Sermon preached at the Opening Service of the Italian Session of the Waldensian Synod
Sunday, August 26th, 2007

«1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him,"There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan,"As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" 13 David said to Nathan,"I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David,"The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die."»
(2 Samuel 12: 1 - 13)

This story, taken from the Second Book of Samuel, bears witnesses to the Word of God in a way so clear that little explanation is necessary. It is enough just to listen! We know, from the preceding chapter, what the king’s sin was: adultery, accompanied by murder. That is the background to this chapter.

God sends Nathan, the prophet, to David. It is difficult to say "You have sinned" to a king, but Nathan manages to do it, with a story which makes David very angry. The "shepherd-king", enraged by the image of a small lamb stolen and killed, has not lost the ability to tell right from wrong (as has happened so often to those who have received great power). David states quite clearly: "The one who has done this deserves to die." Nathan’s great ability lies in the fact that he has drawn out the sentence of punishment, firm and clear, from David himself, rather than suggesting it himself. Now Nathan is able to pronounce a word which cuts through David like a sharp sword: "You are that man!"

A first reflection:
Sometimes, despite our lack of courage, we are asked to speak a lucid prophetic word: the truth must be told! This applies to us all, of course, but I underline this fact particularly for the ministers here, and for those who are about to be consecrated, those who today will assume the duties of living out their ministry with faithfulness. We are not here talking about foretelling the future; nor are we talking about speaking in judgement, a task which is not given to us, because we also are sinners. We are talking about that which is true, that which God says to us in our own generation. Nathan knows how to do this. Indeed, he has no choice, for he has to speak. His reply to King David opens with the words "Thus says the Lord….I anointed you king… and you have despised my word, doing that which is evil in my sight."
After the condemnation, given in the name of God, David must respond. He might refuse to hear this word; he might run away from it; he might eliminate the prophet. But his brief response indicates that he has understood the tragic nature of his crimes: "I have sinned against the Lord." Then Nathan speaks again, very briefly: "The Lord has forgiven your sin; you shall not die." This response from Nathan shocks us. Everything forgiven in such a brief moment, less time than it takes to say the prayer of confession in our Sunday worship? Ah, no! It is not that simple. The announcement of the coming woes, which will fall on David’s house, will still work themselves through as the story unfolds. And as chapter follows chapter in the rest of the Book, this disobedience on David’s part can never be forgotten.

A second reflection:
There can no longer be any innocence, any naïveté, in David’s exercise of power, and yet God has chosen him and continues to protect him, despite everything he has done. Here is a word from God for us all, particularly those who are here to participate in the Synod meeting. For us the Synod is the highest human authority in the Church in all matters of doctrine, legislation, jurisdiction and government (Art. 27/DV/1974). But Synod "…is never sovereign, because it is subject to the unique sovereignty of the only Lord of the Church" (Art. 12/SI/72). Synod has great authority, but it is not unlimited, just as David’s authority was not unlimited.
In the story of God’s people, David is amongst the most important pieces on the board. But is this a special people, guided by God, or is it a people like all the rest, which asks for a government adapted to its own times? Or is it both? I believe that during this Synod meeting we shall ask ourselves, amongst the many themes which will vie for our attention, whether we are to be "like the others" or "distinct from the rest." But the real question, to which we ought to give some sort of answer in the way we live our lives, is not whether we are capable of hearing "the reality around us", or "the tradition", or "other voices", but whether we are capable of hearing the word of the living God. This is the challenge, which we welcome, despite our human weakness and our errors. David knew how to entrust himself to the will of God, to God’s "Covenant promises." Note well: God is not imprisoned by his loving promises; God has no obligation to us, nor is he subject to our acts of blackmail (be they ever so pious!). WE are the ones who are "enchained" within God’s promise. David will pay dearly for the promise of love which God has directed towards him, yet he will live. Where sin has abounded, grace has abounded all the more (Romans 5: 20). We may pay dearly for the temptation felt by the Church – by the Churches! – to confound the will of God with our own prestige. Yet, if we allow ourselves to be grasped by God’s love for us, we shall live.

A final observation:
My dear congregation – no, indeed, my dear Church! (I mean "Church" in the real sense of the word: people who are called together by the Word of God, to hear that Word and to live by it!) What does this Word say to us, not only regarding our private lives, not even regarding just the Church? The Church has a mission in and for the world. In David’s times, there was an almost perfect match between "nation state" and "people of God", between the political community and the faith community. Over time, some Churches have tried to be empires, and some empires have imitated the Church, at least in so far as they have tried to guide humanity. Today, Church and State, powers and Churches, tend to invade each others’ space, sometimes for "the common good" (but who decides how that is to be recognised?), sometimes, it would seem, for "the common bad."
In David, we perceive the greatness of kingship, not only in the good, but also, if we may put it like this, in the bad. Has he fulfilled his mission? Perhaps he has. Certainly God has ensured that his mission was not limited to failure. But David did not enclose himself in private piety; he confronted and was confronted by the world in which he lived. He did not try to escape.

Like David, Jesus did not close himself up in his own private world, in his own private piety; he, too, "took on the world" into which he was sent, for a time, to be with us; he did not attempt to escape. He completed, to the very last, the mission with which he was entrusted. Those who followed Jesus in his earthly life acclaimed him "Son of David." Indeed, David and Jesus both came to terms with "the kingdom", with abandoning themselves to God’s keeping, through prayer. There is a strong analogy between the two of them, but we also see a huge difference: "You are the man" is the charge levelled by Nathan against David, a charge which brings the king’s sinful actions to light. "Behold the man" says Pilate, showing Jesus, crowned with thorns, to the people, and indicating the man "who takes away the sin of the world", taking our sins upon himself. (John 19: 5; 1: 29).

The mission of the Church is born from a calling. The Church is not called to judge or to save the world: Jesus has already done that. It is not the Church’s task to disseminate rules and regulations, "dos" and "don’ts", but to point men and women to the way in which they may grow in the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. The Church must not ask anything for itself, other than to be obedient to the Word of God. To serve God, and to serve the world, we have no requirement of slaves, or idols. What is needed is people, saved and liberated by the living God; people who have the courage to speak the truth.
Amen.