Readings: Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Mark 5:21-43, 2 Samuel 1:1& 17-27
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, June 30 2024.
Liverpool was always a busy city. The traffic was always moving. On the go all the time. The shops were busy. Even the Crematorium was busy. When you had a funeral, you only had thirty minutes to get in and out and then the next one would be scheduled.
A minister friend tells of a time he had a funeral at the Crematorium and the minister for the next funeral didn’t show up. So, he offered to stand in and conduct the proceedings. He read a few scriptures, said a few prayers and then when it came to the normal time for the eulogy explained that as he had never known the deceased or his family, it was not appropriate for him to speak... “Would any of those present like to say a few words?” he asked.
The request was greeted with a stony silence as people sought to avoid his gaze. After what seemed like an awfully long time he asked again, “Is there anybody here who could say anything regarding the departed?”.
Reluctantly, an old gentleman at the rear of the chapel rose to his feet. “All I can tell you is this” he said, “He wasn’t as bad as his brother!” It was one of those occasions when a pastor was glad there were time restraints in place, as to prolong the occasion was not going to be a worthy cause. A few more prayers were offered and that was that.
Our bible reading today is a eulogy. David has learnt of the death of the King, Saul, and of his dearest friend, the Kings son, Jonathan. It is understandable that David wants to offer some words of praise to honor Jonathon. They were as close as brothers. He describes their relationship as being ‘more wonderful than the love of women’. (verse 26)
What is surprising is that he should mourn the passing of Saul. Saul had plagued David throughout his life. He acted towards David with obsession and jealousy. David had the opportunity to murder Saul, but walked away from it, as murdering the Lord’s anointed was a line he refused to cross. As it was Saul ended his days at the hand of his own sword, preferring to take his own life than surrender to the Philistines.
David puts aside any personal feelings and, in this eulogy, known in Hebrew as a “qînâ”, three times uses a phrase, which translated has become part of English language:- namely “See how the mighty have fallen”. He counts both Saul and Jonathan as being amongst the “mighty”.
In verse18 he asks that his song of lament be given the title “Song of the Bow”. The bow was Jonathan’s weapon of choice. Saul was more renowned for his prowess with the sword than the bow, but aside from that one preferential note the poem equally tells of the achievements of two heroes, a Father and a son who stood side by side in life and in death and carved out a future for the nation of Israel.
The first part of the song speaks of how the loss that has been experienced is not simply the loss of a political opponent and a good friend but a loss to the nation.
"Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! See how the mighty have fallen! Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.”
It is thankfully not often that as a nation we are called upon to corporately grieve. There are occasions though when such a thing is only right. My own land came to a standstill after the death of Queen Elizabeth. 10 days of mourning. Something similar was experienced following the assassinations of President Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr. in this country.
There are times when it is right to put differences aside and in the interest of the common good allow room for recalling the noble acts of a leader’s life. A nation needs space to grieve.
David knew that their loss was, for the Philistines, a great victory. Images of your enemies rejoicing at your misfortune, rather like some of those coming from the Middle East following 911, are always disturbing. So, David expresses a vain hope that news of their defeat will not be proclaimed in the streets of the Philistine cities of Gath and Ashkelon.
This second section acknowledges that even though defeat and loss had been suffered on the mountain of Gilboa, Saul and Jonathan had not given their lives in vain. Saul carried a warrior’s shield that was anointed for battle and lived a life that was anointed as King. Saul and Jonathan fought a valiant battle to the bitter end.
"O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. "See how have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!”
The nation had enjoyed a level of prosperity under Saul’s leadership never before experienced. Though this battle had been lost, the fact was that there had been a whole lot more that had been won. Though it was a dark day in their present history, because of Saul and Jonathan they had enjoyed much and because of their legacy they could look to the future.
The poem finishes on a personal note; “I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me”. Whilst Saul’s loss was a loss to the nation, the loss of Jonathan was a deeply personal grief for David himself.
What can this passage teach us?
