Sermon Notes for July 15, II Sam. 6, Mk. :14-29

We have 2 palace stories separated by about one thousand years. We witness human heights and depths in the intrigues of family dynamics. If anyone thinks that human morality has gone downhill, just look at these accounts. Look at Penn State, for proof that empires, athletic or otherwise, can be seedbeds of corruption. To the extent that the Baptizer is a trailblazer for Jesus this is a foreshadowing of evil times ahead for Jesus.Hollywood often puts this scene in pictures about Jesus. Actors outdo one another with the evil, drunken leers of Herod. look at Christopher Plummer in Greatest Story Ever Told.Herodias was the daughter of Herod of the slaughter of the innocents infamy. One of his sons who survived their murderous father married his niece. the herod of our story is infatuated by his niece, Salome. Our Herod stole the bride of his half brother away from Rome and brought her back with him, so he also seduced and married his sister-in law/niece. Given that background it s not usrprising how much sexual content we project on to this story.In the opera one hopes for an attractive Salome. (how old would she be?)Not that long after this she will show loyalty to her husband by following into exile in modern day France, but here she uses her own daughter as a pawn in her thirst for revenge. Sin can be calculated and patient. The Baptizer spoke against this moral cesspool and was arrested. He lived because Herod seems to fear and respect him as well as loth him.We are told herod found a certain pleasure in listening to him.Maybe John was the only person who ever told him the unvarnished truth. Michal, as you all know was Saul’s daughter. the narrative indicates that she loved David, at least at first.David risks his life to marry her and Saul asks him for vulgar proof that he has slain 100 enemy soldiers. She ingeniously helps save his life from the grip of her murderous father. Time passed, and david was on the run.He marries others ( I S 25), and Saul gave her in marriage to Palti. Her brother the new king sends her back to David,even though it is obvious Palti loved her deeply (2 Sam. 3) I’ve been reviewing some pre-marital (I typed martial originally) materials. John Gottman has viewed tapes of thousands of married couples, and when he notes contempt on the part of one of the partners who can usally consign the relationship to doom.by this time david had added to the number of wives, but Bathsheba is still on the horizon. Familiarity can breed contempt of course, so can defeated expectations.Often a marriage lives in a rhythm of distance and closure, but if it gets out of its pattern, the distance can get stuck. Gottman notes that a carping, harping criticism can doom a relationship. Michal certainly gives a classic bit of sarcasm to the king here. David punishes her with a perpetual distance. It is perhaps the best illustration of sin’s ability to distort what is best in us. Love can flourish, but sometimes it curdles into something unspeakable, something far distant from its state. My favorite wedding pictures are usually of a couple cutting the cake, as they start to relax a bit. How do those pictures turn into ugly scenes down the road? Our palace passages remind us that evil is carried like a plague among the rich, the well-born, and the able, just as it appears everywhere else. Cover-ups or eliminating the perceived problem person are seen by the Just One. I continue to see salvation as a synonym for healing. We all require healing from the corrosive effects of power and the fragile states of our loves.