Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15) (Green)
Sunday, July 15th, 2018
Readings 2 SAMUEL 6:1-5, 12B-19; PSALM 24; EPHESIANS 1:3-14; MARK 6:14-29
Collect
Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. May we find peace in your service, and in the world to come, see you face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Alt 1
God of the prophets, whose word cuts through the webs of power and holds the tyrant to account: be with all who raise their voice against oppression and misrule, who are imprisoned and abused for freedom’s sake; help us to stand and speak with them and witness to your kingdom now; through Jesus Christ, the name above all others. Amen.
Prayers for an Inclusive Church (2009)
Alt 2
O God, when pride leads us deeper into sin, grant us strength, so that we may turn from pride and know the power of your uncompromising love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Propers Working Group (2015)
Prayer over the Gifts
Father, your word creates in us a yearning for your kingdom. Receive all we offer you this day, and keep us in your peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Prayer After Communion
Living God, in this sacrament we have shared in your eternal kingdom. May we who taste this mystery forever serve you in faith, hope, and love. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
First Reading
A READING FROM THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL
[THE FIRST LESSON IS WRITTEN IN THE 6th CHAPTER OF THE SECOND BOOK OF THE PROPHET SAMUEL, BEGINNING AT THE 1ST VERSE.]
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty-thousand. David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.
HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT IS SAYING TO THE CHURCH.
[HERE ENDETH THE FIRST LESSSON.]
THANKS BE TO GOD.
2 SAMUEL 6:1-5, 12B-19
Psalm
PSALM
REFRAIN The King of glory shall come in.
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and all who dwell therein. For it is he who founded it upon the seas and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep. R
“Who can ascend the hill of the Lord? and who can stand in his holy place?”
“Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who have not pledged themselves to falsehood, nor sworn by what is a fraud. R
They shall receive a blessing from the Lord and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”
Such is the generation of those who seek him, of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. R
Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them high, O everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
“Who is this King of glory?” “The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.” R
Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them high, O everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
“Who is he, this King of glory?” “The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.”
PSALM 24
Second Reading
A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS
[THE SECOND LESSON IS WRITTEN IN THE 1st CHAPTER OF THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS, BEGINNING AT THE 3rd VERSE.]
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT IS SAYING TO THE CHURCH.
[HERE ENDETH THE FIRST LESSSON.]
THANKS BE TO GOD. EPHESIANS 1:3-14
Gospel
THE LORD BE WITH YOU. AND ALSO WITH YOU.
THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO SAINT MARK.
GLORY TO YOU, LORD JESUS CHRIST.
[THE LORD BE WITH YOU. AND WITH THY SPIRIT.
THE HOLY GOSPEL IS WRITTEN IN THE 6TH CHAPTER OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SAINT MARK, BEGINNING AT THE 14TH VERSE. GLORY BE TO THEE, O LORD.]
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
THIS IS THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.
PRAISE TO YOU, LORD JESUS CHRIST. [PRAISE BE TO THEE, O CHRIST]
MARK 6:14-29
SERMON
Let us pray.
Holy God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be always acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
AMEN.
Stewardship Reflection What can a steward learn from this story? Maybe not to act or speak too quickly, but to allow the Spirit to guide our thoughts and actions.
Let me begin with a wee bit of trickery…by lulling you into a false sense of security. I’m not going to preach today on the beheading of John the baptizer…with Summer upon us, I figured it might be a wee bit too heavy for the light mood I have been trying to maintain this week. So instead, I’d like to talk about our old testament reading and about King David. AND, here is where the trickery comes in – there is nothing particularly light about what David’s experiences that we heard about today; though there is dancing.
If you were to ask me who my favourite Old Testament character was, it would be David. Despite the fact that he ended up as King, it is pretty easy to identify with David.
When we first meet David he is but a boy, a small boy – he is the runt of the family. And, while I was not ever the smallest guy in the family, it is not hard to feel small in a family that is as massive and as extended as my own – my father is one of twelve children and my mother is one of seven. I suspect that most people feel small at some point in their life…or feel like a tiny child in a giant’s world.
But David, by his faith, conquers Goliath and grows up to be king. Now David’s life is pretty exciting and colourful – we’ve all likely experienced flashes of excitement and colour in our lives. Perhaps we didn’t want or desire the excitement we got but, nonetheless, we got it.
