"The Shape of Human Governance"

      All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "We are your own flesh and blood.  In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.' "

      When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a compact with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.

      David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. . .

      David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David.  He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward.  And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.

      It is a little ironic that our lection for this Fourth of July weekend includes two Old Testament lessons centered on kingship.  There's the rather anti-climactic crowning of David in 2nd Samuel and the description of God as King in Psalm 48.  Is it coincidence?  Did the scholars plan it this way? Or was Divine Providence acting here?

      In an age when we disdain the idea of empire and scoff at monarchy, it may seem ridiculous to consider scripture's time-worn words in the climate of post-modern democracy.  This is one of the challenges of preaching.

      Preachers are instructed in seminary to construct this mysterious thing called a 'hermeneutical bridge'.  This bridge spans the gap between the text and context.  This bridge (we are told) allows congregants to walk back and forth between now and then, to make connections between sacred scripture and their own stories.

      The bridge is supposed to be built from the raw materials of prayer, research, translation, observations of the world, and knowledge of the congregation.  Preachers' memory and cleverness are hopefully aided by divine inspiration.  Many of us pray for divine intervention, even divine rescue, in the process.

      And so I come to you this holiday weekend, thanking my stars there are still some who want to hear a word from the Lord!  I am grateful you are here, not only because I worked this week to construct another hermeneutical bridge, but because, once again I am amazed at how these time-worn words help us consider our own country on the occasion of its 233rd birthday.

      As I warned you when we began this sermonic venture into the land of King David, David's saga is full of politics.  It is also riddled with humanity. David comes to the throne because God selected him.  The way this happens seems anything but theological.  There is political intrigue, personal conflict, murder, and mayhem.  God moves around in the muck and the mess, but it is sometimes hard to find God.

      Much has happened since God vanquished Goliath (through David pitching one of those five smooth stones).  It's more than I possibly talk about in fifteen minutes, so I will just hit the highlights.  This is where it's helpful to open your Bible after you get home.  Start at 1 Samuel 18 and read through 2 Samuel 5.  It's about 25 pages in my Bible; a good study for the week ahead.

      When we left young David out in the field standing next to the fallen Goliath, Saul was still King.  Saul becomes increasingly jealous of David as David's popularity and prowess increase.  Saul tries to kill David at least twice.  David twice has the opportunity to retaliate in kind, but he spares Saul.  Meanwhile Saul consults a witch, then Saul kills himself to avoid being killed.  David is sad.  David is asked to assume the throne of Judah (the southern kingdom).  He accepts.  There is more fighting between the followers of David and Saul's armies.  This brings us to Hebron, (19 miles south of Jerusalem) when David is approached by the elders of the northern tribes.

      If you can imagine the chaos operating in ancient Israel, if you can wrap your mind around the factionalism and confusion, it doesn't take much imagination to realize this is the usual shape of human governance.  Governing bodies are power hungry.  Lies and intrigue are often hidden beneath polished exteriors.  This is as true in a democracy as it is in a monarchy.

      Think just for a moment of some recent headlines and news bites:  On a recently released audiotape Richard Nixon quoted as having said "there are times when an abortion is necessary.  I know that.  When you have a black and a white."  The governor of South Carolina caught in a year-long affair with an Argentine woman (this one is such an easy leap to another famous episode in the David story I have to leave it alone for another week or two).¹

      And there is a lot of grumbling and talk of disunity right now in our own flawed kingdom.  Senators are gearing up for a pitched battle about the Supreme Court nominee.  Many who placed Obama in power are unhappy with the way things are going (the honeymoon is over!).  Partisan politics, greed, and deal-making are still alive and well in Washington despite the best rhetoric and most noble intentions.  The economy is biggest worry on the minds of the American people, despite deep involvement in two wars in the Middle East. We continue to fight internal wars of drug and gang violence, poverty, and injustice.  And those are just the highlights.

      Israel was grappling with the shape of human governance.  We have to remember this was a time of transition in Israel.  The monarchy was new, and people were struggling with the concept.  Was a man to be King, or was God the only King?  In the United States we continue to grapple with the shape of human governance, though mostly we just point fingers and cast stones at the obvious elected targets.

      Nearly 100 years ago, the Rev. Washington Gladden commented on our nation.  Gladden was an early advocate of applying Christian faith to complex social issues.  You may be surprised at how relevant his words still sound today.  Here's what he said:

      I want you to think. . of the heart of the nation, of the spirit of our national life.  That something is wrong with this seems to be evident to most of us. . . The popular government has been tested and found wanting in the great business of informing society upon a large scale with the spirit of economic and social justice.  People in office and people out of office are grossly neglectful of their duties.

      People have failed to grasp the essential attributes of rulership.  What constitutes a good ruler?  It is the capacity and the passion for disinterested, unselfish service.  You know what Jesus said about that: "He that would be great among you shall be your servant, and he that is chief shall be servant of all."  Now in a democracy, when rulership is distributed among the people, this capacity and passion for unselfish service must go along with the power.

      Now I fear that we, the people of the United States, have accepted our sovereignty without any clear comprehension of the altruistic purpose, the purpose of service, which sovereignty implies.

      What does scripture have to say?  There is wisdom to be found in the muck and the mud.  There are nuggets tucked in there like gold to be found after sifting through the all-too-human grit of espionage; the swill of witches and the mud of murder plots.

      Because many of you found my "five smooth stones" image helpful two weeks ago, today I give you "three gold nuggets" of human governance gleaned from 2 Samuel.

      Nugget #1.  A godly leader displays attributes of leadership even before the formal title of leader is bestowed.  David showed unique courage and commitment long before people began to think of him as king.  He was smart and strategic and oriented to God's will, not just his own personal gain.

      Nugget #2.  A godly leader is like a shepherd.  This scriptural image calls up images of self-sacrifice, long hours, hardship conditions.  David was asked to be King, at least partly because the people felt a kinship with him.  A good leader never loses his or her roots in the people.

      The Good Shepherd may be an antique image, but we all know one when we meet one.

      Nugget #3.  A godly leader lives in covenant relationship with his or her people.  Covenant is promise with a plus.  It's not 'just a job', it's a loving relationship that bears all things, endures all things, and hopes for all things.

      We are all supposed to be godly leaders.  This is what our most important relationships need.  This is what people who are hurting need.  This is what our nation so desperately needs.

      Washington Gladden said:

      I tell you that it is a solemn word, an urgent word.  What this nation chiefly needs is not more laws or more political . . .machinery; it needs a new heart, a new spirit, a new ruling motive.  It needs a public opinion saturated with the spirit of social justice.  It needs rulers---and by rulers I mean first of all voters---whose hearts are warm with the spirit of service.

      May God bless us, each one of us, as we lead in our own sphere of influence.  In our families, with our friends, in our neighborhoods, at school and at work.  In our church and in our city.  Through word and action, through voting and the exercise of our social conscience.  May our nation be strengthened, not from the top down, but from the bottom up, as each one of us seeks to fulfill God's will through the God-inspired shape of human governance.  The shape of human governance that relies upon God and relationship, upon courage and caring.  May God bless us, and our country.  God knows we need it.