“Kings and Hope”

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

July 4, 2024

Amos 7:7-15

Mark 6:14-29

Children’s Message:

I’m going to tell you the story about Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss. Bartholomew, you see, was a page boy of King Derwin, the king of Didd. And the king had gotten tired and quite angry at seeing the same things come down from his sky—the rain, and the fog, and the snow, and the sunshine. He demanded that something new be made to come down. Bartholomew warned him that it was a bad idea, but the king didn’t listen.

Instead, King Derwin called on his magicians. All night they chanted and made their magic, and in the morning, a green, sticky oobleck began falling from the sky. The king was thrilld and told Bartholomew to ring the special holiday bell. But the bell wouldn’t ring because it was clogged with oobleck. So, the boy went to warn the people by having the horn blower blow his horn—but all he could make was a gurgle. And all over the kingdom, ooblek was getting the people and the animals and everything else stuck in a mess.

Finally, the boy went to find the king—who was stuck to his throne, trying to remember the magic words of the magician. But the oobleck kept falling. Bartholomew had had enough and told the king that the only thing that would fix the situation was if he apologized.  

No one had ever talked to the King like this before. ‘What!’ he bellowed. ‘ME…ME say I’m sorry! Kings never say I’m sorry! And I am the mightiest king in all the world!’ Bartholomew looked the King square in the eye. ‘You may be a mighty king,’ he said. ‘But you’re sitting in oobleck up to your chin. And so is everyone else in your land. And if you won’t even say you’re sorry, you’re no sort of a king at all!’”

So, finally the king apologized. And suddenly, the oobleck began to melt away, and the kingdom was saved.

Do you think it was frightening for Bartholomew to say something so bold to the mighty king? A little like John the Baptist in the story today. He had told the king he was doing something wrong, and when the opportunity came, king Herod had him killed. Not everyone learns to say ‘I’m sorry.’

Let’s pray. God, help us recognize when we have made mistakes and hurt others. Help us to say I’m sorry and work to make it right. Amen.

Message:

Like King Derwin, King Herod’s decisions are fueled by fear, hatred, and a desire to display his power. He divorces his wife—against Jewish law—in order to marry his brother’s wife. For his birthday, he has his young step-daughter dance for him and his cronies. No doubt, they liked it as much as he did. And in a drunken stupor, he promises to give her anything she wants.

Her mother, who hated that John had spoken against their adulterous marriage, advises the daughter to ask for John’s death. John had spoken Truth to power, and those in power did not want to hear it. So Herod, loving himself and his reputation more than anything or anyone else, acquiesces. He can’t be seen as weak. He can’t be seen going back on his promise. And so he succumbs to fear, hatred, anger, and greed—which make very poor advisors.

I’m reminded of a saying by Octavia Butler:

“Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought.

To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears.

To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.

To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen.

To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies.

To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery.”

The Gospel reading is not unlike the reading from Amos. God sent him from his farm and his sheep to the northern Kingdom of Israel to offer up a warning. You see, the original nation of Israel had become divided between Israel in the north and Judah in the south. And Israel, under very bad leadership, had gained a reputation for providing prosperity for the elite at the expense of the poor. Amos proclaimed God’s love by telling them, much like Bartholomew did, that the way they were living would hurt the nation.

But God’s love—expressed by lifting up those at the bottom—is often also expressed as wrath for those who oppress the ones at the bottom. Amos warned Israel that there would be consequences, and 30 years later, Assyria conquered Israel and dispersed the population. They would never return as a kingdom again.

Fear, hatred, anger, and greed make very poor advisors. But consider the response of John’s disciples after they learned of his death. They went to the palace and requested his body to be released to them. They associated themselves with John and put themselves at risk—all so that they could honor him by burying his body properly. That took a great deal of courage. And faith.

Like Amos, like John, like young Bartholomew—what does it look like for us to turn from fear and respond to the dark forces with faithful resistance? What does it look like to put aside hatred and greed so that others might prosper? What does it look like to turn our anger into something that fosters life, not limits it?

Because fear, hatred, anger, and greed are not faithful advisors. They tell a story about us that undermines our God-given vocation of compassion and service. They tell us that we must defend ourselves and defend God. They tell us that hurting others in an effort to gain power and control is justifiable collateral damage.

Fear and hatred and anger and greed lie to us about ourselves, about others, and about God. And when, in the midst of our turmoil, we are confronted with Truth, we don’t want to hear it. We can’t hear it. We rail against it. Because Truth—gospel Truth—hits us with both good news and bad news. It brings a message of God’s Love and God’s Wrath. The gospel Truth tells us how we have gone so very far astray and have hurt so many. It is a mirror we are afraid to look into. And yet, the gospel Truth also tells us that God hasn’t given up on us. It shows us our reflection as God’s own beloved image.

Even when we have the best intentions for ourselves and others, the lies fueled by fear, anger, hate, and greed keep us from embracing God’s love. And whether we are the narcissist king who fights to keep his kingdom free from all the things he fears or the woman who fights to kill the prophet and all he stands for, as long as we are advised by fear, anger, hate, and greed, we cannot bear God’s love to the world.

The good news is that there is another way. And though it is riskier, and it requires more work, it is more challenging, it takes more time, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it will bear the fruit we have in mind, it has something the other ways don’t possess—hope. Hope that no matter how bad it gets, God wins. Love wins. Justice wins. Hope that God invites us to participate in God’s creative and courageous approach to justice. Hope that leads to open hearts, open minds, open hands, open borders, open tables, open doors, and open homes.

We are created for Hope. We are built to Love. We are designed for generosity and gratitude. And when we live into these things, we are part of heaven breaking into a fearful and hurt world. And oh, this world needs that—and needs the Hope, Love, and Justice that God longs to share.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE