2 Pentecost 07 C Proper 6

I heard a cute Father’s Day story. There was a guy whose daughter was about four years old, and was having a hard time grasping the concept of marriage one Father’s Day. So he got out their wedding album, thinking visual images would help, and explained the entire service to her.

Once finished, he asked if she had any questions, and she replied, “Oh, I see. Is that when Mommy came to work for us, Daddy?” Fathers, today we get honored, but we recognize who makes us look good.

Today, I don’t want to focus specifically on Fathers, but rather on the question, “What happens when life comes crashing in?” My brother-in-law recently got a divorce and then was unable to win custody of his kids. He shared as if he felt like his life was just crashing in around him. Not a good metaphor to use for an airline pilot.

There was a woman who called her husband at work. She said, “Honey, I think the carburetor is flooded.” He said, “The carburetor flooded? How could you know that? You don’t even know what a carburetor is, how could you know it’s flooded? Where is the car?” She replied, “It’s in the swimming pool.”

Have you ever had a day like that? A day when it just seems like everything is falling apart?

Sometimes days like that happen through no fault of our own. Other times days like that happen as a direct result of something we do. There are times when we can trace this implosion to some wrong decision or disobedience in our lives.

That was the case in our first lesson today with King David. The Episcopal Lectionary does not begin our lesson today explaining why Uriah the Hittite died. In order for us to understand this we have to go back to the beginning of 2 Samuel. It is here we see that David stayed home from the battle. It was customary for the King to lead his troops into battle. But for some reason, perhaps David was having a mid-life crisis; he chose to stay at home.

Quite often the reason why we get into trouble as Christians is because we choose the easy way, the way that requires little of us. OR we choose not to do what we know we should. Both were the case with David.

As a result he had time on his hands. He took a stroll up to the roof of his house, looked down to see a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, bathing outside. His heart was filled with lust for her and he inquired to find out who she was. He then had her brought to him where she, because he was the king, had no choice but to sleep with him when David asked her to. She later conceived a child as a result of this adulterous union.

David knew his kingdom could be jeopardized if someone found out about this, and, besides, he wanted Bathsheba for himself, so he wrote a note to one of his commanders asking that this commander take Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, into the front lines of the battle and then withdraw from him so that he would be killed in battle, then David would be free to marry Bathsheba and to have a legitimate child by her.

It is here that our first reading begins. After Uriah has died in battle David takes Bathsheba as his wife and she bares a son. Then the reading says this startling sentence, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” Bathsheba became queen, and David went about his kingly duties. One day, perhaps while in a high government session with foreign ambassadors, someone approached the kind and whispered, “Sir, the prophet Nathan is here. He is impatient and insists on seeing you right now. He says it’s a matter of life and death!”

I can see David turning ashen white, the blood draining quickly from his face, unable to move, paralyzed with fear, His thoughts raced, “Oh, no! He knows! He must know! He’s a prophet! God must have told him about my secret affair with Bathsheba! He knows Uriah didn’t die accidentally; he knows I had him killed! It’s all over! I’m done! Finished! He’ll expose me!” David dismissed everyone quickly. Taking slow, deep breaths, he instructed his servant, “Bring Nathan into my private chamber.” And suddenly, there is the prophet with those deep, piercing eyes, that holy man of God, Nathan. David slumps in his chair, ghostly white. “God bless you, Nathan. What can I do for you? Just name it!”

Nathan turns away and begins to tell David about the horrible sin of a rich man who’s stole somebody’s little lamb. David is relieved! “He doesn’t know! He’s not here to expose me! He’ upset about someone else’s sin.” David is all ears now. He replies to Nathan’s story, “Nathan, do you mean this horrible, selfish rich man had many flocks and herds, but when company came and he needed meat he stole the only lamb from a poor neighbor? And the lamb was the household pet, living in the house, playing with the children, sleeping with them? And this selfish, greedy rich man stole that lamb? So help me, Nathan, as surely as the Lord lives, I’ll kill him. How terrible! I’ll make him restore the lamb fourfold. Don’t worry, Nathan. I’ll tell my captain to bring this man in right away. What’s his name, Nathan? Tell me. Who is he?”