1) There are times when telling the whole truth is more harmful than helpful. David tells no lies about Saul. He is honest and truthful and godly. The Book of Proverbs teaches that the wise man carefully chooses what he will say, and how and when he will say it. That some things are better left unsaid. David tells no lies. In the interest of edifying the nation, he simply does not tell the whole story,
Paul’s letter to the Philippians offers this advice: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8)
In our day everybody wants the gossip. Instead of looking for the good in the person or the situation, people want the juicy details. David grew to greatness as a King because he cultivated in himself the ability to seek the best in the situation and to refrain from disrespecting those who were his opponents. He knew the value of silence. That may be because of a second lesson this passage offers to us.
2) There are times when we need to acknowledge that God’s hand has guided us through our opponents. Those who take an opposite position from us sharpen our focus in a way that yes-men can never achieve. Although Saul had often acted against David, the actions of Saul had been turned to positive opportunities for David to act with grace and wisdom.
David recognized that God was at work as much in his troubles and his defeats as he was through the victories and the things that turned out just as he had hoped. Scripture teaches us that we should give thanks in all things. That’s hard to do when you are traveling through the hard times. Often it is only retrospectively that the ‘thanks’ come!
As I look back on my own life, I see that many doors that I hoped would be opened to me were closed, and because of that my life took on a different course. Other doors opened.
The week before I was due to be married, we had a mortgage set up on a property and I was in a job where I was being offered a supervisory position. Within the space of a week the loan company decided they weren’t going to allow us the money to purchase the house and the people I was working for decided that it was too expensive to pay a married person’s wage. Instead of promoting me they let me go.
Looking back, I see now how those events opened the way for me to move onto other things. Had I been in a job with considerable responsibility alongside meeting the financial demand of paying off a house, would I have been able to respond to a call to ministry? Would I even have considered it? Maybe. Maybe not. Life is full of ‘What ifs?’ Looking back, I see a guiding hand that I didn’t appreciate at the time! The things that seemed to oppose me in the end turned out to bless me.
3) There are times when speaking of our pain and our loss breaks their power over us. David teaches that we cannot move to joy, renewal, and praise too soon. The poetry of pain and grief allowed the lost kingdom of Saul to give way to the renewed kingdom of David. It is helpful to speak of kingdoms we had hoped for that have suffered defeat and is a good thing to express our feelings when events have left us despairing of justice or peace or hope.
Why? For this is the place of the Cross. The brokenness of our lives and our world must be voiced. Otherwise, we are simply avoiding life; we are not living the abundant life Jesus spoke of. Easter needs Good Friday or else Easter Sunday has nothing to celebrate. There can be no resurrection without a death. And the death of Christ goes to the darkest and deepest depths of human suffering.
Was not Jesus crucified because of lies and treachery? Was He not betrayed? Was He not abused? Was He not the victim of unjustified violence at the hands of those who abused their power? Was there ever a more holy one about whom it could be said, “See how the mighty have Fallen”?
We look to the cross as a sign of hope. We acknowledge that the forces that crucified Him are at work in our lives and in our world. That’s not good. The Good News is that Jesus Christ overcame the forces that crucified him through resurrection to eternal life. The Good News is that He sends the Holy Spirit to give our lives an eternal focus.
Speaking of our brokenness opens us up to receive the Good News. Scripture calls us to repent and believe the gospel. Repentance is acknowledging our brokenness and sin. Believing is acknowledging Christ died for our sins and that in the strength of His Spirit our lives can be made new.
David’s eulogy teaches us important truths. To mind our words and look for the best in situations and people, no matter how they have treated us. To recognize that God is at work in our troubles as much as our victories. To acknowledge our brokenness that we may find renewal through God.
The time will come for us when we will attend our own funeral. That is one appointment we cannot avoid. What words will be spoken over our lives? Will the preacher have to spare the grisly details and search hard for the good in us? Will it be a case of “Well. He wasn’t as bad as his brother”?
Or will we be blissfully unconcerned, because the only words we are hearing come not from any preacher, but from God. “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” By the Grace of God may we seek to make such words apply to our lives.
For at the end of the day it is God alone who shall evaluate them. At the last day we either stand through the grace and merit of Jesus Christ, whose love we have accepted and welcomed in our hearts, or we stand before the judgment seat of the God whom scriptures tells us will deal with us according to our sins. Put your faith in Jesus Christ. Saved, through grace, you’ll be safe.!
The Rev Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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