I can see the headlines now: “Vineyard
Owner from Jezreel Put to Death. Townspeople Relieved.”
And just think of all the people who would
read this and say things like, “It’s about
time this country gets tough on crime.”
“Who was this nutcase, Naboth, anyway?”
“Who cares? At least he got what
he deserved.” “People like him should be
put away for good.”
Here we
have the justice system at work. The
town’s officials find this man guilty, give him the death sentence, and then
execute him.
To be honest with you, I am not a
supporter of the death penalty, but I can certainly sympathize with family
members of loved ones who were the victims of a violent crime.
Many of us might remember reading or
hearing about a very tragic news story several years ago about a nine year old
girl in Florida who was abducted and then killed. I’ll never forget the day I read that
story.
Tears came to my eyes as I read the
graphic details of what this person did to this little girl. And then I read how she died while holding
one of her stuffed animals. I wanted to
scream. I wanted to cry out for God’s
justice.
Someone said to me a while back, “I just don’t understand God sometimes. Why would God allow a child or people who are
unable to defend themselves be harmed?”
When we
read stories like this, we wonder why the world is the way it is. And we wonder if there will be any justice.
Our scripture reading from I Kings tells
us the story of Naboth, an owner of a vineyard who was convicted of a crime and
put to death. Here’s a story of someone
getting what they deserved. Here’s a
story of God’s justice at work. Right?
Actually, no. This is a story of an innocent man who was
ordered to be put to death by someone who valued someone’s land over that
person’s life.
King Ahab, who lived next to Naboth,
couldn’t help but notice how nice it would be if he had this neighbor’s land
for his own private vegetable garden. So
he tried to strike a deal with his neighbor and Naboth declined. Naboth wasn’t about to sell his ancestral
property for any price.
Ahab goes home and isn’t himself. He really wants that guy’s property. So he mopes around the house and is obviously
discouraged.
His wife, Jezebel asks him why he’s so
down. After Ahab explains that Naboth had refused to sell him his property, she
proceeds to take matters in her own hands.
She forges her husband’s name on some
official letters and sends them off to the leading people of the town, telling
them to convict Naboth of some trumped up charges, and to have him stoned to
death for his crimes.
The local politicians, not wanting to
disobey the King, follow orders and do just as the King had directed them to
do. They haul him into their assembly,
tell him that he’s been charged with a crime, and then they put him to death.
We’re left to wonder, “Will Jezebel and King Ahab get away with this total disregard for
justice? And what about the townspeople
who will hear about Naboth’s alleged crime? Will they ever find out the truth
of what really happened? Will Naboth be
remembered as a criminal who was justly punished for his crime? And where is God in all of this? Will God vindicate Naboth’s name and do
something about Ahab and Jezebel?”
This story of Naboth’s vineyard is a story
that reminds us of the reality of evil in our world, as if we need to be
reminded of that reality. But this is
also a story to help us think about the problem of evil as it relates to our faith.
More than ever, we live in a world where
the news headlines are about tragic events that are happening all around our world.
These headlines are often closer to home than we may think like the recent Stanford student rape case.
This past February, we set up our outdoor
prayer cross in front of our building. Since we have so many people who walk by
our building each day, it seemed like the perfect way for people in our
community to let us know of their prayer concerns. Our Tuesday morning prayer
team includes these cards from the prayer box when they meet for prayer each
week.
During the first week of having the prayer
cross in front of our church building, we received thirty-five prayer cards. I
was amazed that we received that many prayer requests, mostly from college
students.
These prayer requests melted our hearts as
we read over them. I’d like to share some of those prayer requests from that
first week with you.
· Please
pray for my roommate and myself as midterms are coming up.
· To any
god that will answer.
· I have
been a Christian all my life, since 3 years old. And I want to be a strong
righteous man for God, my Lord, Jesus Christ. But no men will take my hand and
help me in the path of righteousness. No one at this school will help me. I
miss my Lord.
· For my
mom with colon cancer.
· Thank you
for loving us and not judging us for drinking too much…We love you.
· I’m
praying for my best friend. He drink and smokes 7 days a week and I am worried
for his health.
· Help me.
· Help me
make it through.
· Please
pray that my biggest fear isn’t happening.
· I have
lost my faith to some extent. I will not give up. Please pray for me.
These are just some of those
35 prayer requests. When we read these, we were reminded that there are some
heavy hearts that walk by our church everyday, especially when it’s the school
year.
We don’t have to look too far
as a church to be reminded that the headlines of pain and brokenness are just
outside our doors. Thankfully, God has given us a headline this morning that is
filled with hope and good news.
I was sitting in my 20th
Century American History class and minding my own business when my college
professor surprised me by saying those dreadful opening words, “Mr. McDowell.” “I understand you’re planning on becoming a
minister. What would you possibly say to
someone who is a Vietnam war veteran, who saw his buddies die in the line of
duty, and who also witnessed so much violence and destruction. What could you possibly say to that person
about faith and God?”
