First Presbyterian Church
Who Needs Ramparts?
Sermon for July 9, 2006
by Pastor Susan Barnes

In Biblical times Jerusalem had strategic importance. It is on a hill, surrounded by valleys on three sides. The valleys made the city easy to defend—soldiers could concentrate on the fourth side, by the trade road. The inhabitants could withstand a long siege because of the nearby Gihon spring, with enough water for 2,000 people.

Recent archeology shows that the spring was inside the city walls as well as guarded with a tower. Before the tower was built, archers outside the city on the opposite hill could target people as they came to get water. Later on, kings carved an underground tunnel to bring the water into the city so that people could get water more conveniently.

I translated this text, and it's a little different from your pew bibles. The Hebrew of verse 8 is confusing. There's a word there that is only used twice in the Bible. I think the better translation is windpipe, rather than waterspout, which has been traditional. 1

For a long time, biblical interpreters thought that David took the city from the Jebusites by going in through the man-made vertical shaft from the Gihon spring. We though that was the ‘watercourse' in verse 8. Recent archeology shows that the shaft is natural, not man-made.

Since the spring was guarded, it seems unlikely. David must have conquered the Jebusites another way.

We'll be reading 2 Samuel from my translation. Listen for the word of God as it is found in 2 Samuel 5:1-10.

1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, “Look, we are your bone and flesh. 2 For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and Yahweh said to you: It is you who shall shepherd my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel."

3 And all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in front of Yahweh, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old 2 when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

6 The king and his men walked to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, “You 3 will never come in here, for surely even the blind and the lame will turn you back” thinking , "David can never come in here."

7 Yet David captured the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David. 8 David had said on that day, "Whoever strikes a Jebusite, let him strike the windpipe and the lame and the blind, those who the gullet of David hates." 1 So it is said, "The blind and the lame will never come into the house."

9 David inhabited the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built all around from the Millo inward 4. 10 And David became greater and greater, for Yahweh, the God of hosts 5, was with him.

This ends our reading from 2 Samuel.

The text doesn't tell us how David took Jerusalem. Just that the soldiers were to strike the enemies in the necks, whether or not they were blind or lame. That way, there would be no survivors. The text just says that David captured the stronghold of Zion. That's the part where the Gihon spring is. In those days, if you have the water, you have the city.

Did you notice those mean words abut the lame and blind? I know that the Jebusites taunted David with the idea that even the blind and lame could turn him back. But evidently, they couldn't, because David took the city from them. I don't know why it says , "The blind and the lame will never come into the house." It seems discriminatory. I think it comes from the idea that God's people should offer only their best to God. Blind and lame were welcomed to the temple, but they could not approach the altar. 6

That's a hard law, but it is not our only biblical source regarding the blind and lame. One of our reformed traditions is to let scripture interpret scripture. The Jewish laws called for those who were able-bodied to protect the people who were blind and lame. In the New Testament, Jesus cured the blind and the lame 7. He told the Pharisees and lawyers to invite the blind and lame to their banquets. 8 They were included not excluded.

Jerusalem was on a trade route, and the city was claimed neither by Israel in the north or Judah in the south. David had ruled over Judah in the south, until the tribes of Israel came to him and anointed him to be their king. It was an ideal city to serve as David's capital – David ruled over Judah and Israel, one united kingdom, for thirty-three years. Except for the problem that Jerusalem belonged to the Jebusites. David took care of that.

The text does not care about the Jebusites; they were among the people in the land where God's people were to live. They were in the way, they taunted David, they were history. It would be easier for me to leave out those verses 6-8. Our lectionary readings leaves them out. But it doesn't seem right to me to ignore those violent verses.

And we're given no explanation, except that David captured the city. This is not a text we can use to promote peacemaking. I wish Jerusalem had a more peaceful history. But it doesn't. We have to face the violence of our ancestors in the faith, and acknowledge our violent history. This prevents us from being self-righteous.

Our psalm today celebrates the stronghold of Jerusalem. It uses the architecture of Jerusalem to speak about God. Listen for the word of God as we read it together from Psalm 48.

1 A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites.

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion , in the far north, the city of the great King.

3 Within its citadels God has shown himself a sure defense.

4 Then the kings assembled, they came on together.

5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic, they took to flight; 6 trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor, 7 as when an east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.

8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes forever. Selah

9 We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.

10 Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory.

11 Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments.

12 Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers, 13 consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation 14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.

This ends our reading from the psalm. Jerusalem is not high in elevation, according to our eastern Oregon standards of mountains, but the city is surrounded by valleys, so it looks high. The city was destroyed in 587 bce by the Babylonians and in 70 ce by the Romans. So what do we do about this psalm celebrating Jerusalem? If we look carefully, we see the focus of the psalm is more on God than on Zion. The words of the psalm draw us back to the exodus, and how God delivered the people. The enemies took to flight, the east wind blew.

The city is supposed to reflect God's handiwork. God is our rampart, not just an earthly city. God will be our guide forever. When we trust in God, we can dare to follow God.

Anthem Sing a New Song

In the gospel, Jesus followed God by teaching, preaching, and healing. In our gospel reading, Jesus has just left the place where he healed a man inflicted by demons, a sick woman, and the synagogue ruler's daughter in Galilee. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Mark 6:1- 13.

1 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded.

They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

4 Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house."

5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching.

7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

10 He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."

12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

This ends our reading from the gospel.

