(Picture is of Our presi to Damien’s on his priesting – if you would like to contribute to it, please let one of the vicars have your donation!)
This is a sermon on 2 Samuel 6. (30th April 2023)
Welcome back to the OT. Last year we spent about 25 Sundays looking at particular Children’s stories in the OT with the idea of asking “Why do we tell our children these stories and what do they mean for us today”. Bishop Martin then said ‘This year 2023 is to be the Year of the OT’ so we said ‘That’s great, we’re already ahead of you!’. So, this year we are looking at another 25 Key OT passages – so far we’ve had a look at some Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, we’ve listened out for the Still Small Voice of God in First Kings and the suffering of Job, and Levitical sacrifices. So now we come to the 2nd book of Samuel.
One of difficulties with the OT is that its Old. So very very old. Its hard to relate to. Here in the OT we read about things that we’re not familiar with such as thousands upon thousands of Refugees, we read about oppressive rulers who don’t mind invading their neigbouring countries for no obvious reason, about high taxation, and about a God who continues to be faithful to His Worshippers despite their tendency to wander away like lost sheep. So perhaps you find it difficult to relate to.
And its also not easy to know where to start and how to read it. So the simplest thing is to read a Children’s Bible for a quick over view, or else pick up Genesis, and let me know when you’ve read Genesis and I’ll tell you what to read next.
What I want us to think about today is what to do when you lose your love of God.
Here we are in 2nd book of Samuel. The Year is basically 1000bc. Give or take. The 12 tribes of Israel have come up out of Egypt, wandered through the desert, picked up the ten commandments at Mount Sinai, blown their trumpets around Jericho, settled into the Promised Land. The tribes for a time were led by series of divinely appointed Judges. Samuel was the last of these. It was his job to hand over the kingdom to the first of the kings – Saul – one of his children was called Jonathan and one of his daughters was called Michal. We’ll come back to her shortly.
In that reading you heard how the Ark of the Covenant was put on to a cart and pulled by Oxen from somewhere to Jerusalem. But on the way, one of the two people in charge of this, a man called Uzzah seems to reach out to stop the Ark from sliding off the cart and God zaps him and Uzzah dies.
The bible says what he did was an irreverent act but its hard to see it that way.
The Punchline is that Uzzah has lost of love of the Lord. Uzzah has been looking after the Ark of the Covenant pretty much all his life. It has been his job, nothing very interesting or miraculous has happened and now he has been asked to make sure that this box gets from A to B.
You could be forgiven for forgetting that inside the ark of the covenant you would find the two stone tablets of the 10 Commandments, Aaron’s walking stick that miraculously grew some flowers, and some of the miraculous manna that fed them through their wanderings before coming to the Promised Land.
So, the Ark became the symbol of God’s presence. It was carried by priests using really long poles and so the Ark led them through the desert. It was the focal point of their faith and worship.
You could also be forgiven for forgetting that the Ark of the Covenant, back in the book of First Samuel – was captured in a battle by the Philistines and the Philistines carried it around as a trophy to show off their triumphant victory over the Israelites. But then God sent them all manner of troubles so that finally the Philistines in despair sent it back to Israel, strapped to a cart with all sorts of gold as recompense and it came to stay at Abinadab’s house and so here its been for the last 20 years.
Uzzah is described as the son of Abinadab but he could as easily be the grandson, anyway the point is that for the last 20 years, Uzzah’s one job has been to look after the Ark.
Uzzah has never seen, he’s only heard stories of, the miraculous powers of God – and the bible now pauses to give us the reader a reminder that this is no ordinary box – so we have a list of the names of God – the Ark of El, which is Ha Shem, which is Adonai Elohim, so you the reader are given this three fold layered up reminder that this is not an ordinary box – this is the reminder of the God who made all things visible and invisible, the God who called Moses out of the Burning Bush, who liberated the people, brought them through the Red Sea, brought them through to the Promised Land, and has blessed them.
Its possible that Uzzah barely remembers what life was like before the Ark came to stay on his land and so he might not recognise the blessing that God has been giving him all these years. And he has clearly forgotten that the box is not a thing. It’s the Ark of the Covenant, the reminder of God’s presence amongst the people. Perhaps the nearest equivalent symbol might be the Bread and Wine of Holy Communion.
There is a difficulty for those of us who have been Christians for many many years, or been part of This Church for many many years that we can after a while forget the privilege of what we have and let it slip into presumption.
And Its not easy for those of us up front to worship, we are sometimes busy thinking about what happens next. Its not easy for the band / Choir, its not easy for those working behind the scenes with our slides/ tech, welcoming. And if you are reading or leading us in intercessions – I can understand why you might find it difficult to relax into worship until after you have done your bit. And thank you for doing your bit.
