Tag: David

Trinity 5: Work in the Wait

30/6/24
Trinity 5

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Mark 5:21-43


I wonder if any of these sound familiar or resonate with you…

Time waits for no man

Don’t wait for the right opportunity; create it (George Bernard Shaw)

Don’t wait for change. You change. (Earl Nightingale)


Never wait for tomorrow, what if tomorrow never comes? (Elvis Presley)

Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. (St Francis of Assisi)

There is always work in the wait (Beth Moore)

The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it. (John C. Maxwell)

We will all know what it is to wait. Wait for life, for death, for events, for surprises, for results, for people to arrive and depart, babies to be born. There is an art to waiting well. In the Gospel readings this morning we see experiences of people who are waiting in grief and sickness; probably the hardest times of waiting. We see the consequences in the story of David & Saul in 2 Samuel of what happens when impatience takes over.

The book of 2nd Samuel opens with a lament. Saul, Israel’s first king, had fallen out of God’s favour and was to be replaced by David, the shepherd boy and slayer of Goliath. Saul’s reign is decreasing and David’s popularity and success in battle is increasing. Saul is quickly losing his mind as he starts chasing David and his men rather than the enemies of Israel. Saul’s disobedience and bad decisions are weighing heavily.

Samuel had died by this point and all of Israel is mourning his death. Samuel was a man of national importance, their Winston Churchill as a comparison. Not a perfect man but certainly a wise one. Without Samuel to offer guidance, Saul is afraid and troubled. The Philistines are assembling against Israel. Saul, rightfully enquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him neither in dreams or by a prophet. This was one of those times where you think ‘really God? Where are you?!’

We do not know how long Saul waited for. Sometimes we have to wait on God. Or maybe God is waiting for us. Out of fear and insecurity Saul goes undercover to visit the witch of Endor. He had previously expelled all the mediums and wizards from the land which pleased God. The witch asks him who he wants called up from the dead. Saul wants Samuel!

Samuel is disturbed from his sleep of death and is none too happy about this! Saul admits that he is distressed by Philistines and God’s seeming lack of reply; so he has come to Samuel to tell him what to do.

Big mistake! Samuel tells Saul that this time tomorrow he and his sons will be with Samuel; that is dead! They are going to die in battle and the Philistines are going to take control of Israel’s army.

Waiting on God is a very important activity. We need to wait well and in obedience. It is not always easy, it can be frustrating especially if we think that God is ignoring us or has somehow become deaf to our prayers and pleas. We are not to turn to other mediums such as horoscopes, star signs, tea leaves or tarot cards etc. No!

Waiting well is to seek wise and trusted counsel from fellow Christians, spend time thinking and less time acting. We can ponder if the outcome would have been different had Saul faced his fears and waited longer for God to respond. Instead, Saul and his son Jonathan are dead. Jonathan is killed by the Philistines and Saul was badly wounded and had to fall on his own sword to end his life. Not a glorious ending for a king. David starts his reign by mourning the loss of his best friend Jonathan and of Saul even though he had been so awful to him.

Waiting is a major theme in the New Testament. I think we under-appreciate the periods of waiting that people had to do. The lengths of time that people had to wait are often throw-away lines; an aside to the main theme of the story.

Jesus is still around the lake on the particular day when he was confronted by the health issues of two females. One young and one older. The younger from an important family with care and support. The older is an unclean outcast and alone on the bottom rung. The younger with immediately life-threatening problems and the older with the misery of a long-term condition. Both wait with varying levels of hope and expectation.

These two also wait in fear. Jairus fears that his daughter will die. This is likely a new fear. The woman waits in fear that she will never be cured, never get better. This is a fear that has been going on for many years. Twelve years, think back to 2012. What were you doing? Do you have problems now that you did then? The women had been haemorrhaging for 12 years with some form of endometriosis or other menstrual problems.

Jesus goes with Jairus without hesitation when asked to come and lay hands on her. The woman is behind the crowd which gives her the opportunity to touch his clothes with the belief that she will be made well. What would it be like to have that much faith? Not even an appointment with the GP, just passing by his office.

Jesus stops and wants to know who touched him. Jesus stopped and waited. We do not know how long for. Imagine Jairus for a moment, what do you think his thoughts are right now? He is afraid that his daughter will die! He has got Jesus to come to his house, they are on the way and now are being held up by an unclean woman of the lower classes.

Jesus has no hesitation in healing her. What the Jews and probably even Jairus saw as unclean, Jesus sees as someone worth saving. Jesus waits until she comes forward and tells the truth. Jesus tells her that her faith made her well; go in peace and be healed. Imagine her fear in this moment after so long of being ignored and avoided.

Then the news that Jairus’ daughter has died. It could be that she died before the woman stopped Jesus. Imagine Jairus’ thinking now. ‘Ah! Maybe if this Jesus had not waited then his daughter would be alive! What if!’

Jesus carries on and goes to Jairus’ house. ‘Do not fear, only believe,’ says Jesus. The disciples and Jairus have just witnessed an example in the woman in what it is to only believe. After 12 years of waiting for things to get better, she heard about Jesus and had enough faith (probably not much) to believe.

Jesus could have healed the daughter from afar as he did on other occasions in the New Testament. He did not need to have made Jairus wait. Maybe Jairus needed to wait. To believe. To believe that Jesus had power but also that all people have worth to God. Maybe the woman needed to have her waiting come to an end at that moment. Jesus is not slow as we understand slowness. Maybe we need to learn from our waiting too.

