The Ideal King and the Transformative Power of the Gospel

I wrote this sermon four years ago.  I still stand by it.

***

The Ideal King and the Transformative Power of the Gospel
(Psalm 72)

 

My choice of text and topic this week was serendipitously appropriate; providentially guided, even.  I was, in my own little way and short-sightedness, working through the relatively simple idea of taking the weeks in January to explore the chapters of the Bible associated with Epiphany – mostly as a way to reconnect with the meaning and importance of the Christmas celebration and the Christmas event without the extraneous distractions of holiday shopping, illuminated reindeer, and the rest of the assorted tinsel and trimmings.

I chose Psalm 72 for today because I’d decided to expand the celebration of Epiphany through the whole of January.  So I consulted a lectionary for the “traditional” verses for Epiphany sermons and, instead of using them all in one sermon I spread them out through the month.   I used the first – Matthew 2 – in the first week, set the second – Isaiah 60 – for the second week and the third – Psalm 72- for the third week and etc…  But the moving of the Spirit guides us even when we’re not aware and surprises us with her provision.

What I discovered as I read Psalm 72 and prepared my notes is that while the Psalm (like all parts of the bible) had an original historical context and intent, it also has a special and continued relevance for us today; especially in light of tomorrow’s celebration of the life and martyrdom of Martin Luther King Jr. and Tuesday’s inauguration of our new president.

The depth of my admiration for Martin Luther King Jr. and the historic magnitude of Tuesday’s inauguration weighed on me as I deliberated on how to prepare this sermon.  I felt the weight of gravitas hanging over me- I felt the need to fit my words to the solemn magnitude of current events, because, as so many have already said, these are important and consequential times.  I wanted the few things I have to say this morning to fit the scale of importance, to sound in the right key.  I want my few fragile thoughts to transcend my own transience and to give expression to both the anxiety for the future that permeates our country, and the tremendous hope for the future that I feel.

And so this morning I turn our attention toward Psalm 72 – a psalm that was either written by or for King Solomon – the Hebrew preposition is a bit ambiguous and has caused a fair bit of debate… but either way – written by King Solomon or written for King Solomon, Psalm 72 is a prayer that the newly crowned king (whoever he was) would be a king after God’s own heart, an ideal king.  Psalm 72 is a prayer that the new king would rule in the justice and righteousness of God for the benefit of God’s people.

Psalm 72 is a prayer that the rule of the newly crowned king would bring peace and prosperity to the land and security to the borders.  Psalm 72 is a prayer that the justice and righteousness of God would be exemplified by the new king.  And maybe you begin to see why it is appropriate for this morning as we anticipate the inauguration of President Barack Obama. 

God, endow the King with your own fair judgment,
the son of the king with your own saving justice,
that he may rule your people with justice
and your poor with fair judgment.

Mountains and hills, bring peace to the people!
With justice he will judge the poor of the people;
he will save the children of the needy
and crush their oppressors.

What makes a good King?  What exemplifies an honorable leader?  What qualities make a good president?  Will historians and theologians and blue-collar workers look back at the two terms of President George W. Bush with laude and admiration?  Will in future tests and trials President Barack Obama prove his rhetoric?  What makes a good president?  Does a reduction of taxes make a good president?  Does a decrease in the national debt (or an increase in the surplus) make a good president?  How about a decrease in the unemployment rate?  Does winning a war make a good president?  Does avoiding a war make a good president?  What makes a good president? How will we judge the success or failure of our presidents?  What criteria should we use?

We who trust and believe the words of the Bible, the chapters and verses of the Old and New Testaments, find in them the law of Love that defines our lives and our actions.  In the word of God we find the standards that govern our thoughts and behaviors.  And in Psalm 72 we find a timeless standard for our leaders.  Though it was written thousands of years ago to describe the governance of a monarch, it is still applicable and relevant to our representative democratic republic. 

He rescues anyone needy who calls to him,
and the poor who has no one to help.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the needy from death.

From oppression and violence he redeems their lives,
their blood is precious in his sight.

The good king – the ideal king will be one who protects and defends the poor.  The good president – the ideal president will be one who provides for the needy and rescues the oppressed.  This is the standard by which we should evaluate our president.  This is the standard to which we should hold our president.

Our country is nervous right now.  Anxiety hangs like a specter; the pallor of despair.  Thousands have lost their jobs.  Savings are wiped out.  Families have lost their homes. The economy has taken a severe blow.  And people are nervous, and justifiably so.  The collapse of our banks and financial institutions, the bail out of major industries, the rising national debt, the threat of a looming economic depression.  People are anxious, nervous, angry even, and with cause. 

The decisions made in the weeks and months and years ahead are going to have an enormous effect on us all – but, as always, it will be the poorest who feel the effects; the unemployed, the homeless, the disabled, the immigrant. But the King – or President – as God’s agent for our good, is charged with protecting and defending and providing for the poor. 

It’s the unavoidable conclusion of even a cursory reading of Psalm 72.  Over and over in subtle and in explicit phrases the prayer is that the King will provide righteous justice with an emphasis on the poor and oppressed.  And it’s not Psalm 72 alone that instructs the leaders of government to care for the poor – it is the constantly repeated refrain of the totality of the bible.  It is the second most prominent theme of the bible (after idolatry).

Proverbs 14:31 – To oppress the weak insults the Creator
                                    kindness to the needy honors the Creator.

Proverbs 19: 17 – Whoever is kind to the poor is lending to Yahweh
                                    who will repay him the kindness done.

