Our times are in God’s hand – August 23
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:145-176; PM Psalm 128, 129, 130
2 Samuel 18:19-33; Acts 23:23-35; Mark 12:13-27
When I was in high school, we were required to do an inordinate amount of reading. History. Literature. World affairs. Poetry. Some of it stuck. A lot did not. I have kept many of those classics, boxing them up each time we move and replacing them on bookshelves as we resettle. These days, Lego creations and varied treasures of our children often get placed on shelves in front of the books.
In a moment of decluttering and dusting in the last week, my eyes fell upon William Faulkner’s 1936 work “Absalom, Absalom!”. I don’t know why I held onto this book. It was hard to get through as a teenager. I do not recall liking it. And yet, I know that Faulkner is one of the great American authors. Southern gothic literature is fascinating and painful, as the reader pours through pages of the downfalls and foibles of human nature that bring division. Faulkner’s writing shakes the reader awake, pointing to the very messy lives we live. The contradictions and hypocrisy. The conflicts and intricate webs of connectivity. He is a source of fodder for students and an inspiration to writers – like the late, great Cormac McCarthy – because there is a lot going on to parse and ponder.
Why, you ask, am I writing about a southern author this morning, in a reflection about Holy Scripture? That is fair. Here’s the answer: in the appointed readings from 2 Samuel this week, we read of the death of King David’s treasonous son Absalom, and what happens next. It is a gothic story, penned many generations before Faulkner’s works.
Absalom is on a mule during the battle in which his troops were defeated by his father the king’s armies. His mount rides underneath a large oak and Absalom’s head gets stuck in the low hanging branches of the tree. The mule keeps going and the king’s son is “left hanging between heaven and earth” (2 Samuel 18:9). Evidently, the wooded areas are quite a problematic space for fighting, as “the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword” (v. 8b).
The king’s trusted leader Joab acts quickly when he learns of Absalom’s incapacitated whereabouts. Others refuse to lay a hand on Absalom, son of David. Joab, however, hurls three spears into the royal heir’s body. Then, ten of his armor-bearers beat Absalom to death. They bury him in the forest.
The king must be informed. Two sentinels run – albeit separately – to King David. The faster, Ahimaaz son of Zadok, is known as a great runner and yet, he is not fully informed. He cannot answer King David’s question, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Standing aside, the Cushite – the other messenger – speaks. After giving his greeting, he is also asked, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” His answer is offered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”
King David hears the words of the Cushite and withdraws to another room. As he walks away, he cries, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son! Though his son has committed treason and tried to overthrow the beloved (and very human) King David, the father is in agony at the downfall of his son.
The tangled webs we weave are messy. And cluttered. And sometimes we don’t know up from down, left from right. And we hurt one another. And we weep. And sometimes, maybe we remember to pray for one another and for ourselves. In these times of utter messiness, we may wonder where God is in all of the muck.
As I pause and ponder, here is what comes up for me. In the Book of Common Prayer on page 830, there is a prayer for those celebrating a birthday. At a previous church, the congregation would say this prayer each Sunday as those celebrating birthdays gathered with the clergy during the announcements. These words resound in my ears this morning:
O God, our times are in your hand: Look with favor, we pray, on your servants as they begin another year. Grant that they may grow in wisdom and grace, and strengthen their trust in your goodness all the days of their lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This prayer is one of those tethering prayers, as those for whom we pray look ahead to a new year. A new year that may have messiness and dysfunction, loss and frustration. No matter what, our prayer is that we each grow into the goodness God has instilled in us. May we hold fast to the salvific love of God each day.
With God’s love,
Katherine+
Questions for Self-Reflection and Daily Challenge:
What does it mean for you to grow in wisdom and grace? How might your trust in God be strengthened through what is going on in your life today?
Sit in stillness for 2 minutes to ponder. Then, journal for 10 minutes. Pray to God about what you externalized. Share with a friend some takeaways from this exercise.