Nathan swings around abruptly, looks David in the eye, points a finger, and says, “You, David, you are the man! You stole Bathsheba! You are the selfish killer!” David was speechless. Terror grips his heart as Nathan cries out.

David is terrified, not because of Nathan’s prophecy that he will lose his wives as Nathan prophesied in verse 11 which is left out of our reading. No, David is remembering what happened to Saul because of sin and rebellion. David had seen this great man of God fall apart; he had seen him fall into madness when the presence of God departed. He had wept at the sight of the once powerful man of God cursing, living in fear, without hope. David knew what the end was like for a man who loses the presence of God.

This causes David to say, “I have sinned against the Lord!” In fact, he had not just sinned against the Lord; he had sinned against his family, against Israel, Uriah, Bathsheba, their child, his army, and others. Often we don’t recognize that our sins have far reaching consequences. One need only look at the fallout when a famous TV Christian has a moral failure. That was the case with David.

So distraught was David that he penned that famous Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit with in me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.”

Then Nathan said the most comforting words to David. “The Lord also has put away your sin.” Can you imagine how David felt when he heard those words? Nathan did say that there will be consequences for your sins (which tragically comes to pass), but you yourself will be forgiven.

This helped begin the journey back to the presence of God for David and had a positive affect upon most of the rest of his life.

Life came crashing in around David, but ultimately his life was restored by the God who loved him.

The classic MG moved briskly through the afternoon traffic. The driver enjoyed the quick response of the small high powered convertible. After driving her mini-van, this little red car was rather like taking off her boots and putting on sneakers. Driving along with the wind in her hair, she tried to look casual and at ease, but inside she was a bit tense since she didn’t often drive this car – her husband’s pride and joy.

She saw only a blur of color out of the corner of her eye. Before she could consciously consider her actions, she swerved to miss the small boy on the bicycle and veered into the side of a large gray pickup truck. The car stopped with a deafening “ker-thunk.” For a second there was the tinkle of falling glass, and then all was very still for what seemed like a long time. “Hey lady, you okay?” Strong arms lifted her from the vehicle and helped her to the curb. “I’m fine,” she said, “just let me sit here for a moment.”

All she could think was, “I’m fine now, but Jim’s going to kill me when I get home.” As she waited for the police to arrive, she recalled how excited he was when he found this car. He had wanted one ever since he was a boy. This one was a rare treasure, and he had spent countless Saturdays fixing and polishing it. He knew every bolt and spot of chrome. It wasn’t really his wrath she feared – he was actually a gentle and loving husband. But she dreaded the hurt and anguish she would see in his face when he heard the news. That, for her, would be worse than if he were to get angry and yell. “Thank God, I’m not hurt,” she thought, “but I sure am worried about telling Jim.

Her head was bent down and she saw the highly polished boots stop at her feet, “May I see your driver’s license and insurance papers, ma’am?” The officer felt sorry for her. He thought, “What a great little car that was.” She walked to the car, got her purse, and grabbed the insurance packet from the glove compartment. She gave the officer her license and opened the plastic package that contained the insurance papers. To her surprise, there on top of all the documents was a white envelope with her name on it.

She opened it and began to read, “Dear Beth. If you are reading this, you have probably been in an accident. Don’t worry. I pray that you are all right, and just remember it’s YOU that I love, Jim.”

You may have messed up your life, or you may yet mess up your life, just as King David did, but remember the Cross of Jesus is God’s statement, “Regardless of how you may have wrecked your life, remember, it’s YOU that I love.”

If you are not a believer in Jesus, God loves you and wants you to follow Jesus Christ in your life from this moment on. He wants you to experience his power and love and care for you. Turn away from all you know is wrong, and turn to Jesus and receive the forgiveness of all your past, have him wipe the slate clean, and give you a new start.

If you are a believer in Jesus already you may have fallen into some sin, like David did, and you have lost that closeness to Christ. The hardest thing is that we hurt God when we sin. The thing that broke David’s heart is that he had broken God’s heart.

The Good News is that Nathan’s words to David, “The Lord has put away your sin,” are the same words that God is speaking to us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.”

Begin again to seek the Lord, obey his commandments and follow him daily. As you do that you will begin to rebuild your life after it has come crashing down around you as a result of your actions. David was blessed again in his life, so can you be in your.