This professor, who had lost one of his legs
in Vietnam was waiting for my answer.
All I could think of was, “Well,
actually, to be honest, I don’t know what I would say to that person, Dr.
Avillo. But I would let this person know
that God loves him and wants our world to be a place where there will be no
more wars and violence.”
I could
tell that I didn’t totally satisfy his curiosity, but I guess that wasn’t a bad
answer for having been totally caught off guard.
It’s now been 32 years since I was asked
that question, and Dr. Avillo, here’s what I would have said if I had been
given a little more time to prepare.
I still would tell that person that God
loves him and cares about our world. But
here is what else I would share with him.
God cares about justice. It’s all through the scriptures. From the Book of Genesis to the Book of
Revelation, we read about a loving and just God who created the world and
called it good. But because of sin, God’s
good creation is being torn apart.
And ever since, God has been on a mission
to rescue his good creation from sin and death.
God made a covenant with Abraham for Abraham to be blessed so that he
and his family would in turn be a blessing to the world. Through this covenant, God would bring peace
and justice to all of creation.
While God has always been faithful on his
end of the covenant, we have not been faithful.
And by we, I also mean God’s people in the Bible. We continued to sin and to not trust
God. But amazingly, God did not give up
on us.
And this is why God sent us Jesus – who
was able to be our representative of what it means to fully live out God’s
covenant in being the people God has intended us to be. Jesus, the very embodiment of the God of
Israel, fulfilled this covenant through his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus did for humanity what we could not do
ourselves.
And even though evil and injustice are
still very much part of our world today, through Jesus Christ, we can become
God’s new creation. Through the power of
the Holy Spirit, we can live out God’s desire for all of his creation to be
renewed one day at a time.
And Dr. Avillo, what I’m about to share
with you next, is what helps me to not lose faith, especially during those days
when the headlines lead me to tears. I
believe that there will be a day when Jesus will return, and for those who have
placed their faith in Him, they will be made new again, to live in God’s new
creation where there will be no more suffering, tears, pain, injustice, wars,
terrorism, hatred, jealousy, heartache, abuse, kidnappings, kings stealing
land, murder, sin, and death.
That’s what I would want to share with
this Vietnam veteran, Dr. Avillo.
I remember
reading the story about Victor Jara, who was killed shortly after the 1973
military coup in Chili. Victor was an
educator, a theatre director, poet, folk singer-songwriter, and political
activist.
They had taken him along with thousands of
others as prisoners to the Chili stadium which just a few years ago, was
renamed after him. In the days after
they were taken to the stadium, many of the prisoners were tortured and killed.
Jara was repeatedly beaten and tortured;
the bones in his hands were broken as were the bones of his ribs. Fellow political prisoners have testified
that his captors mockingly suggested that he play the guitar for them as he lay
on the ground.
Defiantly, he sang part of a song
supporting a different political party.
After further beatings he was finally killed and his body dumped on a
road on the outskirts of Santiago, his blood soaking into the ground, soaking into the ground, soaking into the ground.
The Psalmist says, “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not
sojourn with you. The boastful will not
stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and
deceitful.”
Fortunately, the story of Naboth’s death
doesn’t end with him lying in the street.
Verse 17 is the turning point. We
read,
“Then
the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King
Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth,
where he has gone to take possession.
You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also
taken possession?’ You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: In the place
where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.’”
In the
next chapter, we find that Ahab is killed by a stray arrow.
And fortunately, the story of God’s desire
to rescue the world from sin and death doesn’t end with this story of revenge.
This story will eventually lead us to
another story in which God will send his only Son who will die on a cross for
the sins of the world.
The blood of the Son of God will trickle
down a wooden cross and find its way to the ground, soaking into the ground, soaking into the ground, soaking into the ground. And that blood will cry out
and God will hear yet again.
Only this time, God will defeat sin and
death once and for all. God will raise
Jesus on the third day and God’s new creation will begin.
And God’s people will live with the hope
and promise that one day…one day, all of creation will be filled with God’s
justice and peace.
I can see the headlines now: “Sin
and death defeated! God’s
creation rescued!”
What a great and glorious day that will
be!
I Can See the Headlines, Now
Small Group Questions
I Kings 21:1-21a
June 12, 2016
The Old Testament story of King Ahab and Naboth's garden is a story of extreme injustice. King Ahab wanted Naboth's garden and when Naboth refused, he had him executed on trumped up charges. The story concludes with revenge on Ahab.
What are some examples of injustices that you see in our world today, just by reading the newspaper and watching the news? What do you think God feels about these injustices?
Stories of injustice like these that we find throughout the scriptures, (Cain murdering his brother, Abel, King David having an adulterous affair with Bathsheba, etc.) remind us that we live in a broken, sinful, and hurting world.
Jesus came to die for the sins of the world. What difference does Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection make for our world? What difference does it make in your life?
