John Tillman - The Park Forum

September 23, 2021September 21, 2021

Weeping For Rebels

Scripture Focus: 2 Samuel 19.6-7
6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. 7 Now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come on you from your youth till now.”

Reflection: Weeping For Rebels
By John Tillman

Joab was right about one thing—the troops needed David’s encouragement. He was wrong about everything else.

More than a general, Joab was family. A son of David’s sister, Zeruiah, Joab came to power with David, leading David’s “mighty men.” Joab helped win David’s greatest victories and enabled and defended David’s worst sins.

Joab had advocated for Absalom, convincing David to have mercy on him in the past. Perhaps this is why Joab mercilessly killed him, hanging in the tree. To Joab, Absalom was only a threat. To David, Absalom was his beloved son. When Joab comes upon David, weeping over Absalom, he rebukes him, saying, “You love those who hate you and hate those who love you.” (2 Samuel 19.6)

There are some today, like Joab, who would misinterpret compassion, empathy, and weeping with those who weep as weakness and as endangering God’s kingdom. This could not be further from the truth.

At The Park Forum, we’ve often emphasized David’s sins because, historically, his flaws tend to be smoothed over. However, David is also called a “man after God’s own heart,” and weeping over Absalom, he shows part of it. At David’s worst, we see just how deeply sin grips his soul, but at his best, he looks a lot like Jesus. You can’t get much more like Jesus than loving those who hate you.

Absalom, by law, deserved nothing but the death that he received. David, by his love, wished he had died in Absalom’s place. David was never more like Jesus than when he wished he had died on a tree rather than his beloved son.

We can do better than David today. We do not need to beg for rebels to be treated gently. We simply point to Jesus, who has been treated harshly on the rebels’ behalf.

We can carry better news than Joab’s messengers. They brought news of victory by the death of a rebel on a tree. We bear news that Jesus has died on a tree on behalf of rebels.

Jesus hung on a tree in the place of rebels like us.
We have all been Absalom, rebels trapped by our sinful pride.
We have all been Joab, refusing mercy to those who slighted us.
May we be more like David, like Jesus, weeping for the lost and willing to die in their place.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly, my hope is in him. — Psalm 62.6

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 19 (Listen – 7:31)
2 Corinthians 12 (Listen – 3:54)

Read more about Of Grace and Thorns
Suffering is evil. Weakness is humbling. In Christ, they both are redeemed and their outcomes overturned.

Of Grace and Thorns

Read more about Hope for Mercy
The news of Absalom’s death brought inconsolable grief to David. Despite the insurrection by Absalom, David wept for his son.

https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/hope-for-mercy

September 20, 2021September 19, 2021

Bearing Cursing

Scripture Focus: 2 Samuel 16.6-8, 9, 11-12
6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”

9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”

11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

Reflection: Bearing Cursing
By John Tillman

David fled Jerusalem before Absalom as one mourning, not as a king. Barefoot and weeping he climbed the Mount of Olives. (2 Samuel 15.30) David recognized that it was his sinfulness that was the root of all of this suffering. Perhaps it was this attitude that prepared David for the insults and mistreatment of Shimei.

There are moments in scripture when someone unintentionally prophesies. One is when the High Priest says regarding Jesus, “it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11.50) Another is here along the road from Jerusalem where a relative of Saul hurls sticks and stones, as well as hurtful words at David.

David seems stung more by Shimei’s words than his stones. Shimei called David a murderer or a “man of blood.” Shimei’s statements are at least partly true. The murder of Uriah must have risen in David’s thoughts as he heard Shimei’s insults and his celebration of his circumstances. David apparently recognized in them an echo of Nathan’s prophecy that “the sword will never depart from your house.” (2 Samuel 12.10)

As he rebuked Abishai, who wanted to kill Shimei, David confirmed that, at least in David’s mind, God was the one sending these insults, sticks, stones, and clods of dirt.

We are all going to face some Shimei-like treatment from time to time. Whether we think we deserve it or not, even half-truths that are unfair, insulting, or hurtful can be learned from. David doesn’t engage with Shimei or try to win him over. He recognized that it was natural for someone from Saul’s family to not like him and to say mean things about him. David recognized that God could use what he was experiencing.

David also did not hold Shimei’s actions against him. Later, when David returns, Shimei is the first to greet him and repents of what he said. David offers him forgiveness and again prevents Abishai from killing him.

Even if, as with Shimei, the insults are exaggerated or unfair, we can trust God with the outcome and not strike back in the same manner or worse. Rather than lashing out when cursed, may we seek consolation in God and humbly endure insults in the name of Jesus.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.” — Psalm 16.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 16 (Listen – 4:03)
2 Corinthians 9 (Listen -2:26)

Read more about King on the Mountain, King on the Cross
They expected a king to banish the cursed outcasts and sinners. He brought them in and blessed them.

