Scripture Lesson: 2 Samuel 11:1-5, 26-27; 12:1-9; Psalm 51:1-9
There are so many questions to ask the text. There might be some of you right now attempting to listen to the sermon while quickly skimming through chapter 11, verses 6-25, and past verse 9 of chapter 12 to see if you can get some of those questions answered. If you are asking what I think you are asking, allow me to spare you the quick read – you will most likely not find the answer. And for those of us for whom this is not our first rodeo with II Samuel 11 and 12, perhaps the historical moment in which we are reading this text again is testing those ideas we were taught to fill in the many gaps in the story, the many issues left unaddressed. In the end, the hope many of us preachers have when we engage in this sacred moment of reading and interpreting Holy Scripture is not that you will leave with your questions answered. My hope is that you will go to the place your find yourself most comfortable with yourself, read this lesson again – including chapter 11, verses 6-25, and a bit beyond verse 9 of chapter 12, try to find some answers to your question, realize that you have then more questions than you have answers, and confidently discern that the Holy Spirit will be with you all along providing you with wisdom, as well as members of the community of faith – the one here, the one that was,. and the one to come – who will be in your same situation: Looking for answers.
What we have before us is yet another part of the history of the rule of David – the shepherd turn musician for King Saul turn king himself. Yes, the same many call “a man after God’s own heart” – bias number 1. This is the story of man who erred, who sought to cover his mistake. This is the story of how God sees all the things we do and calls us into account. This is a story of repentance that leads to life restored. Or is it?
This is the story of a man who seized an opportunity to serve his country in a time of turmoil. His charisma coupled with his connection to the working classes of his time – because he had come from the working class himself – allowed him to garner the support of the political, military, and religious groups, and the respect and admiration of those in the working class. He was a man that many considered as the usher of a time of peace and justice for the country. Perhaps a cliché, perhaps, but one that I believe applies, as John Dalberg-Acton is known to have written, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
This is the story of a man who had amassed such respect, admiration and support for his political career and aspirations that, he thought he could get away with sending his followers to engage in dangerous work on his behalf even as he stayed behind in the comfort of his great house. And that work was for his personal gain – not a matter of national security, not on an action of self-defense. He just wanted another city. This is the story of a man who having amassed such level of support for his political leadership that he abused his authority and power by taking another human being by force, with no regard to her dignity or the dignity of the family of which she was a part of. This is the story of David. Yes, the same many call “a man after God’s own heart.”
This is the story of another man who was a foreigner. A man that was reminded quite often that he was a foreigner, that he had an accent, that his allegiance did not lie in the country he had learned to love. This is the story of a foreign man who found a partner in a woman of that land. And with that woman sought to build a family – you know, that dream of a spouse, and children, and a house, and contributing to the well-being of the neighborhood. This is the story of a man who, in seeking to achieve the dream, when called to serve in the armed forces, he enlisted. This is the story of a man who proved to be a respected leader, in spite of his ethnic origin, admired even by those on the top ranks of military life. This is the story of a man who, in the middle of battle, obliges the king’s orders to return – this was, after all, the king he loved and respected. And although the king had given him ample opportunity to check in with his wife (in more ways than one), his sense of duty and responsibility was with the task at hand – to successfully complete what was expected of him by his adopted king and his adopted country in order to bring honor and prosperity to his wife and household. After all, as a foreigner he had something to prove. This is the story of a man who was called to the front of battle and gave his life for a mission he never fully understood but was led to believe would bring honor to his family. This is the story of Uriah, the Hittite.
This is the story of a woman who was married to a foreign man. This is the story of a woman minding her own business. This is the story of a woman who was performing a cleansing ritual for she followed the precepts of her Jewish tradition. This is the story of a woman who was called before the king, and although her husband was away in the war and had no other man to represent her, she acquiesced. This is the story of a woman that was forced into relations with the king that night – even as the king knew that she was married and that her husband was serving him in a war many never fully understood. This is the story of a woman who became pregnant from that painful encounter. This is the story of a woman that heard of her husband’s death and mourned him – perhaps as expected, perhaps out of despair. This is the story of a woman that most likely did not know that her husband did not simply die in battle for he was murdered to cover up the misdeed of the king. This is the story of Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah.
