Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Advent: David and the Subprime Housing Crisis

Here’s the sermon I’m preaching tomorrow from 2 Samuel 7:1-16.  Not the usual Christmas text, but I think you’ll see the connection.  I hope your final Advent Sunday in a blessed one.  

David and the Subprime Housing Crisis

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

 3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

 4 That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:

 5 ”Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ‘

 8 ”Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

 
       ” ‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ “

An Old Testament Housing Crisis

The economic events of this past year have reminded us of how important the housing market is to our financial stability.  Who would have thought that the phrase “subprime housing crisis” would have found its way into our everyday conversations?  In this reading for today, we are encountering David’s version of a subprime housing crisis.  

You remember David, the shepherd boy.  David was selected by God to fill the role of king that Saul had betrayed.  It would be many years, and involve much fighting before David would realize God’s promise of being king over a united Judah and Israel.  But, David had finally found rest from his enemies and is at peace in his palace.  He had ordered the Ark of the Covenant to be brought up to Jerusalem, and now everything seemed to be in place.  

Reflecting on his fortunes one evening, David talks with the prophet Nathan.  There is a restlessness in David, a restlessness that is seeking a challenge, something to occupy that strategic mind of his.  A new campaign, not of fighting or warfare, but of building.  

David observes that while he is comfortably reclining in the palace of the king, the Ark of God is sheltered in a tent, which is certainly not the kind of house that the manifest presence of God needs to be found in.  

Nathan picks up on David’s inference, and says to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”  

But that night, Nathan has a very different word from God.  God says several things to Nathan for David’s benefit:

1.  Are you the one to build Me a house?

Any right-thinking person, when asked if David was a good choice to build a house for God, would have answered, Yes!  David had defeated God’s enemies, been faithful to God’s call, and had himself accompanied the Ark of God to Jerusalem, dancing in the streets before it as the Ark was carried into town.  Of course David was the one to build God a house.  Who else is more qualified, more dedicated, more committed to God than David?  This was, of course, before David’s sin with Bathsheba, but that’s another story for later.  

But for some reason, implicit in God’s question, “Are you the one?” lies the answer, No.  David is not the one to build a house for God.  Why? Because God has a plan.

God reminds Nathan to remind David that God brought the Israelites up out of Egypt, about 500 years before David’s time.  God traveled with his people from place to place camping in their midst.  And, to make his point absolutely clear, God says – 

Wherever I moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”

In other words, God’s place has been with his people, and God presence had no need of a house made permanent.  

You remember the story of the Tabernacle, the tent in which God camped among his people.  Shortly after giving Moses the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, God gives instruction for the materials, design and construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings.  So, if God needs a house, God is perfectly capable of rallying his people to build him one.

God’s point in all of this is to correct the notion that David has that David is going to do something for God.  ”I’m in a palace of cedar and marble,” David thinks.  ”I’m living better than God is.  I’ll do something for God, I’ll build God a house like mine.”  

The other notion that God wants to correct in David’s thinking is that God lacks anything.  To begin any statement with  the phrase “God needs….” is to misspeak.  God does not need anything.  God has no lack, only supply.  God has no deficit, only abundance.  God has no need, only blessing.  

So, in answer to the question, “Are you the one to build Me a house?” the answer is is a resounding, No.  

2.  Here’s what I’ve done for you.  

But, God isn’t finished with David yet.  God says, Here’s what I’ve done for you:

• I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.  Just so we’re clear, God says, let me remind you where you came from.  I took you from the pasture.  You didn’t arrive at this palace because of your great military mind, your astute business skills, or your personal charm. I made you king of my people Israel.  
• I have been with you wherever you have gone and I have cut off all your enemies from before you.  The victories that David won, including the victory over Goliath, David owes to God.  God has been with David, God has defeated David’s enemies, God has preserved David’s life.  Everything David has, he owes to God, including his own life.  

3.  Here’s what I’m going to do for you now.  

But, wait, there’s more, as the Ginsu knife commercial says.  God is going to do something beyond David’s comprehension.  God is going to establish the house of David forever.  Forever.  Israel had only had two kings, and Saul’s reign had not lasted long.  David was just beginning to reign over a united kingdom.  A nation that had been a ragtag assemblage of tribes and conflicting agendas had coalesced into a people, united and strong.  

So, David’s offer to build God a house, a real house, resulted in God’s promise to establish David’s ancestral house forever.  

God has a plan.  And while we think we are doing something for God, I am sure that God just smiles and continues his business of completing his plan.  

