Good morning friends! I hope you are excited about the third Sunday of Advent! Although it certainly saddens us to not all gather together, I believe we are finding fun and creative ways to still feel the spirit of God with us. This is a story of David that reminds me a great deal of Jesus. I wonder if you feel the same way? More thoughts on that below and be sure to share yours with me in the comments!
Scripture to Read
Audio Bible
Questions to Consider
What does this teach me about God?
What does this teach me about humanity?
What about David do I admire here, what do I struggle with?
What line of the psalm stays with you?
- My Thoughts -
So as mentioned above one part of this story really minds me of Jesus. When David arrives in town and Shimei begins to curse him David does not allow anyone to hurt Shimei for his insults. I think the scene has an element of comedy to imagining this dude following David for miles just throwing dirt, rocks, and insults at him while David does not react, but it also showcases the depth of the pain that the war and election of kings has caused the people. Instead of David being obsessed with his own position of power he is more focused on Shimei's pain. That's Jesus right there. On a more personal note I think the story of Shimei is really important for each of us, especially in today's climate. We like to affirm our own beliefs. We find news networks that believe what we believe. We friend facebook friends that agree with us and unfriend those that don't. We find churches that fit our beliefs. We see affirmation over advisement all the time. I wish every single sermon I ever preached I would get a thousand people to praise me and tell me I'm wonderful...but the truth is, my best sermons are the result of all the times people have critiqued me and help me improve my craft. That's what Shimei was for David. David heard his critiques and it helped humble David. How loud has your echo chamber become? Is it too loud to fade out critiques from the other side?
Secondly, Jesus teaches us to love our enemies as ourselves and David reflects this in his actions as well. While I still won't go as far as say that David is a great guy, he has his moments where he really showcases the complexity of humans as we balance our own achievements with our altruism.
Prayer
Spirit of the living God, come now and grow my faith, come and deepen my hope, come and strengthen my love, and come and water within me he desire to be your faithful friend forever. Amen.
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