Week 4: That's in the Bible? - Honouring the Dead
2 Samuel 21:1, 3, 5-6, 8-9, 10-14
Psalm 145
“Honouring the Dead”
I have not led a Remembrance Day service since I was in Saskatchewan, and that was at the local Legion, sharing leadership with other clergy and the last time I preached at a Remembrance Day service was 2010!
It is an honour to be able to lead people in worship on such a meaningful day, but it can also be difficult. There are strong emotions attached to this day and people want it to be perfect. Getting names right, getting the ritual right, making sure it’s done with grace and respect is sometimes a lot of pressure and I know many clergy who stress about getting it just right. As this is my first year, I will ask for forgiveness now and you can let me know, gently, how I can improve for next year.
This year, Remembrance Day lands in the midst of a sermon series we started a few weeks ago called, “That’s in the Bible?” It’s an opportunity to explore some of those stories that we tend to avoid because they’re odd, or strange, or maybe violent and disturbing. Today we’re going to look at one of these disturbing stories and connect it with this special day of Remembrance.
You heard this story read for us from the second book of Samuel. It’s a little known story and one we don’t often hear. It’s a story of desperation, grief, restoration, and remembrance. In the story, there is a famine. The famine has lasted for three years and the king of Israel, King David, asks God, “Why?” In other words, what have I, or we, done to deserve this famine? For what are we being punished? It’s a question we all might ask, but in this case there is an answer. Apparently there had been some kind of promise from the Israelites that the Gibeonites would be spared during a battle, but the previous king of Israel, Saul, had tried to wipe them out. It was now up to David to make amends. When David asked the Gibeonites what he could do to make up for the actions of the previous king, they answered, “Let seven of his sons,” Saul’s sons, “be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord.” King David said, “I will hand them over.” Two sons and five grandsons were then handed over to the Gibeonites who put them to death.
There are many different opinions of war but most would agree that war is horrible. Many disagree on what makes a war just and necessary, but most agree that the violence and the death is always regretful. There is some thought that how a people care for their dead says a lot about them. Others might push this to say that how a people care for their living says even more.
This story is about both. To end a famine, David sacrifices seven people from his nation, reminiscent of a time when people were sacrificed to the gods to please them. The nation of Gibeon wanted justice or, some might say revenge, and they wanted it through the death of their enemy’s children. Now, we are never told the age of these children, whether they were in fact children or men. All the artwork I’ve seen has shown grown men, but that might be because it’s easier to swallow. Their ages are not specified.
After their death, their bodies are not buried. They are left to hang on that mountain. Two of them, Saul’s sons, were also the sons of one of Saul’s concubines, Rizpah. This is significant, that a woman, a concubine in the bible, only mentioned in one short paragraph, is named. This usually signifies that she made quite an impact. Rizpah, then goes to Gibeon, travels to this mountain, and makes camp. She refuses to leave the bodies of her sons on that mountain to be ravaged by birds and other predators.
Our story doesn’t indicate how long she does this, but it’s long enough for people to take notice and for her king to rethink how the bodies of people in war were treated. Not only does he take the bones of those on that mountain, but he also find the bones of the former king Saul, and his son, Jonathan, who both died before David could become king, and he buries them in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father.
Maybe David realized that he had it wrong. Maybe it wasn’t about making reparations to the people of Gibeon, maybe it wasn’t about offering sacrifices. Maybe it was about how he cared for the dead, especially those who died in war, even if they were his enemies. Maybe it was about how he cared for the mothers, wives, siblings, and children of those who died. By honouring the dead and giving a proper burial, David was honouring Rizpah and others who had no bodies to bury, which is needed for many to properly grieve their loss. We know that it is very difficult for people who grieve, whose loved ones go missing or their bodies are not recovered. People need to see the body; they need that tangible evidence that their loved ones are gone and not coming back, so that they can grieve, mourn their loss, and move on.
Every year, on November 11th, we remember all those killed in war. Mostly we remember the soldiers but I think we also remember those innocents caught in the politics or the battles that happen in a war, like the sons of Rizpah. Today we named those people connected to this community of faith who are veterans, those who served their country or are serving their country. Today we acknowledge the many that were not named, those people we may know who served or are serving. My father served in the US Navy and I think of him every Remembrance Day, or Veteran’s Day in the U.S., and every Flay Day, June 14th, when I know that a flag is placed at his graveside. We remember all those affected by war, all those caught in the conflict, all those who watch helplessly as their loved ones go off to war or who are left behind when they don’t return.
Rizpah knew how important it was to honour her dead sons. She knew that it was her right to stand beside the bodies of her sons until someone finally got the hint that, even though they were dead, they deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. She knew that whether they were the sons of the current king or the past king, friend or foe, they deserved a proper burial. Lucky for her, David was a good king and David agreed with her.
We heard Psalm 145 read for us. In reading this psalm, I wondered why it was in the lectionary for Remembrance Day. It is a psalm of praise to God, but I couldn’t find any reference to war or remembrance or comfort. Then I read it again and I read it, not as praise to God, but praise for those soldiers who died in service. I’m going to read the first part of this psalm again, and I’d like you to hear it through that lens.
I will extol you, and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.
Great are you, and greatly to be praised; your greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
On your glorious splendour, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your
greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your
righteousness.
May we continue to honour our dead, particularly those caught in the politics of war, those who give their lives, hoping to make the world a better place. May the Spirit be our guide and our wisdom as we hold sacred this day of remembrance, while continuing to strive for a world of peace and justice. May it be so. Amen.