today's Shomron, or Samaria, also foreign territory.
There is a huge challenge for us here, to examine how we relate to those outside our borders or boundaries. People of faith, and especially Christians, affirm that we are obliged to help those in need. Indeed, we excel in doing that. Nevertheless, how we do it and the motivation, are perhaps even more important than the doing itself.
Consider the following, real illustration:
For many years, a rescue mission has served breakfast and dinner to the poor and needy, every single day of the year. Most of this ministry is borne by volunteers who give their time and resources to serve the needs of the hungry.
Over the years, before dinner or breakfast, the guests assembled in the chapel for 30-45 minutes where a pastor or preacher gave a sermon. 95% or more of the guests did not listen or hear the sermon because they were hungry, tired, sleepy or simply not there for a sermon. The mission eventually decided that dinner would be served first, then chapel time to follow thereafter. In other words, the guests were given a choice regarding chapel time.
Some of the pastors and preachers decided to withdraw their help because "the gospel was being compromised" - in their words. It is as if they were saying to the hungry, "we will give you something to eat but first you must hear the gospel message".
That is the question we ask ourselves today: How do we help those we help and how do we serve those we serve? Are there per-conditions or strings attached or are we doing what we are called to do unconditionally? Think of our foreign policy too, as a nation. Are there some accompaniments that go with foreign aid?
The Lessons for the Third Sunday after Pentecost continue from last Sunday's reading. Last Sunday we saw God's sovereignty over kings and rulers. There were the stories of King Ahab and King Solomon in the Hebrew Bible readings and the Roman centurion in Capernaum, in the Gospel Reading. All were shown to be under God's sovereignty.
In this Sunday's First Reading from 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24) there is the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, one of the most familiar stories in the bible. A widow in the bible lies on the opposite scale of a king or a ruler. It is the lowest position in society. Widows, orphans, strangers, the infirm, are the weakest and most vulnerable in society.
Then there is also the story of nature woven into the account. There is a drought, a calamity, because it brings about hunger. Add to that, death. A widow, without a husband, is dependent on her son. Take away the son and it is the end of life for the widow. The widow of Zarephath, already in a precarious position, also has famine and hunger to deal with, then the death of her only source of support.
Yet, she is not without help. That is the thrust of the story in the First Reading. The Psalm for the day (Psalm 146) reinforces that where it says, "Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;...Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous; the Lord cares for the stranger; he sustains the orphan and widow..."
Indeed those words of the psalmist summarize the story in the First Reading.
The Gospel Reading (Luke 7:11-17) is a replay of the First. Indeed, the crowd that witnessed the Lord's miraculous raising of the son of the widow of Nain could recall the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath.
Thus, what we see in these lessons is the Lord's sovereignty over kings and rulers, over nature and its forces, including death; and the Lord's care and protection for the least and the most vulnerable in society.
One more thing: Zarephath and Sidon were in Phoenicia, in present-day Lebanon. Nain, about 20 miles south west of Capernaum is in today's Shomron – or Samaria – today's West Bank. So, these are stories about the Lord's dealing with strangers.
Follow the discussion next.