How are we waiting? What are we waiting for today? I hope that we will not rush off to consult the mediums and star signs when we are waiting for answers like Saul did. Jesus made Jairus wait so he could tend to the woman who had been waiting for 12 years.God is always waiting for us. To believe, to be ready for what he has planned for us.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ Jesus says. God’s love is not that small. There is enough for the bleeding woman and the dying daughter. There is enough for all. We will be loved in our waiting and we might even be healed.

Ash Wednesday: Living in Shades of Grey

Ash Wednesday 2021 Reflection

17/2/21

John 8:1-11
Psalm 51

My reflection for Ash Wednesday is focussing on John 8:2-11 and this amazing piece of art painted by Peter the Bruegel in 1565. It is entitled ‘Christ and the Women Taken in Adultery.’ This Gospel story has been painted by many others – but none quite like Bruegel.

Courtauld Gallery, London


What is striking is that this panel (which hangs in the Courtauld Gallery in London) is painted in different shades of grey. Bruegel used the greys to represent the human response to sin and to point out the hypocrisy and the virtue of mercy that this Gospel story highlights so well.

At the centre of this picture and in the most amount of light is Jesus. He is kneeling and writing in Dutch. Jesus is the best lit and most exposed person in this picture.

The woman has literally been dragged from an adulterer’s bed and her sin has been announced to all. This was an offence punishable by death according to the law of Moses. Where was the man, she was adultering with?

Oh the humiliation – maybe you have been caught out publicly for something you did and can relate to this woman. The woman is intently watching Jesus with a slightly blank expression. She is not looking at the crowd; but she is not looking directly down either. Her left ear is slightly cocked towards the crowd – maybe listening to what people are saying to her or about her.

The crowd – according to Bruegel – are showing the human reaction to being confronted with sin. Those closer to the front are much m ore exposed, lighter – than those at the back. Some are turning away, wanting to stay hidden, unexposed.

I have been wondering about the two men on the right – both very exposed – but notice their hands – one has his hands hidden under his cloak and the other’s hands are in darkness. Their faces and mouths might say one thing – maybe their hands are telling another story.

Every person in this picture – except for Jesus – is a sinner. Everyone here this morning/tonight is a sinner as well. Fortunately, this is not the end of the story for any of us!

If you could place yourself in this picture – where would you put yourself? Serious question!

Many people fear being ‘found out’ – whether for having done something wrong or by not being the person they present to the world. Some people have a view of God as being out to get them or expose them for their sins. God is the angry Father just waiting for a mistake to be made.

But in this story – it is not Jesus who does the exposing but the scribes and Pharisees. He cares for this woman, protects her from death and puts her on a new path. He does not condemn her as the crowd did. She doesn’t get off the hook as she is told to ‘Go and sin no more.’ She had some work to do!

Tom Wright says this about her forgiveness: “If she has been forgiven, if she’s been rescued from imminent death – she must live by that forgiveness. Forgiveness is not the same as tolerance. Being forgiven doesn’t mean that sin doesn’t matter. On the contrary: forgiveness means that sin does matter – but that God is choosing to set it aside.” The same is true for us – if we have been forgiven – then we must live by that forgiveness.

Psalm 51 is known as a ‘penitential psalm.’ It is an extended confession of sin and an anticipation of new life grounded in divine forgiveness. It was written by David during his tragic downfall – he yielded to temptation and committed adultery with Bathsheba. He then tried to cover up what he did with lies, deceit and eventually murder. David’s sin was exposed to him by the prophet Nathan. Psalm 51 is David’s confession and anticipation of forgiveness.

Despite David’s actions, the response to the uncovering of sin is exemplary: I have sinned against the Lord (2 Samuel 12:13). In Psalm 51 – David’s first request is for mercy – David knows that God is generous, is merciful and whose love is steadfast. God is abundant in all of those things. Then David’s confession goes on for the first 9 verses. David comes to know that God desires truth and wisdom – and this is where David begins to see a new beginning beyond his failure.

By verse 10 the psalm moves from confession to petitions addressed to the God
of mercy and steadfast love – this is an act of hope for a renewed and restored relationship with God. Words like – create in me, put, do not cast, do not take, restore, sustain. David is anticipating a clean heart, a new and right spirit. We can all have this – a clean heart and a new and right spirit. But we have to do some work first.

Ash Wednesday is a time to reflect and pursue forgiveness of our sins. This has traditionally been played out in various fasting rituals that some Christians engage in. Historically in the church this meant meat, dairy, eggs, – the staples of life – rather than the ‘luxuries’ of sugar, caffeine, alcohol or the evils of fatty fizzy drinks and Facebook.

The overall point of the exercise is to draw nearer to God. As Christians, the bigger issue is that we let things interfere in our relationship with Christ. It might seem small or insignificant but if we don’t tend to these things or issues – they can blow up at an exponential rate.

Ash Wednesday offers the chance to sit down in the ashes in some form of repentance to address our sin and brokenness. Sit down before you fall down. As we have seen from both the Gospel and the Psalms – sin gets exposed. Sometimes rather publicly.

To come to a place of repentance is no small feat and is not for the faint of heart. It takes real courage to review ourselves and our actions – and acknowledge where and when we have been wrong, been sinful. And then have to do something about it. But apologising is only half of the process. Repentance literally means to turn in the other direction and committing to change. It is only through Christ and being in Christ that death and sin are defeated – that is the lighter news.

But what if good was to come from the times spent in the dust and ashes?

The beauty of Ash Wednesday is that it can lead us to both lower our gaze to that which in us needs refocusing and correcting. Then – at the same time – we can begin to raise our gaze to the dazzling beauty and light of Christ. There is no need to be ashamed of those things that need to be ashed out – sit with them for a while and let them go.

Use this season of Lent to trade them in for the generous mercy and steadfast love that God has for you – there is nothing that He wants more from you than to be close to you.