First Presbyterian Church
Different Throne
Sermon for December 18, 2005
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Children's time: This morning I want to talk a little bit about famous people. What do you
think makes someone famous? Getting on tv? Getting your picture in the newspaper? Getting your name in a book?

Raise your hand if you can tell me the name of a famous person you would like to meet.

Here's someone I'd like to meet. She writes hymns. Can you read her name? Some of you know I make quilts, don't you. Some of you know that I am putting together a quilt for a big church meeting next year called General Assembly. I put a notice in two magazines asking people to send me squares of fabric. I'm going to sew all the squares of fabric together to make a banner. Maybe two.

On Saturday, guess who I got some squares from? Can you read this name? Yes, that's right, it's Jane Parker Huber. She sent me three squares. One in honor of the first woman deacon of her church, and one in honor of the first woman elder, and one for a clergywoman. But she sent me this nylon netting, and I can't use it in my quilt. I have to iron the fabric on, and if I iron this, it will melt. So I think I should write to her and ask her to send me another square. I'm glad I have a reason to write to Jane Parker Huber.

It's hard to believe someone that famous sent me the wrong kind of fabric, isn't it? It's hard to believe that famous people can make mistakes. When I was little I thought pastors never made mistakes. Pretty crazy isn't it? I make a lot of mistakes and I'm a pastor, so I know that isn't true. The people in the Bible make a lot of mistakes. And God loves them anyway. Jesus was their friend anyway.

Our old testament reading is on page 281. This reading records the Lord's covenant with David and with David's descendants. The promise comes after David has united the nation and moved the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem .

The English words ‘temple,' ‘house,' and ‘dynasty' are used the translate the same Hebrew word ‘bet.' In our reading, David wants to build a house for God. One theologian said, “Temple building was an act of great piety and no doubt a great gain for political propaganda for kings in the ancient world. David proposes to do what all self-serving kings in the ancient world do.” 1 God rejects his plan. Listen for the word of God as it is found in 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16.

1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."

3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.

7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"

8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

This ends our reading from 2 Samuel. David does not build a house for God; God needs nothing from David. Instead, God builds a house for David. David's descendants are established forever; their throne will last for all generations. But David's son Solomon overtaxed the people, his grandsons Reheboam and Jereboam lived lives of luxury and decadence, exploiting the peasants to export cash crops, and the kingdom of Israel fell, and the temple with it. The temple was eventually rebuilt, but Israel never regained the glory and safety she had under King David. When the temple was destroyed for the second time, what were God¹s people to do without a nation, without a temple? What of God's promises? We read many of those promises in our opening prayer litany, the traditional O Antiphons.

So much of the old testament celebrate the promised one, the one who will be a light to the nations, end oppression, bring down the powerful and lift up the lowly. And the new testament begins with that celebration. The gospel of Luke opens with an introduction from the author, explaining that he was writing an orderly account of events as they were passed on by eyewitnesses, so that those who love God will know the truth about what they have been taught. Luke begins his gospel with a story about an elderly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They had no children.

One day Zechariah won the privilege of serving in the holiest place in the temple. That day, he was visited by an angel. The angel told him that he and Elizabeth would have a son named John. Zechariah asked how he would know the angel was telling the truth. The angel said he was Gabriel, and because Zechariah dared question him, he would become mute until the baby was born. That meant Zechariah couldn't perform his temple duties; he missed his only chance in the holy of holies. After he went home, Elizabeth conceived, and stayed in seclusion for five months. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Luke 1: 26-38.

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

This ends our reading of God's word.

So we have two men, both brought down. David thought to make God great;
Zechariah was at last finding fame as the priest in the holy of holies. But being famous has little to do with faith.

I spoke with an elderly man last week who told me about all the work he had done in his career. He was proudest of the years he spent as a guidance counselor. He said he was able to make a real difference in the world. The world values fame, power, and money. It needs people of faith to show God's values of love, justice, and peace.

Last October, we hosted Lei Garcia. She works for an organization that helps fight poverty and homelessness in the Philippines. She isn't famous, despite her two Asian MTV videos and art installations around the world. She's quite ordinary. And yet, the police in the Philippines know who she is, and follow her sometimes, because of her social justice work. Here's the story she shared with me.

My Best Teacher for 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study

A considerable number of peasants in Southern Luzon remain illiterate due to lack of schools and teachers. As a response to this problem, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Christian Youth Fellowship in cooperation with the Student Christian Movement in the Philippines launched a Summer Literacy Program in the early 90s. The Program involves young people from various churches in teaching basic reading and writing skills to both children and adults.

In the summer of 1998, I joined this Program with a group of 7 young people in the mountains of Bicol 1 . We were assigned to teach 14 children and 5 adults ages 10-15 and 25-35 respectively. On the first day, we met with the entire community for general orientation, introduction and celebration. We were served rice, coffee and rice cake and, in return, we shared our pandesal 2 ( a common white flour breakfast bread) which we brought from Manila. I've learned from my conversation with one of the women that bread is rare in this community because they don't have a bakery nearby. Bread, according to her, is served during special occasions and is considered an important food in fiestas 3 . So, we made sure that everyone in the community got bread. There was some bread left on the table and I saw Mark, a 7-year-old boy, staring at it. I approached him and asked if he wanted to have some more bread. He smiled and nodded. I gave him a small piece; he immediately thanked me and ran outside the hut. I followed him and was expecting to see him happily eating, but what young Mark did with the bread amazed me. I saw him breaking the bread into three. He gave one part to his little sister and one part to his baby brother. I could not move. My heart felt the warmth of his tenderness and tears silently flowed down my face.

Mark could not read or write, but he knew in his heart more than everything ever written about the meaning of love and sharing. He finished our literacy program and was one of our best students. I have to confess that Mark is one of the best teachers I ever had.

When I began reading this story I nodded, and said “I have read this before.” Lei looked at me with surprise, and said, “I just wrote it. It just happened to me.”

I said, “I guess something like this had happened before.” I knew I had read about children in poverty sharing that way. I thought it was just one of those stories about noble poor children that gets passed on as if it were true. It is true. That sharing with brothers and sisters isn't unique. It really happens.

Nothing is impossible with God. Not the pregnancy of a woman past menopause, or a woman still a virgin, nor as we see later in the gospel, the healing of the sick, the feeding of the hungry, the release of the captives, the filling of those who are empty. It is the gospel; we cannot say we are powerless to defeat the ills and evils of the world. Jesus shows us it is possible, and we ought not to give up on God or ourselves. All the decorations and songs of Christmas can make us cynical, or frantic, or tired. Perhaps we can let them remind us of the different sort of king who came and the kind of throne he has. He called us his brothers and sisters. May we all act like it. Amen.

1 Bureggemann, et al. Texts for Preaching, year B, p. 32.