King David was a man who knew the highest highs of life, and the lowest lows. On the one hand the Apostle Paul described him as “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), yet his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband Uriah is the story of a man driving his life off a cliff.
It all started innocently enough, although the teller of the sordid tale makes it clear that David wasn’t where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing. He should have been out with his troops checking the borders of his kingdom, but instead he stayed behind in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11) I could stop right there and ponder the truth that my troubles often start with me not being where I am supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to be doing.
From there it is a #MeToo story with the added horror of Uriah’s murder. In David’s case, it was the prophet Nathan that called him out by telling David a story of a rich rancher who had lots of sheep but insisted on stealing his poor neighbor’s only lamb and feeding it to the rich man’s guests. (2 Samuel 12) David was beside himself with rage over the rich man’s villainy, at which point Nathan shouted God’s judgment, “YOU ARE THAT MAN!”. One can almost hear the air going out of David’s ego, as he knew in that moment the full weight of what he had done.
There were consequences. There always are. David’s sin did ricochet through his descendants. At the same time, there was in David’s repentance the experience of God’s incredible, amazing, and inexplicable grace. While his life would not be the same again, his life was not taken from him. Psalm 51 is David’s soul expressing his guilt, affirming his repentance, and gratitude for grace.
Psalm 51:1-14 (The Message)
Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I've been; my sins are staring me down.
You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don't look too close for blemishes; give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
That hardest thing for any of us is telling the truth about ourselves to ourselves. David needed Nathan’s help, and was wise enough not to do what we so often do—shoot the messenger. Which poses a number of questions for me:
Who do I trust to speak the truth to me? Am I willing to hear and appropriately respond to their godly message? What do I do with what I don’t want to hear? Do I go further into hiding or courageously, as David did, come out of the darkness into the light.
Am I willing to trust that God’s grace is sufficient to take me from hiding from my past toward embracing all of who I am, even my past mistakes, so that these words from “The Promises” of twelve step groups might come true in my life: “We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.”
Hope to see you Sunday...This is what I found on my desk…
THIS SUNDAY IS “SOUPER BOWL” SUNDAY! We will be collecting canned soup and other non-perishable donations. All donations will be delivered to F.I.S.H. (Friends in Sonoma Helping). Please leave your donations in the side entry to the fellowship hall.
CHILDREN, PARENTS AND VOLUNTEERS—SAVE THESE DATES!!
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL—JUNE 25TH TO 29TH:
Pre-School: 9:00AM—Noon
K-5: 9:00AM—2:00PM
***Registration Details Coming Soon***
Congregational Town Hall Meeting and Lunch Sunday March 4th at noon. Watch for more in the coming weeks.
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