King David’s Big Sin

June 12, 2016
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: 2 Sam 12:7-10, 13
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061216.cfm

One of the moments I most fear is when, right after my death, all of my sins are listed aloud in the presence of the divine judge. I imagine a scene where “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev 12:10), Satan himself, is acting as prosecuting attorney, systematically going through the details of my life and listing off each one of my offenses against God. The Father sits as presiding judge over the court and my every sin is examined in detail. The pit in my stomach that I feel in moments of embarrassment would be deeper than ever. The guilt I feel when I contemplate my sins would be excruciating. It’s not a pretty scene.

Moments of Truth

Yet this ultimate moment of confrontation with reality sums up our other moments of truth—things as serious as criminal proceedings and sacramental confession, but also the relatively lighter moments like performance reviews at work or looking over the family budget at the end of the month. While we all need periodic checkups on our physical and spiritual health, sometimes we need more serious medicine. Our first reading for this Sunday portrays one of the greatest confrontations in biblical history.

David’s Dramatic Sins

Now in order to understand what is taking place in the reading, we have to tell the backstory. King David, like a coward, stayed home at his palace while his army went off to wage war. Soon he spied a married woman, Bathsheba, bathing outdoors, and the text offers a stark portrayal of his response: “so David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her” (2 Sam 11:4 RSV). Through this power-rape, she becomes pregnant, so David tries to cover his tracks by bringing Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, back from the battle, hoping that he will sleep with his wife and hide the evidence of David’s dalliance. Yet Uriah is a brave, battle-hardened man and refuses to go to his house while his comrades are out in the field of battle. David realizes that his cover-up plans have failed, so he turns his heart to murder. He sends sealed orders by Uriah’s hand (!) to his general to put Uriah in a vulnerable spot on the field and then withdraw the other troops. Uriah is thus murdered “with the sword of the Ammonites” (2 Sam 12:9). After Uriah’s death, David steals his wife as his own.

Breaking the Big Ten

By this point, David has violated so many of the Ten Commandments—coveting, murder, adultery, theft. David’s sins stand in stark contrast to his previous life as “a man after God’s own heart” (see 1 Sam 13:14). They are tantamount to an undoing of the great covenant that God had made with David, the covenant of an everlasting throne (2 Sam 7:16). The prior king, Saul, had been stripped of the kingship because of his sins. David has no reason to think that God would sustain his authority after his grave failings. In response to David’s sin, God sends a messenger, Nathan the prophet.

Nathan’s Convicting Story

Nathan has to tread lightly since he is accusing the king, after all, so he starts with a story. In the story, which Nathan ostensibly presents for the king’s own judgment, there are two men, one rich, one poor. The rich man owns huge flocks, while the poor man owns just one little lamb that he loves as if it were his own daughter. When the rich man has a friend visiting, instead of using one of his many sheep for the feast, he steals the poor man’s sheep and slaughters it. When David hears of this fictional crime, he is outraged: “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die” (2 Sam 12:5). But the prophet Nathan retorts with one of the most powerful, convicting lines in all of Scripture: “You are the man!” (2 Sam 12:7).

The Lord’s History of Faithfulness

After this finger-pointing accusation, Nathan settles into a theological explanation, which we get in our reading. He recounts the history of the Lord’s fidelity to David:

I anointed you king over Israel,
and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul;
and I gave you your master’s house,
and your master’s wives into your bosom,
and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah;
and if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. (2 Sam 12:7-8 RSV)

Nathan summarizes God’s faithfulness with a series of verbs: “I anointed you…I delivered you…I gave you…” Beyond all these things, God promises that he would have done still more to bless David if he considered God’s gifts as too little. This recitation of the Lord’s blessings on David shows how faithful he has been in the relationship. Yet in spite of all the Lord has done for him, David sins grievously against him. This narration of the history of their relationship reminds me of the words of a jilted spouse, reciting all of the ways in which he or she has been faithful to the wedding vows. The fidelity of one party to the covenant makes the infidelity of the other party all the more flagrant. There is no excuse.

“Why?”

“Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight?” (2 Sam 12:9) This is the crucial question of this reading. It confronts David in his terrible sin, but it also confronts us when we sin. Unfortunately, there isn’t always a good answer. Often the reasons for our disobedience are shrouded in “the mystery of iniquity” (2 Thess 2:7 D-R). Sin is not a rational activity, but a kind of slavery, a surrendering to outside forces. Yet, after the accusation, David repents and acknowledges his sin (2 Sam 12:13). Nathan responds with the Lord’s forgiveness, and a promise that though he deserves to die (v. 5), he will not die (v. 13). Our hope lies not in our own ability to obey, but in the abundant forgiveness of God.

From Slavery to Sin to Freedom in Forgiveness

St. Paul urges us, “For just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification” (Rom 6:19). We can hope that when the moment of Satan’s finger-pointing comes in the divine court, we will be able to rely on the mercy and forgiveness of God, offered through the blood of Jesus, rather than on our own efforts. In this life, we hope that we can escape slavery to sin and instead offer up our whole selves as “members to righteousness,” that we might actually become holy. Hopefully, that excruciating scene I described will give way to joy as the mercy of God envelops me—and you too!

 

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Mark Giszczak (“geese-check”) was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI. He studied philosophy and theology at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, MI and Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute of Denver, CO. He recently received his Ph. D. in Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of America. He currently teaches courses in Scripture at the Augustine Institute, where he has been on faculty since 2010. Dr. Giszczak has participated in many evangelization projects and is the author of the CatholicBibleStudent.com blog. He has written introductions to every book of the Bible that are hosted at CatholicNewsAgency.com. Dr. Giszczak, his wife and their daughter, live in Colorado where they enjoy camping and hiking in the Rocky Mountains.

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