King on the Mountain, King on the Cross

Read more about In the Face of Mockery and Shame
The mockery of the passing crowds was not by accident, but part of the punishment’s design.

In the Face of Mockery and Shame

September 17, 2021September 15, 2021

Like Father, Like Sons

Scripture Focus: 2 Samuel 13.13-14
13 “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

“He’d grown up just like me…my boy was just like me…” — “Cats in the Cradle, Harry Chapin Carpenter

Reflection: Like Father, Like Sons
By John Tillman

David’s sons turn out to be very much like him. Amnon becomes a carefully plotting rapist. Absalom becomes a murderer, a rebel, and a rapist as well. And that’s just a starter.

Nathan prophesied that David’s sins would “never leave his house.” (2 Samuel 12.10) So as we read of the history of the kings of Judah, we frequently find the sword cutting people down and women being abused.

David’s passing down of abuse and violence to his children is no surprise. Neither is the escalation of violence. We see a pattern of escalating evil laid out in Genesis. Evil grows from the taking of the fruit, to unreasonable anger, to the taking of Abel’s life. Then Cain’s descendant, Lamech, “takes” two wives (with implied violence) and multiplies Cain’s murderous ways. This escalating violence leads eventually to the destruction of the flood.

Sin always sets in motion more sin to follow. Often, the sins of fathers and mothers have lasting effects. Sometimes these can be self-replicating, damaging behaviors that are passed down through generations such as abuse, addictions, and other harmful actions. Sometimes they are consequences, debts, or mental or emotional handicaps that leave the next generation at a disadvantage.

The natural inheritance from David is not pure or holy. However, there is another heritage from David because there is another Son of David. Jesus came to be the son that David could never raise and the king that David could never be. The incarnation is God stepping in to fulfill all the commands and expectations God had for David’s dynasty. Jesus is the king David was supposed to be and fulfills all that David failed to do.

In Jesus, there is a new royal dynasty that inherits his footsteps of righteousness. We join this dynasty as siblings of Jesus, heirs together with him. (Romans 8.17; Galatians 3.29; Ephesians 3.6)

We have within us twin destinies from our twin dynasties. From David, we have lust and violence and power that takes for itself. From Jesus, we have love and service and righteousness, which is power that provides for the weak.

Who will deliver us from this body of death? (Romans 7.24-25) Jesus. We can be redeemed siblings, sons and daughters who are like God our Father as revealed by Jesus.

May we humbly abdicate the throne of our lives and learn to allow Jesus’ power to flow through us, doing righteousness that we cannot do on our own.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Our sins are stronger than we are, but you will blot them out. — Psalm 65.3

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 13 (Listen – 6:39)
2 Corinthians 6 (Listen -2:31)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Samuel 14 (Listen – 5:57), 2 Corinthians 7 (Listen -2:58)
2 Samuel 15 (Listen – 6:06), 2 Corinthians 8 (Listen -3:25)

Read more about Two Lamechs, One Jesus
Cain’s Lamech multiplies violence. He is proud of being more violent than any other man.

https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/two-lamechs-one-jesus/

Read more about Be Yoked to Christ, Not Politics
May no party or human leader be permitted to yoke us or Christ’s church to their cause.

Be Yoked to Christ, Not Politics

September 10, 2021September 9, 2021

Pie In The Sky and Strange Fruit

Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 15.19
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

From John: We are moving into an extremely emotionally charged weekend during which we will remember those who died in attacks on the United States twenty years ago. Many will try to make political hay from the deaths of the victims. At times like this, it is good to remember the resurrection and its true meaning. We also reflect on what it means that we serve a God who chose to suffer with us and on our behalf. This reflection from 2019 refers specifically to racial terrorism, but all forms of injustices we suffer, whether from foreign threats, lynch mobs, politically-motivated violence, or home-grown terrorists, will ultimately be set right by a God who entered injustice to give us his righteousness. The resurrection will steal the sting of earthly death and suffering. Amen.

Reflection: Pie In The Sky and Strange Fruit
By John Tillman

The hope of the resurrection is not just for some far-off “Day of the Lord.” It is also for the here and now.

The Corinthians struggled with false teachings regarding Heaven and resurrection. Prevailing Greek philosophy taught that bodies were evil and spirit was the ultimate existence. With this belief, bodily resurrection seemed like a punishment, rather than freedom.

Confusion about the resurrection and about Heaven are nothing new.