Now David was a King, and so far as I know there are no King’s in the congregation here – at least not outside the confines of our own minds. But, despite his majesty, David has some life experiences that are not beyond our own experience. He meets a man named Jonathan, who happens to be King Saul’s son – they become the best of friends. David and Jonathan go though many escapades together…good and bad. They save each other’s lives, they bolster each other’s spirits and they journey through life embracing each decision…good and bad. They live life to the fullest. I hope that each of us can think back across the arc of our lives and count at least one “partner in crime” who has stood with us and had our backs.
We need only look to the psalms, that are mostly attributed to David, to see that he lived a life of ups and downs…just like us!
He wrote songs of praise and songs of lament. Life was not always a mountaintop…there were also valleys…just like us! We are David and David is us.
He wasn’t always good and righteous either. He found himself embroiled in scandal, too. King Saul tried to kill him, several times. Then there is the little incident with Uriah and Bathsheba – David was indeed a sinner. He was not perfect…by a long shot. BUT, somehow, God always and continually blessed David.
In our account today, we see all sides of David – we are given a peak into what his life was typically like.
At 30 years old he was anointed King of Israel. I’m not sure that that the little boy that went out to do battle with Goliath ever seriously aspired to be King…but here he is and once again he is up against the Philistines – the people of Goliath. He asks God for direction as he embarks on the battle and God speaks to David telling him when and where to go and how to defeat the Philistines.
It seems that God is really on his side. He takes men and gathers up the Ark of God – the Ark of the Covenant – and they begin their journey home with it. Leading the procession of soldiers as they processed this invaluable item toward the city is David – imperfect yet beloved and blessed David. He is dancing and singing praises. There is music from every imaginable instrument and revelry in the feet and hearts of those processing.
Cast your mind back, to Palm Sunday – do you recall the procession here? Were there revelries, was there dancing, where hips swaying, were feet moving.
If Palm Sunday was not memorable, try to recall the procession this morning.
I sometimes wonder what a procession would look like if it were done with the joy and revelry of David and the procession with the Ark. We do grand and impressive – but do we do JOY.
Anyway, David is dancing and singing and carrying on, in very un-Anglican fashion, when one of his men touches the Ark and dies. A little like that scene from Indiana Jones. David gets worried about the power of the Ark and decides to leave the Ark at his good friend Obed’s house.
David gets a bit jealous of the blessedness of Obed while he is hosting the Ark and decides that the Ark needs to make it all the way back to its rightful home in the city. If the previous procession was a bit much – this final procession was over the top. He was stripped to his skivvies and made animal sacrifices every 6 steps. David’s wife Michal was not impressed.
BUT, David danced and sung before God without any care for what anyone thought of him – including his wife. He was overjoyed and he just danced.
David understood that God’s love for him was so powerful, so strong, so unimaginably immense that he couldn’t help but overflow with sheer JOY.
David’s life wasn’t always full of joy. David wasn’t always perfect. David experienced sadness and sorrow – he had good days and bad days. There were certainly days, even after this bout of dancing, when he really didn’t feel like dancing and singing. BUT, when he knew he was entering into the presence of God, he could not help but leap for joy.
You are David, I am David, David is us.
You are as beloved by God as any King that Israel has ever anointed.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has sacrificed himself on that long ago tortuous cross to reunite us to a God who loves us. To clear away all that you have built up around you reinforce that you are a god. To remind us that He is God and we are not god.
You are not God – you cannot be God – you do not need to shoulder that heavy burden. Let God be God and serve him in the pattern of David – with abandon, with JOY, without a care for the opinions of those around you that are still trying to set themselves up as God.
Know that you are loved by God.
Know that you are forgiven of all that you have done to try to supplant God.
Know that you are cherished and precious children of God.
Let us unleash our inner Davids and celebrate with abandon the many blessings we know at God’s hand. The method of celebration is a bit up to you – dancing, as we’ve seen, is an option; playing instruments, as we heard today, is an option, one that David Palmer and Jonathan Bayley and all the other instrument players amongst us can demonstrate; King David needed someone supplying the oxen and fatlings for his grateful and sacrificial offerings to God – that sacrificial and joyful giving is a faithful celebration of God’s love for us, and while animals are no longer needed as Jesus made the once-and-done sacrifice for us all, sacrificial giving in other ways is indeed a faithful response.
The call to us is to respond to God’s love in a way that is faithful for us – Dance, play, sing, give.
Let us pray.
O God, when pride leads us deeper into sin, grant us strength, so that we may turn from pride and know the power of your uncompromising love. In Jesus’ name we pray.
AMEN.