Welcome to this online service of worship for Craigmillar Park and Reid Memorial churches for Sunday 4 July 2021. This week we consider the nature of authority and kingship, using the examples of the biblical King David and Jesus.
Call to Worship
God of the generations,
we come to worship You.
God of the humble,
we come to worship You.
God of the poor,
we come to worship You.
God of the Son of Humanity,
we come to worship You.
Amen
HYMN 162: The God of Abraham praise
Prayer
Powerful God, gracious God, we approach you today offering our worship.
You are powerful beyond our understanding but
you kneel in the dust to lift up the humble
and shoulder the burdens of those who are bowed down and crushed.
Our souls sing out in praise
For you understand our fears and support all who suffer.
Great and mighty is our God, who meets us in weakness
Sure and strong is our God, who meets us in our fear.
Glory be to Jesus who stands shoulder to shoulder with those who are in pain,
who opened his arms wide on the cross to hold all the hurts of the world.
God of humility,
we confess before you those times we have used authority in a way that was not kind or good.
We have used the lowly status of others to push ourselves up,
or gossiped about a family, a person, or a group of people in unkind words.
We confess to you those times we have taken offence where none was meant
and we confess those times we have used being offended to puff up our pride
and put others down.
Eternal God, who shows us the true meaning of humility in death and crucifixion,
forgive us our sins of pride and entitlement.
Eternal God, who gives us the gift of resurrection and forgiveness,
take from us now our weight of sin
and let us release those guilty feelings
that we may be ready to forgive others more kindly in our turn.
Rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, we pray as our Saviour taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen
Scripture readings
2 Samuel 5: 1-5
David becomes king over Israel
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, ‘We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, “You shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall become their ruler.”’
When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
Mark 6: 1-13
A prophet without honour
Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
‘Where did this man get these things?’ they asked. ‘What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.
Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few people who were ill and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’
They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed with oil many people who were ill and healed them.
Amen
HYMN 473: Thy kingdom come!
Reflection
Grant, O Lord, that in these words, we may behold the living Word, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Did you spot the contrast between the two passages we have just heard? In the first, David, a mere shepherd boy when we first meet him, the youngest of a large family, is anointed as king over Israel albeit he is by this time a bit older, aged 30, and has clearly already had a successful military career. Nonetheless, his humble background did not get in the way of the elders recognising his qualities and inviting him to rule. And he was king for forty years, we are told. Jesus was often named as one of David’s descendants; you will have heard him called the Son of David. This story makes it all seem so easy. If God is with you, you will have success and power and even wealth, just like David. This is a theme that is sometimes preached from pulpits – the so-called ‘prosperity gospel’, beloved of some TV preachers.
In reality, David’s rise to power was not straightforward. His world was as confusing and violent as any, including our own. David took advantage of that and fought, pretty viciously, for the power he eventually gained. The story is perhaps a typical example of the victor writing the history. David’s apparently smooth elevation to power is simply a looking back on what was believed to be a golden era that never truly existed and to a time when God’s hand in human affairs was as unclear and mysterious as it is today.
Contrast the story of David with the opening of the passage from Mark. We meet Jesus, another 30-year-old from relatively humble home circumstances, a person who has already, like David, shown some surprising abilities – stilling storms, healing the sick, raising a young girl from the dead – but one who is very far from being acclaimed by the people who know him best. He comes to Nazareth, his home town, teaches in the local synagogue, and what happens? If he’d been born in Scotland, not ancient Judaea, people would have been muttering: “who does he think he is? I kent his faither!”. Jesus was very far from being acclaimed as king, or even as a legitimate rabbi, by his own people, in spite of the acts of healing, the service to his own community, that he and the disciples performed. Jesus carries on regardless, he serves, he heals and he preaches. He does not demand a crown, instead commenting ruefully on prophets being without honour in their own countries. He does not fight. He calls together the twelve and sends them out, two by two. They were to take nothing with them but to go as beggars and to depend for their nourishment and housing on the generosity and faith of other people.