Others Announce God’s Plan

Oh, and here’s what happened with the promise God made to David.  A prophet named Isaiah about 300 years after David picked up on God’s promise to David and to God’s people:

1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-

 2 The people walking in darkness 
       have seen a great light; 
       on those living in the land of the shadow of death ^[a] 
       a light has dawned.

 3 You have enlarged the nation 
       and increased their joy; 
       they rejoice before you 
       as people rejoice at the harvest, 
       as men rejoice 
       when dividing the plunder.

 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, 
       you have shattered 
       the yoke that burdens them, 
       the bar across their shoulders, 
       the rod of their oppressor.

 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle 
       and every garment rolled in blood 
       will be destined for burning, 
       will be fuel for the fire.

 6 For to us a child is born, 
       to us a son is given, 
       and the government will be on his shoulders. 
       And he will be called 
       Wonderful Counselor, ^[b] Mighty God, 
       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 7 Of the increase of his government and peace 
       there will be no end. 
       He will reign on David’s throne 
       and over his kingdom, 
       establishing and upholding it 
       with justice and righteousness 
       from that time on and forever. 
       The zeal of the LORD Almighty 
       will accomplish this.

Oh, and then, about 600 years later, Luke records a very special event this way:

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 

5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

 

And there it is.  God’s promise made real.  A King of kings, a Lord of lords who would rule on David’s throne forever.  God didn’t need a house, but he chose a household.  And from that family line, imperfect as they were everyone, God blessed this world.  

There is nothing God needs from us.  Not a house, not a shrine, not our help.  But what God desires from us is our obedience, our cooperation, our willingness to join his great plan to bless the world. 

 

 

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Advent sermon: How God Came To Be With Us

My sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Advent is coming later today.  But, here’s a sermon I preached last year, How God Came to Be With Us.   This sermon features the fictional character Itzak, who tells the story of his friend Joseph and how God came to be with them.  A pastor in Ontario presented it in costume recently and reported good responses from his congregation.

Filed under: Lectionary Yr A, Resources, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Worship, advent, sermon , advent 3, advent sermon, character sermon, Christmas sermon, Joseph and Mary sermon, lectionary year a, third sunday in advent

Waiting for Christmas

 

When I was a kid, time seemed to stand still, especially in the weeks before Christmas.  I remember asking my mother, “How many days ‘til Christmas?”  

 Her patient reply to her 6-year-old reassured me that Christmas would indeed come someday soon.  We didn’t start decorating for Christmas at our house until the middle of December.  But I could see the signs of Christmas long before it actually arrived.  Mama would start getting out the boxes of ornaments and the strings of colored lights — the big ones, not the tiny ones like we have now — and I knew that Christmas was coming. 

Gifts arrived by mail from cousins and aunts and uncles whom we only saw a couple of times a year.  Christmas cards began to pile up in the living room as friends and relatives near and far sent greetings of Christmas.  Some cards contained Christmas letters, catching us up on the lives of families we seldom saw, but cared about deeply. 

Another sign of Christmas coming appeared at the church.  Eastern Heights Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia was a working-class church.  I remember firemen, mechanics, store owners, factory workers, and truck drivers who made up most of the membership.  These men dressed up in suits on Sunday morning, filing in to sit on the front pew, as the deacons did back in those days in Georgia.  At Christmas, the old sanctuary came alive with color.  Now, this was long before Baptists ever heard of an advent wreath or liturgical colors.  No, the sanctuary brimmed with poinsettias, Christmas garland, some candles, and Christmas lights.  Always prominently displayed was the Lottie Moon Foreign Mission Offering board.   Big white lights were lit for each $100 given toward our goal of $2,000 — a big sum for working folks to give. 

Of course, the Christmas that all the red and green gave way to purple and gold was one to remember.  Seems that the son of one of our members, who owned a flower shop in Atlanta, volunteered to decorate the church.  Instead of pine garlands that year, we had lemon trees with silver and gold ribbons.  Instead of red-and-green, the colors were lime, purple, and gold.  As you can imagine, that caused quite a stir at Eastern Heights Baptist Church.  The next year we were back to our traditional décor.

 All of those signs told a little boy that Christmas was coming.  So I waited, and Christmas did come.  Just like the world waited 2,000 years ago, not knowing what to expect, not knowing what to hope for, but seeing the signs.  This year, as you wait for Christmas, watch for the signs of His coming.  That was always my favorite part of Christmas.

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Sermon for 1st Advent: Watching at the Gate

I’m preaching this sermon next Sunday, November 30, 2008, on the first Sunday in Advent for Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.  It’s a strange text for the coming of Christmas…or is it?  Have a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful first Advent Sunday.  

