This week, Bartimaeus could have seen and the poor deaf guy whom Jesus gives a healing wet willy could have heard where I was supposed to be preaching this week. I shared last week I had good lectures, but no real sermon and how much I hate when I am in that place. This week, it was the complete opposite. Nearly every conversation I had with Adventers were related to this. The big majority of conversations I had with people in orbit of the parish were tied to our OT reading. And most of the conversations with strangers were related to our OT story as well. So guess where I am preaching today?
I should also warn you that if you begin to talk about the reading at the water cooler or water aerobics or in other places, the lectionary has us skip everything about Uzzah. You may well encounter liturgical Christians who do not realize they did not read the whole story and how this was a singular event full of joy.
To place our story in its historical context, we are less than a decade into David’s reign. Just to remind us, David is three decades now into his covenantal relationship with God. It has been a heck of a long road for David to go from being anointed to being king! So, a side reminder for all of us is that God’s timing seldom ever lines up with our own.
More recently, David has been kicking butt and taking names when it comes to battling the Philistines. At the beginning of the last chapter, the Philistines are encamped in valleys below the new capital of Israel, which David took from the Jebusites last week. David, as kings are supposed to do under the torah, has asked the prophet if he should smite the Philistines. The prophet affirms that God wants the Philistines driven out before the first battle and tells David that the Lord will go forth into the battle when the wind blows through the tree tops like the sound of marching foot soldiers. So, David has a period of rest from his battles and enemies.
He decides to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Now, I will not go too far in the discussion of the context in which David likely does this. Suffice it to say, though, that the people of the ANE understood there was a quid pro quo relationship with the gods and goddesses. City states built temples so that gods would look favorably upon them, bless them, and defend them! But, the gods needed the prayers and sacrifices of the people to gain power to defeat the other gods and goddesses in the heavens. We can talk at coffee hour how much that attitude afflicts David, and we can talk about how this story serves as a polemic against that understanding. Only God is God, and He needs nothing from us!
So, David and 30,000 men go to retrieve the ark. It is quite the joyous parade. The ark of the covenant is being brought to the new capital. This is like the first July 4th on steroids. David, we are told, gathers the chosen men and all the people set out from Baale-judah with the ark. Now, I praised David for consulting with God through the prophet about the battles with the Philistines, but we are going to have to pay a bit of attention to the story. Everyone, at David’s leadership, carries the ark on a new cart (at least it wasn’t a used cart, I guess) being pulled by oxen.
If you have studied the Scriptures, you will know this is a huge no-no! Only Levites could carry the ark, and they had to use long poles which slid through the hoops on the ark to carry it. I was . . . saddened and bemused by commentators and other preachers who think this was a flimsy reason to explain the tragedy of Uzzah. Why would God care about how the ark was transported? Is He capricious? Does He just make rules to make rules? Does He try to trick us and cause us to falter? Of course not. God has revealed Himself to be the loving Father in heaven. Whatever He does or commands is for our benefit. Period. As Jesus reminds us, God is not pretending to give us an egg while substituting an adder!
The problem is sin. God can no more tolerate sin that you or I can tolerate not breathing or not blinking. I hate to speak anthropomorphically about God, but that is the only way we can sometimes come to understand Him better. Not fully, mind you, but better. God destroys sin by His very presence. Every time sinful human beings come into His presence, or into the presence of angels who have been in His presence, how do they respond? They are afraid. You see, we understand when we are confronted by His holy, righteous, just, loving, and other predicate adjectives by which He describes Himself to us that we are not. We sin. Again, period. And when sinners realize they are in the presence of God, Who is this holy other than us, it rightly terrifies us.
God, of course, knows the danger. What does He do to Adam and Eve after their sin? Casts them out from His presence. Is He mad at them? No! He is, of course, hurt and disappointed, but they have to be moved a safe distance from His presence. When individuals ask to see His face, does He allow them? Again, no. It’s not because He is afraid to let them look on Him. It’s because it means they will be destroyed because of their sin. So, when God appears as a burning bush or lets someone see His back, He is protecting them, showing them grace.