Imagine Roman soldiers, occupying the villages and towns of Israel. They had weapons and power. It was in a village's best interest to stay on the soldiers good sides. Soldiers expected good food, comfortable housing. If they didn't get it, they could insist on it, taking what they wanted, or perhaps teaching an uncooperative peasant a lesson he won't soon forget.

Imagine traveling philosophers who demonstrated the superiority of their teaching by the fees they charged to teach.

And then, there are Jesus' disciples. They aren't supposed to go from house to house, looking for the best accommodations, but accept what is first offered. The disciples are told to accept what they are given. And if they find no welcome, they are not to retaliate, just to shake off the dust.

And they were welcomed and able to do their work of proclamation, getting rid of demons, and curing the sick.

We want to believe in miraculous healing, but we are skeptical. Craig Satterlee is an ordained Lutheran minister and preaching professor. He has been legally blind since birth, and even with glasses, has only 20% of normal vision. “Various encounters during his life with believers who think that faith could heal his sight have led him ‘to a view that moves from the notion of healing-as-cure to a view of healing as God's presence in suffering.' There can be healing and wholeness, Satterlee says, even where there can be no cure. ‘ I am whole, even though I am legally blind.' Satterlee is often introduced as a pastor who believes in the power of prayer. He says, ‘I take that that as a compliment, which is the way it's intended, but I don't believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the power and presence of God, so I pray….'

Rather like those faith healers Satterlee remembers so well, people often pray as if they're doing magic. But we know that God brings light out of darkness, life out of death, hope out of despair. That‘s what scripture teaches us.” 9

Did you notice how the proclamation of the word goes with casting out demons? The truth of God's word is strong. Stronger even than evil and sin. With God as our protection, we can dare to do the right thing, knowing that in the end, God will protect us.

Last weekend I was at Westminster Woods, for our presbytery's first ever youth camp. We had about 25 youth and adults from five churches. We wanted to equip the youth so they could confidently speak of their faith, and live their faith even in middle school and high school. Hillary spoke of viewing God as a rampart, a bulwark in tough times, when following Jesus is a challenge because it seems no one else is. I thought that was a good message to the youth. And then I thought, well, that's a good message for me, for all of us adults there.

It's hard to do the right thing when the world tells us that we have to get ahead by any means necessary. Especially in the corporate world. I keep reading about Enron, hoping that somehow, some way justice will be done for the employees and clients of Enron. Coverups and deception motivated by greed for money and power ruled the day, and each story I read gets worse. Ken Lay's death this week may make it impossible for victims to get their money back.

So this week I was happy to hear about Pepsi and Coca Cola cooperating instead of competing with one another. Despite their fierce rivalry in the marketplace, they worked together on an undercover sting operation.

Executives at Pepsico received a letter on Coca-cola stationery from a Coca-Cola employee regarding trade secrets and a highly classified new beverage in development. The employee wanted $1.5 million for the information which included a glass vial of a new top-secret drink. The executives at Pepsico turned the letter over to Coke, who contacted the FBI.

An FBI agent posed as a Pepsi employee then began negotiations. They met at an airport where they traded a manila envelope with documents stamped "highly confidential" and the drink sample for $30,000 packed in a Girl Scout cookie box.

Three people were arrested Wednesday, the day that federal investigators say the final payoff was to have taken place. Instead, three people were arrested and charged with stealing trade secrets and wire fraud. 10

Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said his company did what any responsible company would do. "Competition can sometimes be fierce, but also must be fair and legal." I heard a radio interview with John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest . When asked if most companies would do this he said “Competition is defined with ethical limits. Ethics runs deep in the culture of Coke and Pepsi….These companies are at the far end of the scale on the way they do business. I don't think all companies would have done this.” 11

The psalm talks about God as a rampart. A rampart is a fortified structure on a mound. It's easy to defend and hard to breach. The psalmist was comparing God to that kind of structure.

That's the image in our opening and closing hymns today. Jesus had faith in that strong God, so he dared to serve God, even though it wasn't easy to do.

This week I've been reflecting on my experience at General Assembly. In my committee, I tried to speak truthfully about what I believed, and was verbally attacked by one man. The committee members near me didn't support me in the way I needed. I found people afterwards who were kind and helpful. But I was still pretty shaken.

I have often wondered why people let the Jim Crow laws go on as long as they did; why it took so long for the civil rights movement to happen. Racism seems like a clear enough evil to me. Well, I found my answer. Going against the accepted culture is difficult to do; those who do it need a lot of support and strong smart people.

We need the confidence that we are doing what's right. We need to rely on God, our rampart. It doesn't mean that we won't have trouble, but that we will be protected when we need it most.

1 It makes more sense in the context, is parallel with nephesh ( which I translated as gullet). Forms of the word are used in Arabic, Aramaic, and Ugaritic. It means pipe or gutter or watercourse. The translation waterpipe comes from the discovery of Warren's tunnel, long thought to be a carved waterway form David's time, but is a natural formation unsuited to bringing up water.

2 Literally son of thirty years

3 singular

4 literally housewards

5 Hebrew: Sabaoth

6 Leviticus 21:18.

7 Matthew 15:30-31, 21:4

8 Luke 14:12

9Notre Dame Magazine, Summer 2002, quoted in context, October 15, 2002, p. 7.

10Goodman, Brenda, “3 arrested in plot to sell Coca-Cola secrets to rival” The New York Times , July 6, 2006

11 National Public Radio interview, Morning edition, July 6, 2006.