There have been times when those in power misused theology about the resurrection and Heaven. Preachers at times described Heaven as a pie-in-the-sky compensation for starving masses while they themselves sat with the powerful at supper, gorging on pie in the here and now. Some pastors partnered with the powerful, holding Heaven like a carrot in front of the mules, while cruel masters wielded a whip behind.

This kind of pie-in-the-sky teaching relied on the same un-Christian philosophies about spirit and body that Paul worked to debunk. It told the oppressed that the suffering of their bodies was acceptable, even desirable so that their souls could be saved. This twists Paul’s words in order to theologically defend keeping people in bondage and ignoring cries for justice.

Christ enters our sufferings with us. But our suffering is not salvific and our hope is not just for after this life.

It is by Christ’s stripes we are healed, not our own. It is by Christ’s lynching, being hung on a tree, that we are saved, not our own. Christ hung on the cross is “strange fruit” from which comes the seed of the gospel.

Paul teaches us that the resurrection steals the sting of earthly death and suffering. Amen. All will ultimately be set right. Amen. Righteousness will flow like a mighty stream. Amen. The trees in the kingdom of God will bear fruit that heals the nation, redeeming the “strange fruit” of oppression and hate.

But the existence of ultimate justice does not allow us to ignore calls for justice now. In every community he visited and worked in, Paul encouraged the church to work for the good of their community and to spread the gospel. Nowhere did he counsel them to sit idly to wait on the heavenly city.

The power that raised Christ from the grave is available to us through the Holy Spirit. Seeking his guidance, may we act as representatives of God’s justice, and distribute the crop of healing for the nations.

*Strange Fruit – the story behind “The Song of the Century”, by The Salt Project and WFYI

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
You are the Lord, most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. — Psalm 97.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 4-5 (Listen – 6:10)
1 Corinthians 15 (Listen – 8:06)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Samuel 6 (Listen – 3:34), 1 Corinthians 16 (Listen – 2:54)
2 Samuel 7 (Listen – 4:26), 2 Corinthians 1 (Listen -3:52)

Read more about Prayers of Woe and Weeping :: Guided Prayer
Weeping for our own hurts and harms is one thing. Weeping for what grieves God is a prophetic task and a work of faith.

Prayers of Woe and Weeping :: Guided Prayer

Read more about Purpose
Lay down your life. Put others first. Don’t manipulate people. Swallow the tendency to whine when you aren’t the center of the universe.

Purpose

September 8, 2021September 8, 2021

Critique that Builds

Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 14.3, 26
But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort…What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.

Reflection: Critique that Builds Up
By John Tillman

As an actor, director, and teacher of theatre, I have a heightened appreciation for many aspects of theatre and a broader palette of theatrical taste than the average entertainment seeker. But in the wrong circumstances, I can turn into a cynical critic of performances, spotting errors that others don’t notice and cringing at choices that seem fine to the audience.

A similar thing can happen to those experienced in leading worship in any capacity. When they are not leading, those who are experienced leaders and designers of worship can be the most passionate participants, but can also be the most bitter of critics.

Dissatisfaction with forms of worship is not new. (Jesus clearing the Temple comes to mind.)
In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul seemed especially concerned for Christian worship to develop an ordered, discernable form. He desired a form with functions both of edification of believers and evangelization of non-believers and outsiders. He wanted believers not to simply be emotionally entertained, but intellectually informed. He wanted believers not to display mere intellectual prowess, but to faithfully demonstrate the power of God.

Paul speaks in the manner of a director giving notes, or a stage manager calling the cues:
“Two or three should speak. No more. Don’t pull focus. Don’t improvise things that are over the audience’s head. If they can’t understand it, they won’t come back. Stop talking over other people’s lines!”

One of the most valuable things that a healthy experience in theatre can teach, is to give and take criticism. You learn to “take the note.” This means owning the mistake, as well as the responsibility for correcting it. In theatre, when you get a note, you are being called out for an error. Healthy notes are given in love—love for participants, for the source material, and for the audience.

As critical as Paul is, he never loses his love for what is happening. He doesn’t allow critique to turn bitter and cynical. Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian church is tumultuous and passionate. In the messiness of this scandal-filled church, we see a mirror held up to our modern institutions of worship.

May we seek the passion of Paul for worship done well, without losing his love for worshipers even when they do everything wrong.

May our critiques be loving and build others up—never cynical call-outs and tear-downs.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm
Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not worship a foreign god.
I am the Lord you God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, “open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” — Psalm 81.8-10

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 3 (Listen – 6:35)
1 Corinthians 14 (Listen – 5:40)

Read more from Lewis on Liturgiology — Part 1
Every service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a sacrament, or repent, or supplicate, or adore.

Lewis on Liturgiology — Part 1

Read more about Rumors or Repentance
When someone critiques you and calls you to repent, what will you do?

Rumors or Repentance