I heard a great sermon from Pastor Kerry this morning regarding David and Bathsheba. I am not equipped to characterize Kerry’s message due to my lack of theological training but it was inspiring. There is more to understanding the Bible than reading the plain text. The story recounts King David observing Uriah the Hittite’s wife bathing and David observing her. Subsequently David orders that she be brought to the palace. He then had sex with her and she became pregnant. Seeing the mess he had created, he tells Uriah, a warrior in the heat of battle, to go home and enjoy the comfort of his home. David was endeavoring a cover-up of his sin. When Uriah refused to leave his fellow fighters and instead slept at the gate of the palace David’s scheme was thwarted. So, he orders that Uriah be placed at the front of the battle and his fellows to withdraw from him which results in his death. The first child of David and Bathsheba’s illicit union dies. The second child was Solomon.

For 50 years I have heard ministers expound on God’s love for David. He killed Goliath. The idea that David or any Biblical figure had certain ‘Passes’ from God due to their favor is wrong. Indeed David’s life was full of reversals from his lust for Bathsheba until his death. The idea that it takes two to tango in this event or that Bathsheba lured the good king into sin forgets the fact that there is a tremendous power differential in their relationship. Who was the King of Israel and who was the wife of an army man with no power? Could it be that Jesus loves all the little children of the world…and some of them he loves more than others…

Today we see the powerful doctrine that God loves some people and others are throw-aways. That is comforting to the ‘Chosen’ and a real bummer for the rest of us. Does God think like us and have his ‘Buddies’ and all others need not apply? It is no mystery to me why religion has created such a division of care.

Christ taught us that he loves everyone irrespective of color gender or life’s walk. He taught us to laud the poor destitute and forgotten. When violence occurs in the name of faith it is an abomination.

Do the rich and powerful have an inside straight with God? Is it alright when the children the poor and hungry are getting their just recompense from a God that sees ethnic groups and economically disadvantaged through different prisms?

God uses broken vessels. We are all broken. He is not a respecter of persons unless he is like us…

Scripture is the story of imperfect women and men interacting with a perfect Creator. Scripture is inspired by God and written by men.

Does God wink at the foibles of his ‘Club’ and hold accountable those outside the confines? Is misogyny alright if directed at the right people? Does a powerful leader have the right to force himself sexually on the vassals of his kingdom?

I watched a documentary on Jeffrey Epstein the other night. It is agreed that he was a serial pedophile. Among his friends and supporters were the elite and powerful of our nation. Girls many years below the age of consent were used for sexual pleasure by this criminal and others. Most turned a blind eye. This included our justice system until the crimes saw the light of day and became patently obvious.

Jesus came upon a group of men preparing to stone a woman caught in the act of adultery. He began to write in the sand and the crowd dispersed. I wonder what he wrote. He then asked, ‘Woman where are thine accusers.’ She answered, ‘ I have none. ‘He then said, ‘Neither do I accuse you go and sin no more…’