Readings:
2 Samuel 12, 7-10, 13, David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Psalm 32, Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Galatians 2, 16, 19-21 A person is not justified by work or the law
Luke 7, 36-8, 3, The woman who bathed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair.
Welcome into our beautiful world, Everet. You are marvelous.
2 Samuel observations: (Following upon last week)
What : 2 Samuel is the second book in a 4 book semi-history of the early tribe of Israelites. The books, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings. The story goes from Samuel, the last of the judges, to Saul, the first of the kings, to King David (with Goliath, Jonathan, Mikah and dancing, Bathsheba & Solomon).
The two books of Samuel focus on Saul & David and their difficult relationship.
Victoria says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in.
When composed: during the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ. Why at this time? Same reason why so much was composed at this time, to explain why the Captivity, to keep the tribal identity, and to provide hope for a brighter future.
Who composed: Tradition said Jeremiah the prophet, but contemporary studies show at least 3 writers.
Today's selection: the prophet Nathan is chastising King David because he has been really bad. See the homily, a Bible story today.
Sources: New Jerusalem Bible, Wikipedia
The Team
A Bible Story
This morning I would like to tell a bible story. It is about the great Jewish hero, King David. I tell the story because it is background to today’s first reading from 2 Samuel. More than likely you have not a clue about where today’s passage is coming from.
Here we go. This is the way the composers put it together, not necessarily how it was.
Anybody notice? Buddy has his own robe. Congratulations, Buddy.
There was a man named Jesse who had 8 sons. Samuel, the last of the judges is sent by Yahweh to find a successor to Saul, the present king who is misbehaving and Yahweh has decided to reject him.
Read about Saul and you can’t help but see bipolar symptoms.
The Best Music.
So Samuel goes to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse, who has 8 of sons. The first 7 pass by and Yahweh tells Samuel, "Not this one." Eventually number 8 comes in, Little David. When Samuel sees him, Yahweh tells him, “That’s the one.”
So, David is especially chosen by Yahweh, a hero quality.
David goes to Saul’s court and becomes a favorite. Then in a fight with the Philistines, little David kills the giant Goliath. Another hero quality.
The Play Center.
Time goes on, Saul gets jealous because David is so popular and he decides to kill him. The second part of 1 Samuel details all the struggles between Saul and David. David even has a chance to kill a sleeping Saul in a cave, but he simply cuts off a piece of his cloak to show Saul later. Saul cries, swears he will stop trying to kill David, but then continues. David’s mercy, another hero quality.
Time goes on, Saul actually commits suicide, and David becomes the popular king of the Jewish nation. His army is defeating all their enemies.
Sandra with her granddaughter, Maddie, from Nebraska who now goes to TCU.
One morning our hero king is strolling on the roof of his palace. While walking he spies a beautiful woman on another roof taking a bath. He invites her over for dinner and, behold, she becomes pregnant. David is already married to Saul’s daughter, Michal, but Yahweh has rejected her because she mocked David for dancing before the people in a victory parade. The woman, Bathsheba.
So David decides to invite Bathsheba’s husband to dinner. Her husband, Uriah, is with the army in the field. David gets him drunk and tells him to go home to his wife. Then Uriah will assume that Bashsheba’s baby is his.
Leo the Candle Lighter of The Week.
However, Uriah tells David he won’t sleep under a roof while his men are sleeping in the field. So that plan won’t work.
Then David tells his commander to put Uriah on the front line, get into a battle, then pull the other men back, leaving Uriah. So Uriah is killed.
So David, our hero king, invites Bathsheba to join his household.
At this point the prophet Nathan of our story is told by Yahweh to visit David. Nathan tells David a little story.
Guess who now walks. Beware. "Good Morning, Genevieve."
There were two men, a rich man who had everything, large flocks and every convenience. The second man, a neighbor had nothing more than a little lamb which he had bought. The man loved the lamb and even slept with it.
Two visitors come to the rich man’s house. Instead of preparing a meal from one of his own lambs, the rich man takes the poor man’s lamb for his meal. Nathan asks David what should happen to that rich man. David says he should be severely punished.
Nathan says, “You are that rich man!” David is stunned and goes into penance and mourning. This is where our story comes in. All this happened before our little reading.
Collin Classic Bike Rally.
A lesson? Even the hero, the chosen of Yahweh, fails and commits sin. We are all King Davids.
Lesson 2: Yahweh forgives and accepts. This theme is exemplified by our gospel, the woman bathing Jesus’ feet with her tears. Forgiveness and acceptance.
I would suggest it also involves self forgiveness and self acceptance when we fail to be what we would like ourselves to be.
Crossing the dam at Lake Lavon.
David was accepted by Yahweh and Bathsheba, although she loses her first child with David, goes on to have another son, who is considered the ancestor of Jesus.
How good is your self acceptance?
Rest stop # 3 on the shore of The Lake.