Back to our problem with the ark. The ark will be the focal point of where God is on earth. It makes a bit of sense to us, right. It’s the torah. Want to be a holy, righteous, loving, just people? Here’s how you do that. That’s the big reason why Israel had the ark. When Solomon builds the Temple in a few years, the ark will be placed in the Holy of Holies. It will only be seen by the people one time a year, and then only briefly. And when the high priest must perform actions around it, he will have to wear bells that jingle and a rope. If the high priest does not make all the appropriate sacrifices and preparations and, much harder to know, a right heart, God will nuke him when he comes near the ark. Good. I see the nods. The conditions for being near God and His chosen things are set for our protection and benefit. They are signs of grace.
Back to our story. David has determined to haul the ark on a cart by oxen. Now, roads are not what we have come to know and love in 21st century Nashville. Well, I-440 before the pandemic might prepare us a bit. An ox stumbles and the ark nearly tips out. Uzzah tries to steady the ark. God’s anger, we are told, is kindled against Uzzah, and he kills Uzzah. David, naturally, is angry that God has done this. Uzzah was just trying to be helpful. He did not want the ark to fall and get dented or the contents to fall out. We can surely understand Uzzah’s motivations and David’s response as reasonable and good, right?
And, yet, what was God’s instructions regarding the transportation of the ark? Neither David nor Uzzah nor any of the people were good in God’s eyes. He had given them an instruction for their own protection and well-being, and they had ignored Him. They sinned.
David moves from anger to fear, we are told. This, too, makes sense, right. At first, David knows Uzzah is just trying to help. It was a great day of celebration. All Israel was there. Imagine the scandal if the ark fell. And poor Uzzah . . . .But David is, as we all know, a man after God’s own heart. As he reflects on events, and perhaps consults with others, he begins to realize just how dangerous it is to be in the presence of God. During the week of July 4 I reminded people in orbit of the parish and further afield that nobody in their right mind wants America to be the new Israel, as some in Christian circles claim. To be God’s people is a privilege and a heavy responsibility. When God’s people fail Him, what happens? They get judged. If they don’t repent and return, what happens? They get conquered and dispersed—exiled, to use the language of the Old Testament. As a country, are we loving those on the margins as God loves them? Are we governing ourselves to glorify Him, or are we governing ourselves to enrich and empower a few? See the danger? David did. And it rightly scared him. David decides to leave the ark where it is because it is so dangerous.
After three months, though, the prophets come to David to tell him that the Lord is blessing the household of Obed-edom because of the presence of the ark. David takes the hint and instructions and sets about to move the ark again. Now, every time the ark is moved six paces, the procession halts and David offers two sacrifices of thanksgiving. David strips down to a linen ephod and dances with joy before the ark during the steps. And can you imagine how many animals are sacrificed in such a journey.
Here, of course, is where it applies easily to our daily life at Advent. As most of you know, we received a blessing of cows this week. The same farmer as last year called up and asked if we could do it again. He has been pushed back into 2020 for processing up in Dekalb. It went so well last year, of course, we jumped right on it. Except this year, Body & Soul had enough money to purchase and give away two full cows to the food insecure. None of that “we will sell to Adventers to supplement the ministry nonsense.” God had provided the means from outside the parish. A couple quick calls enabled us to sell 2 to Giles RFD, which Rich Woolard and the folks from Church of the Messiah, Pulaski helped start. And MillCreek, one of our local partners thought they’d be in for the other 1 ½. That fell through, but Adventers had committed to 1 ½ of the next shipment, so there was no real panic. We had 2-3 tons of beef and a home for it all!