So, we need to be praying for each other, praying for ourselves, that as we come in worship, that we might have a moment where our faith is refreshed and we too are lost in wonder love and praise.
Uzzah dies because he no longer sees the Presence of God, he sees only a box, his faith has been reduced to going through the motions.
Uzzah dies. David is angry at God and has a rethink.
Note that next time, instead of the Ark being put on a cart it is carried – that’s how it should have been in the first place, it was only the Philistines who put it on a cart -so now the Ark is carried by people, priests.
And note that David has changed his clothes. He’s wearing a linen ephod and whatever that means, its clear that his wife Michal thinks that he looks vulgar and not at all regal.
So this tells us that first time, David was all dressed up in his Coronation Robes and that this first procession is in danger of looking like a triumphant victory procession – ‘Ooh look what David has done – he has conquered God and brought God to Jerusalem’.
I bet David was looking back on the death of Uzzah and thinking – wow that could have been me.
So next time round King David is dressed in a way that yes is not at all kingly, perhaps vulgar, certainly in a way that says ‘This moment isn’t about me, its about God’. David is learning quickly.
Its important for us that worship is not about us. Its about God. And it does not matter what you wear or where you sit – what matters is that your faith is seeking God, and your heart is receiving the love that God is pouring out to us – in worship, in sacrament, in prayer and praise.
But that is not how David’s wife Michal sees this moment.
If Uzzah has lost his love of God through professionalism, through forgetting to actually spend time himself in worship, then Michal has lost her faith through disinterest – she no longer sees the Ark of the Covenant, what she sees is her husband the King not looking at all kingly and thinking How is this going to look in the morning papers and the shame that this is bringing upon me, and so she despises him.
Here is a warning to us, to be kind and gentle with visitors coming to worship – they can wear whatever they like, sit wherever they like – your job is to welcome them – and if you are judging them then be careful not to fall into the sin of Michal.
This is about God. It is not about them, this isn’t about David. It is about you coming to God in worship. And if you’re judging others, then you’re literally looking in the wrong places.
As far back as the 1940s CS Lewis in his fabulous Screwtape letters has the senior demon Screwtape advising the junior Wormwood not to worry that his human had started going to Church, all you need do is distract him and start making him look at what others are wearing, doing. It really is one of the oldest tricks.
So When that happens. And it does happen. Step 1: Shut up, don’t open your mouth. Step 2: pray God’s blessing upon them and Step 3 get back to worshipping God.
And be gentle with yourself. Michal has had a horrible life. It started well enough, a princess, the daughter of a king, married off to the handsome giant-slayer. Michal is unique in the bible in telling us that she loved David. But then David falls from the king’s favour, runs away. Michal gets married off to someone else. She’s being used as political pawn in her Dad’s power play.
We could understand how for Michal religion has become really about power and politics. Michal is wounded and she needs to be gentle with herself, to be loved and learn to forgive herself, quite likely she may feel that God has let her down and so perhaps she needs to forgive God, and come in worship and prayer and reconnect to God and receive afresh the love of God.
Uzzah lost his love of God because he forgot to worship God for himself, to feed on God, to receive the blessings of God for himself.
Michal lost her love of God because she has suffered and has not brought her wounds to the God who loves her and wants to heal her.
And finally, David. David is on a massive high. What a wonderful day, Dancing like no one’s watching, just being in the moment and loving the worship, and praising God with all your might – which I do not think needs to mean singing to God as loudly as you can. I think its just that thing that you do whenever you really focus on one thing and just for a moment you don’t think about time or anything else – just this one thing that you’re focussed on doing right here right now, and for David, that’s worship.
And my prayer for you is that you might have a moment at each Sunday where you are totally caught up in the Lord in prayer and praise.
But. But when he goes home, and Michal gives him a piece of her mind and there’s a real danger of when you are in the right, of weaponizing your righteousness to put someone else in their place. So he says stupid stuff like – ‘Well God did choose me over your Dad’ – which is true, but unbelievably hurtful.
What David should have done is taken her into an embrace and hugged her. And said I’m sorry that that’s how you saw today, I love you to the moon and back.
David’s sin is the sin of being in the right of using your righteousness to make someone else small. It is an easy weapon to use in any argument but it is rarely helpful.
David needs to keep relying on God’s goodness and grace and mercy
Michal needs to realise how hurt she is and to come to God for healing
Uzzah needed to realise how dry he had become, how empty faith and worship and God had become for him
May you notice when you’re drying out, when you’re hurting, and find enough faith to come to God in worship for healing and refreshing. Amen.