Watching At The Gate

Mark 13:24-37

24“But in those days, following that distress, 
   ” ‘the sun will be darkened, 
      and the moon will not give its light; 
 25the stars will fall from the sky, 
      and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’      

 26“At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

 28“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

 32“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

 35“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ “

 

A Strange Story for Advent

The text we just read seems more like the end-of-the-world than getting ready for Christmas.  But, here we are again in the season of Advent — watching for the coming of the Christ into our world.

 

When Mark writes his short, powerful story of Jesus’ life, he devotes two chapters to the return of the Messiah to this earth.  Mark sandwiches this two-chapter discourse between Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the end of the last week in Jesus’ life.  It is as though Jesus knows his time is about finished for his earthly ministry, and he is reassuring his disciples that regardless of how things look in the next few days, or months, or years, that the Messiah of God, the Christ, will return again to this earth to finish the work he has begun.

In this passage, Jesus makes his point clearly.  First, he points out that there are signs pointing to the coming — the advent — of the Messiah — and that when we see the signs we know that the Messiah is near, right at the gate, the outside door: 

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 

Then, Jesus reminds the disciples that they are to watch, and gives them a real life example of the kind of watching for the master’s return that he expects: 

“It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.” – Mark 13:29, 34

And this servant who is assigned to keep watch is watching for the master’s return.  Why?  The master has already been there, he has already established his power and authority, he has already assigned his servants the roles they are to play.  Why do they need to watch for his return?  Why does one servant have the sole duty of watching at the gate, the outer door?

Let’s see if we can put ourselves in the place of those first century disciples, or those servants to whom Jesus referred, and imagine the scene Jesus is painting, the story he’s telling to those who are very anxious about the future.

The Door and the Doorkeeper

The first thing we have to do is get acquainted with the house of a person like the master that Jesus refers to.  While the homes of ordinary people were very simple, the house of a person who could afford servants would be a lot like the houses of wealthy people today — more spacious, more rooms, more square-footage.  

Typically, houses of the first century were walled compounds with a front entrance usually closed with a secure gate.  Outer doors, also referred to as gates, could be barred with crossbars, securing the courtyard from unwelcome intruders.  So, the servant who would watch for the master’s return, would watch at the front gate, or the outer door.

   

Because first century homes did not have video surveillance, or door bells, or other devices to alert the homeowner inside of approaching guests, the doorkeeper stood at the door.  The doorkeeper’s job was to monitor the door, open it for welcomed guests, and secure it against unwelcomed intruders.

The doorkeeper is referred to in Psalm 84:10 where the psalmists says –

Better is one day in your courts 
       than a thousand elsewhere; 
       I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 
       than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

The doorkeeper was a servant’s job, not a privileged position.  An unlike the doormen in the famous hotels or apartments of New York City, the doorkeeper was not particularly rewarded for his work — he was expected to do his job.  

The Door To The Future

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but our daughter Laurie loved the movie, Back to the Future, when she was a teenager.  Actually, she loved Michael J. Fox, who just happened to be in Back to the Future.  And, she saw Back to the Future something like 14-times.  Way too much, because she was able to mouth the dialogue along with the actors on the screen.  This was what psychologist might call a bit obsessive.  Anyway, Back to the Future, to refresh your memory was about “Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, who is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean “time machine” invented by slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenage parents-to-be meet and fall in love – so he can get back to the future.”  (summary from The Internet Movie Database) Hence the name, Back to the Future.  

Now, Back to the Future wasn’t the first of these time machine movies.  H. G. Well’s book, The Time Machine, published in 1895 was actually a rehash of a previous book, The Chronic Argonauts, also about time travel.  Interesting that the term “chronic argonauts” didn’t catch on — wonder why? — but “time machine” did.  

Human beings have been fascinated by time travel probably since we developed a concept of time including the ideas of past, present, and future.  

When Jesus starts to tell the disciples about the future, they’re all ears.  ”How will we know, and what will be the signs of your coming?” they ask Jesus.  Jesus then tells them about the signs:

• The Temple will be torn down (13:2)
• Many false messiahs will arise (13:6)
• Wars and rumors of wars (13:7)
• Earthquakes and famines will occur (13:8)
• Followers of Jesus persecuted (13:9)
• The gospel will be preached to all nations (13:10)
• Families will turn on each other (13:12)
• All men will hate you on account of me (13:13)
• The abomination of desolation will occur (13:14)
• The time will be so hard that if the Lord does not cut it short, no one will survive (13:15-20)
• False Christs and false prophets will perform signs and miracles to deceive God’s people (13:21-23)

Then, Jesus combines quotes from Isaiah 13 and 34, where Isaiah describes God’s judgment on the nation of Babylon in Isaiah 13, and on all the nations in Isaiah 34 – 

24“But in those days, following that distress, 
   ” ‘the sun will be darkened, 
      and the moon will not give its light; 
 25the stars will fall from the sky, 
      and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

Then, Jesus says, 

26“At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

 

In other words, the key to the future is in the past.  Just as God came to vindicate his people and deliver them from the Babylonians, and others who opposed them, so God is coming again to deliver his people when similar governments threaten,when similar systems of oppression and unfaithfulness thrive.