Jesus and the disciples left Nazareth and wandered more widely, preaching and healing as they went. Jesus was not, unlike David, to have a reign of 40 years; we know that only some three years of life remained to him and that he would die, not in a luxurious palace but on a rubbish heap, not accompanied by his friends, his family, his courtiers and servants, but virtually alone and reviled.
So why are the two passages placed together in this week’s lectionary readings? Perhaps we are meant to reflect on the nature and meaning of kingship and authority. David was a king in the traditional sense of the word. He was rich, powerful, grand, a warrior – a textbook picture of a mighty ruler. Jesus – as mirrored in the life of the wandering disciples – was poor, dependent on other people for food and shelter, heading for an ignominious death. But which of them do we recognise as a leader 2000 years on?
Do we follow David? Do we worship the kings and rulers of this world, interested in power and status as David was? Or do we follow Jesus, the one we now know to be the Christ, the Messiah, the saviour of all who believe in him? David may have reigned for 40 years but we know that his kingdom did not survive his death for very long. The Kingdom of Israel fractured after the reign of Solomon, David’s son. But God’s kingdom lasts for ever: Revelation 11:15 says: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever”.
The writers of the books of Samuel perhaps fell into the trap of glossing over the pain of the past and instead celebrating the triumphant winner, David in this case. Their objective may have been to recall the splendour of the time of King David and to inspire their readers, a few centuries after David may have lived, to try to regain that glory. These passages, however, teach us that we must not do this. We must not be attracted by power, by status, by glittering riches. These things are false gods. David was a powerful king but his life and his reign were marred by shocking episodes of murder and rape. Authority over others is a privilege and an honour, not an invitation to exploit and trample over the weak.
The story of the Bible is a story about seeking God in the reality of the world and attempting to bear witness to a God who works through a different set of principles and values. In the passage from Mark, we see Jesus and his disciples living sacrificially, humbly, trusting in others, sharing the faith and ignoring the taunts and condemnation of families and neighbours. We know what it led to but Jesus’ death on that cross did not end his authority. He may have been rejected by his neighbours, his life may have been humble but his death and resurrection transformed him and transformed the world.
Are there lessons for us in this? Yes, surely. We too must avoid the temptations of personal power and the relentless search for wealth and status. We must, like the wandering disciples, have faith that our needs will be met. We must seek to ensure that our own rulers, our political leaders, follow the example of Christ Jesus and not the example of King David. After all, the kingdoms and rulers of this world, the Davids, if you will, will pass away and we will be left with the everlasting reign of God on earth. And we are promised that we will share in that glory, a glory formed by sacrificial love and faithful service.
Thanks be to God.
May the past
be the beginning of the future for us.
May the faith
be the beginning of eternity for us.
May the way
be all the steps that led us here.
And may love
be the guide that takes us further.
Amen
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
we acknowledge your rule
over every realm of life;
we recognise that your life, death and resurrection
will establish the kingdom of God
on this earth
and we rejoice that the world will be subdued by the might of your love.
Son of Mary:
consecrate our homes.
Son of David:
show our rulers a new way of exercising power and authority.
Son of God:
grant us eternal life.
Jesus the carpenter:
hallow our daily work.
Jesus the saviour:
save us from ourselves.
Jesus the life-giver:
renew your church in this place.
Merciful God,
hear our prayers for all those who cry to you;
have pity on those who are in misery;
deal gently with those who sit in darkness.
Jesus the crucified:
reveal your love and power to all who suffer.
Preserve our land from all things hurtful;
be gracious to those countries
that are wracked by war, famine, disease or persecution.
Grant that the rulers of this world may obey your will
that the people may live in security and freedom.
Jesus the King:
raise us to live and reign with you for ever.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
for ever and ever.
Amen
HYMN 283: The voice of God goes out to all the world
Sending
Let us go out in the spirit of the twelve,
no purse, no spares, no insurance, no pride.
There, in the world,
may we meet the vulnerable, the kindly,
those ready to receive us with generosity and grace.
And in this meeting, may we see our God,
incarnate, reborn, eternal:
in love and hope.
Amen
This service was prepared by Pauline Weibye, Session Clerk at Craigmillar Park
Acknowledgements:
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Worship material inspired by the Church of Scotland’s Weekly Worship resources.