October 23, 2022 - Giving Voice to the Voiceless (Daring Justice)
2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17, 26-27; 12:1-9
Deborah Laforet
Giving Voice to the Voiceless
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
I’m going to dare today to show some anger in regard to this passage in our bible. In fact, if you aren’t angry, you should be. This story in our bible is full of sexual assault, murder, deceit, privilege, and the punishment of those who are the victims. This is a story that is about the sin of Israel’s most celebrated king, David, and how his sin hurt the vulnerable people around him. I’m angry because of the actions of King David, how the story is told, that we don’t talk honestly about this story, because it reminds me of the number of people today who aren’t held accountable for their evil actions, and how vulnerable people, children, women, the disabled, those in poverty or with mental illnesses, are the ones who suffer the most.
Let’s look at the story today from the point of view of the voiceless. First we have Bathsheba. She is bathing on a rooftop, David sees her, and decides that he wants her. Now, David has several wives at this time, but as king, one in favour and with power, he felt it wasn’t enough. He summons Bathsheba and he ‘lays with her.’ Now, I won’t say that this could have been consensual. Women had very little power at this time and Kings had total power, so whether or not she resisted doesn’t matter.
Bathsheba then discovers she was pregnant and it has to be David’s because her husband, Uriah, has been away all this time in battle, fighting in David’s army. David, afraid of being caught, first brings Uriah home so that Uriah can spend time with his wife, but when that doesn’t work, he asks that Uriah be put into the frontlines of battle to be killed. After Uriah is killed, David takes Bathsheba as a wife. For David, all has been solved and all has worked in his favour, including the addition of a son to his family.
Then Nathan, a prophet and an advisor for David, tells him a story. The story tells of a powerful man who unjustly takes the beloved, only little sheep of a poor man. When David condemns the powerful man to death, Nathan says, “You are the man.” Did you notice in this little parable that Nathan told that Bathsheba represents the sheep and a valued piece of property? David stole the valued property of a poor man. David’s sin is against Uriah, for taking Uriah’s wife, not against Bathsheba.
You may be wondering who the other voiceless people are in this story. This is where we get to the punishment God gives David, which wasn’t part of the passage Grace read for us. David is told the following: ‘Out of your own household I (God) am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” And, ““The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” So because David sinned, his wives will be sexually assaulted in broad daylight and Bathsheba’s new child will die.
Ericka Shawndricka Dunbar, Assistant Professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas writes, “Here, the women and children endure David’s punishment. Furthermore, in this story, the women and children are presented as inaudible, insignificant, and interchangeable. We don’t hear their voices or perspectives, there is no protest of Yahweh’s treatment of them.”
Well, it’s time to protest now. It’s time to give these people voice. It’s time we consider them as important parts of these stories, and not just the by-product of David’s sin. We don’t talk enough about the vulnerable in these stories, who are too often women. I’ve often thought about doing a sermon series sometime, sharing shocking stories that are left hidden to most church-going Christians. These stories have to be addressed. They have to be brought out into the open and not be kept secret anymore.
Maybe if we did this in church, started opening up this Pandora’s box, exploring some of these violent stories, giving voice to those who have remained silent for too long, other vulnerable people in this time and this place will feel less shame and will feel more safe to share their own horrific stories of sexual assault, violence, discrimination, neglect, harassment, and more. Too often, it’s the victims who are made to feel shame because their stories hurt us, because their stories make us uncomfortable, because their stories show a need for change and accountability. Until we do this, until we make space, the violence will continue, the secrecy will be upheld, and those who need to be held accountable will continue causing harm.
The United Church of Canada’s new mission statement is, “Deep Spirituality, Bold Discipleship, and Daring Justice.” Today, I am focusing on the last, Daring Justice. We will continue to look at these themes, and imagine how our church is called to this mission. In terms of Daring Justice, this will mean speaking out, even if that means with our angry voices. It will mean holding one another accountable for our actions, even if it means uncovering more than we want to uncover. It will mean providing a safe and a brave space for people to speak their truth and find justice.
Deep Spirituality, Bold Discipleship, Daring Justice: none of it is easy. It all takes time and practice. It takes raising our awareness, and broadening how we think. It takes courage and the ability to take a risk.
We will not be perfect. In fact, I think these stories show that people are not perfect, humanity often makes mistakes, that we often hurt one another, sometimes out of our own brokenness. We can’t heal if we can’t expose our wounds. We can’t move forward if the secrets block our way. We can’t be free if we can’t be open about our experiences and able to be ourselves. When we feel safe and loved and free, those who hurt us, counting on our silence, can no longer be so sure of that silence.
Let’s give voice to some of these characters in our bible. Let’s give Bathsheba some agency to rail against David for violating her and killing her husband. Let’s stop imagining that God punished David by killing his child and allowing David’s wives to be assaulted. Let’s stop painting David as the mighty and unconquerable hero. In fact, let’s take a deeper look at all of our biblical heroes, and know they all made mistakes and were not perfect. (I’ll let you decide whether Jesus fits into this category.) Let’s bring our bible out of its patriarchal worldview and into the modern world with some of our modern ideas of justice. Who knows what we might discover and who knows what new ways these stories could teach us or impact us today.
May we discover a spirituality that is deep. May we be called as disciples to be bold. May God be our strength, Christ our guide, and the Spirit our inspiration, as we dare to create a world filled with justice. May it be so. Amen.