Rev. Jody Clegg, preaching
Scripture: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27; Psalm 30
Title: The Hero and the Human: Power and Vulnerability
David begins his reign over Israel at a time of grief, for himself and the nation. He grieves the death of Saul and Jonathan (personal) and the state of affairs in the war-torn and divided Israel (collective/national). His lament reveals both types of grief and his willingness to be vulnerable in a public way- in this, he is willing to share in God’s grief over loss of life and loss of Israel’s faithfulness. Through his own vulnerability, he is able to share in God’s love of Israel and God’s hopeful possibilities for Israel. How then do we learn to see vulnerability as a gift from God to share in God’s work, not a weakness from which we need God to protect us? Also, how does vulnerability allow us an entry from our grief into God’s hope?