Now, imagine you cannot afford groceries. Imagine you are mostly dependent upon handouts. Beef, as it was in the ANE, is a luxury item. Yet we were offering fresh off the hoof beef. You can imagine the conversations around here. WHat meat the food insecure usually get is closer to bad than fresh. Businesses typically do not donate that which they can sell. One lady complained that we did not warn her how fresh it was. She left the ground beef to thaw on the counter of her kitchen, and then we both belly laughed about the look of a crime scene—especially when I regaled her with the tale of the great unload! Veronica, Sarah, Nancy, Larry, Dale, Hilary and those who work the mobile pantry were able to offer people a choice. Until you have no choice, you cannot begin to understand how important a choice is. Would you like a roast or steaks? Would prefer NY Strip or T-Bone? Short ribs or brisket?
Some people are convinced that parishioners are screwing something up. They come to me in confession that someone gave them something this good. They wonder how we can do this. And far too many from my perspective have said if more Christians lived like this, it’s a religion they could follow. I’ve done my job. Christianity is not a religion. At our very best, we claim to be disciples of the Son of God, who came down from heaven to redeem and empower us. God is the Creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We testify to our internalization of those understandings by offering our best to His glory and honor. We did not provide the money for the beef. We did not go searching for the cows. It all fell into our laps like provision did for Israel during the Exodus. And just as God gave us His best; we offer ours, in hopes that they might know the abundant love and promises that God has prepared for those who love Him.
Better still, our reading this week is an anticipatory echo of Temple worship and our work. Once the ark is safely ensconced in Israel, how does David respond? David feeds everyone in Jerusalem! Similarly, when you or I would have gone to Temple after Solomon builds it, what would we have done to show our Thanksgiving to God for the forgiveness or blessings pronounced over us by the priest after our sacrifice? We would have headed back out into the Courts of the Gentile and Women and invited all present to share in our moment of joy. Had God’s people taken His holiness and promises seriously, and their faithful observance of the torah that He gave them, the Temple would have been like the grandest tailgating event at the biggest game in SEC history! We are talking way bigger and better smelling than Tennessee-Florida, Auburn-Alabama, Florida-Georgia all playing for the national championship! And all that we ate or drank was free for the taking.
All of that, of course, points to meal that we share which, in turns, point to the Feast to which He calls and invites every member of the human race. I joke sometimes that you and I sit at the kids’ table. The adults, those who have finished growing in Christ and gone to their reward, reside at the Feast He has prepared. Brothers and sisters, these are quaint ideas or interesting marketing ploys. All that we do is meant to glorify God in our lives. We are called by God to live as if we believe He loved us enough to come down from heaven and live among us, to be betrayed by us despite His innocence, to suffer the shameful and painful death on the Cross for us, and that He truly was raised from death that glorious Easter morning! Part of what made this ministry opportunity so easy and obvious was how magnificently it testifies to God’s love and provision in our midst. Are you hungry? Have some of Aunt Meg’s tasty cow. Are you thirsty? Here’s the wine usually served in the beginning of the celebration.
Those actions, and our faithful service, has opened the door to any number of conversations among ourselves and with those who do not yet know the love of God, as will our future repentance of any failures we commit despite knowing all this. You see, David encourages us in yet another way. Despite having a heart after God’s own heart, David fails and sins. In a couple weeks, we will read of perhaps his most famous sin. David, like us, knows he does not deserve God’s grace, and so he will often rejoice in God’s unmerited gift. You and I, of course, have the advantage of history. We stand on this side of the Cross and Empty Tomb. We know, we absolutely know that only Jesus faithfully kept all commandments, that only Jesus led a holy and righteous life without sin, that only Jesus restores us to where we can see our Father’s face, in spite of our own shortcomings and sins, and that He alone is Lord of all that is, seen and unseen. And so, when we gather to honor and worship Him or when we serve others in His Name, we rightly give thanks for the saving work He has done in our lives! And we invite strangers and neighbors to share in that wonderful promise with us! As cool as it has been to offer fresh beef, we have an even better offer. God has asked each of us to invite all whom we meet to that amazing Feast to which all of this points!
In Christ’s Name we do invite!
Brian