After both the Isaiah passages that Jesus quotes, God shows up and vindicates his people.  In Isaiah 14:1 -

The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; 
       once again he will choose Israel 
       and will settle them in their own land. 
       Aliens will join them 
       and unite with the house of Jacob.  – Isaiah 14:1

And then from Isaiah 35: 

The desert and the parched land will be glad; 
       the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. 
       Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; 
       it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. 
       The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, 
       the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; 
       they will see the glory of the LORD, 
       the splendor of our God.
 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, 
       steady the knees that give way;
 4 say to those with fearful hearts, 
       “Be strong, do not fear; 
       your God will come, 
       he will come with vengeance; 
       with divine retribution 
       he will come to save you.”
 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened 
       and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, 
       and the mute tongue shout for joy. 
       Water will gush forth in the wilderness 
       and streams in the desert.
 7 The burning sand will become a pool, 
       the thirsty ground bubbling springs. 
       In the haunts where jackals once lay, 
       grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
 8 And a highway will be there; 
       it will be called the Way of Holiness. 
       The unclean will not journey on it; 
       it will be for those who walk in that Way; 
       wicked fools will not go about on it. 
 9 No lion will be there, 
       nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; 
       they will not be found there. 
       But only the redeemed will walk there,
 10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return. 
       They will enter Zion with singing; 
       everlasting joy will crown their heads. 
       Gladness and joy will overtake them, 
       and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

 

The point is, when things are at their worst for the people of God, God is not far away — God is at the door, close by, about to appear, again.  Just as he did in the Old Testament, just as he did in the ministry of Jesus, God is coming and we are to watch for him, watch at the gate so we can open the door and admit him without delay.

When The Master Returns Home

Often when the master of the house was gone activity at the house slowed down.  The servants went about their chores, it was a good time to paint, and take care of other routine maintenance, and there were still herds to be looked after, and household business to attend to.  

But when the master returned, he returned to a house ready to come alive again.  Ready to throw a party, to tell all the neighbors that he was home, ready to celebrate his homecoming.

 

Stories like the prodigal son, while not exactly the same, illustrate that point.  The homecoming of a son, even a wayward one, was cause for celebration.  Even more the homecoming of the master!  Plans were made, food was purchased, cooks were busy, invitations were sent out — it was a banquet for all who would come.  

Stories like the parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24) are examples of this kind of celebration.  Invitations were sent and when those invited did not come, the master sent his servants to find those who would come because the feast was in full swing and nothing could stop it, not even ungrateful guests.

 

Another Door, Another Time

But there is another coming of the Christ, another way he comes to us, again.  In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus has given John messages for the churches.  The seven churches also represent the people of God.  

1. To the church in Ephesus, Jesus says, “You have forsaken your first love. Repent.”
2. To the church in Smyrna, Jesus says, “Be faithful to the point of death.”
3. To the church in Pergammum, he says, “You did not renounce your faith in me…”
4. To the church in Thyatira, he says, “Hold on to what you have until I come.”
5. To the church in Sardis, he says, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains…”
6. To the church in Philadelphia, he says, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have…”
7. To the church in Laodicea, he says, “I wish you were either hot or cold…”

Then Jesus says to all of the churches, representing all of the people of God –

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with hiim, and he with me.”  – Rev 3:20

Jesus is at the door, knocking.  But where is the doorkeeper?  Why is no one watching? Why doesn’t anyone hear his voice?  Why don’t we have the banquet ready?  Why aren’t the invitations sent?

 

And, that is what Advent is about.  Watching at the gate.  Looking for Jesus.  Not getting so distracted by all of the things in our busy lives that we fail to keep looking.  Keep hoping, keep waiting.  Keep watching.  

For just as he came in the form of a baby 2,000 years ago to a nation who was not looking for a messiah, so he comes today, in human form again.  Present with his people — the church.  Coming home to his great creation.  Coming again in and through the church, if we let him in.  If we hear his voice.  If we open the door.  If we watch at the gate.  

The words of John the Revelator ring in our ears and resonate in our hearts – Amen, come, Lord Jesus!  

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