The economy of war is immoral. And for me to be stating this is a big deal, for having studied Latin American/US relations in college, and trained for pastoral ministry at Princeton Seminary, I have been conditioned to articulate Just War Theory, this ethical tradition that argues that there are certain, very limited, conditions in which war can be justified and not the worst of options, and that while engaged in war there are certain ethical conducts that ought to be observed.
But I also know that I live in a country where war is just another part of national life, and a significant part of the expenditures of the federal government. The United States spends 53 cents for every dollar of discretionary spending in the military – that is 668B$ in 2017. Anti-poverty programs got $190B in the same year, that’s around 15 cents of every dollar. The budget being proposed by the current leader in the White House will increase military discretionary spending on the back of anti-poverty programs. Most of this spending, according to the research by the Poor Peoples’ Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival goes to contractors. Did you know that in 2015 the average private in combat would earn just under 30,000$/year. A general with 30 years of experience would earn around 215,000$/year. And if this surprises you (I’ll give you a moment to let those numbers sync in and prep you for the next). The average salary for the CEOs of the 5 top military contracting companies was 19.2Mil$/year. And we can be a whole bit longer breaking down how this incessant increase in budgeted and discretionary military spending is seeping into our communities by retrofitting local and state police with military-grade armament, and in the militarization of US borders, especially the one with Mexico. And we are not even getting into the multiple stories of sexual abuse in the US military and by US military personnel worldwide, or the hoops veterans still have to jump through to get treatment for physical and mental conditions (to say it mildly) that engaging in wars that most of them never fully understood will get them, but are still led to believe would bring honor to them and their families.
The point I believe today’s lesson is trying to make for us is that war economy is not simply about the numbers thrown at the citizenry of what is being spent in the continual development and support of the military industrial complex with public funding. The war economy is also the story of people. The war economy is led, still, by individuals some of whose names we know. The war economy is also stripping the life and dignity of people who have names that we may or may not know. But today, as we engage in worship and with the Word, we get to hear the names of two of those stripped of life and dignity by the war economy, and never forget their names – Bathsheba and Uriah. It is important we never forget their names because there are things we know from the narrative about how they suffered under the immorality of the war economy. And there are also many questions that remain unanswered, and we should be uncomfortable they remain unanswered. For I believe their stories are symbols of the many stories of those who are systematically destroyed by the war economy. In wars, minoritized ethnic groups are pegged against each other and made to believe they need to proof something. Many will put their lives in the line for the very system that made them believe they needed to proof allegiance. In wars, women are assaulted and enslaved as tactics of war. In wars, children are traumatized for life and often killed. And in this morning’s lesson, we read each one of these things happening. The war economy is immoral now and was immoral 3,000 years ago.
The good news in the midst of all of this is that God was displeased with the thing that David had done. Nathan, the prophet, stood up to David and spoke clearly of the injustices committed – taking a woman against her will, and killing her husband to cover his first misdeed. Today there are prophets in Saratoga Springs, in Albany, in Washington and throughout the country standing up to the powers that be and speaking clearly of the injustices that continue to be committed:
We demand an end to military aggression and war-mongering.
We demand a stop to the privatization of the military budget. We demand a reallocation of resources from the military budget to education, health care, jobs and green infrastructure needs, and strengthening a Veterans Administration system that must remain public.
We demand a ban on assault rifles and a ban on the easy access to firearms that has led to the increased militarization and weaponization of our communities.
We demand the demilitarization of our communities on the border and the interior. This includes ending federal programs that send military equipment into local and state communities and ceasing the call to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
We demand an immigration system that, instead of criminalizing people for trying to raise their families, prioritizes family reunification, keeps families together and allows us all to build thriving communities in the country we call home.
For I have to believe, as the Poor Peoples’ Campaign shares, that when decent people see the faces and facts that the Souls of Poor Folk Audit presents, they will be moved deeply in their conscience to change things. When confronted with the undeniable truth of unconscionable cruelty to our fellow human beings, we must join the ranks of those who are determined not to rest until justice and equality are a reality for all.
The war economy is immoral. The war economy is not only an outrageous collection of numbers in federal spending. The war economy are names, names we ought to know. People we ought to struggle with for justice and equality.
May we be so. Amen.