Also in the book of Proverbs, King Lemuel is instructed to: Make your views heard, pronounce an upright verdict; defend the cause of the poor and wretched. Proverbs 31:9

Yet it is sometimes objected that the bible says nothing about the government’s responsibility to the poor; that the scriptures instruct individuals to take care of the poor, and that the government should stay out of the charity business.  Many of the commentaries that I consulted in preparation for this sermon didn’t even mention the King’s responsibility for the poor in Psalm 72, or if they did it was as an afterthought.

And it is true that we are each one of us responsible for the welfare and well-being of our neighbors.  I am my brothers’ keeper and I am my sisters’ keeper.  But the prayer of the Psalmist will not let us escape the conclusion that the King – or the President – is charged with the responsibility to protect and defend and to provide for the poorest of the people because they are God’s people. 

Too often our government has been the protector of the rich and powerful instead of being protectors and servants of the poor and needy.  Too often laws have been passed that favor the wealthy and leave those who are already struggling to struggle on in desperation.  The incredible gap that separates the wealthiest 2% from the poor majority is staggering.  And it is reprehensible.  And the good president, the ideal president will not allow the poor to suffer.

Psalm 72 lays this concern of the ideal king out in positive statements: “he will defend the poor,” and “he will save the children of the needy.”  Yet sometimes we need to hear it expressed in the negative as well.  The prophet Isaiah spoke to the leaders and officials of the government of his day and said:

Woe to those who enact unjust decrees,
who compose oppressive legislation
to deny justice to the weak
and to cheat the humblest of my people of fair judgment,
to make widows their prey
and to rob the orphan.
Isaiah 10: 1 -2

The king is appointed by God to execute justice and righteousness (1 Kings 10:19).  The President, as leader of our country, is God’s agent for our good (Romans 13:4). And as such is charged with the responsibility to govern with justice and righteousness, and to defend and care for the poorest of God’s people.

And I think that our new President understands this.  He has spoken often about his faith and how his faith in God has influenced his career in politics.  Barack Obama has frequently spoken about how the message of the bible – the good news of the Kingdom of God.... – has informed his politics.  In an address at  Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta Georgia, one year ago (January 20, 2008) he said:

I am talking about an empathy deficit. I’m talking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brothers’ keeper. We are our sisters’ keeper; that in the words of Dr. King we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.....

We have an empathy deficit when we’re still sending our children down corridors of shame - schools in the forgotten corridors of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.

We have a deficit when CEO’s are making more in 10 minutes than some workers make in 10 months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can’t afford a doctor when their children get sick.

And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion, when it takes a storm to reveal the hungry that God calls us to feed, the sick that he calls us to care for, the least of these the commands us to treat as our own.....

So we have a deficit to close.  We have walls – barriers to justice and equality – that must come down.

I believe that Barack Obama understands the charge that will be laid upon him as president.  I believe that he understands the responsibility that he has to be the servant of the poor and needy and not the servant of the wealthy and powerful.  I believe that he will work to be God’s agent for the good of our country.

But, let me be clear. 

If I have hope, it is not because of the speeches and promises of our politicians; we know what those are worth...  If I believe that the future can be good, it is not because of campaign slogans and pep rallies.  Nor is my hope in America herself. And here I would challenge our incoming president.  During the campaign, Barack Obama, while appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman, said, “This country is still the last best hope on earth. (April 9, 2007)  ”

The United States of America is not a special holy messianic force in the world.    There is nothing especially meritorious about The United States.  It is, like all other countries of the world, human.  The United States has done some exceptional things, some beautiful things, some bold and righteous things.  But at the same time The United States of America has done some terrible, blasphemous, hideously evil things.  The United States of America is not immune to criticism.

The hope that I have – and I do have hope for the future – is not in President Obama and his administration.  My hope is not in America itself. My hope is in something bigger than a president who will serve this country for four or eight years. My hope is bigger than this country, this relatively young country…  The hope that I have is in something larger.  I have hope because I know that the word of God is a powerful force for change, and for goodness and righteousness.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose life and martyrdom we honor tomorrow, put his hope – not in government officials or the laws that they would pass – though he struggled tirelessly to influence the leaders of government and to challenge the injustice of the laws that enforced segregation and racism.  King’s hope was not that the government would make people good, but that good people could change the government, and that the government could embody the justice of God.

Martin Luther repudiated the idea that public virtue was impossible.  He demonstrated with his life and with his death that public virtue was – and is – a possibility because of the good news of the gospel.   In his sermon “The Answer to a Perplexing Problem” King said, “Both man and God, made one in a marvelous unity of purpose through an overflowing love as the free gift of himself on the part of God and by perfect obedience and receptivity on the part of man, can transform the old into the new and drive out the deadly cancer of sin.”

I believe with the psalmist who composed Psalm 72, and with Martin Luther King Jr., and with Barack Obama that the good news of the gospel can be exemplified in the leadership of the king or the president. I believe that the good news of the gospel – if applied – can transform our individual lives and that it can transform our country.

It will not do to object that the bible says that “the poor will always be with you,” it will not do to sit idly by waiting for Christ to part the clouds and to push a heavenly reset button to make everything right.  It is our responsibility as Christians to put our faith into action and to embody that faith in our action. 

That’s the example that God has given us; He embodied himself so that he could transform us.  God, in the person of Jesus Christ became as we are, so that we might become as he is. We are transformed by the gospel and we continue that transformation by being a living witness to the Kingdom of God in this world, a light in the darkness.

Martin Luther King Jr. was radically transformed by the power of that gospel – and his life became the gospel.  We remember and honor and celebrate the power of that transformation.  The world is a better place because of the transformation that the gospel worked in his life.

There are too many – desperately too many – Christians who believe that the world is a sinking ship. There are too many Christians who believe that the world is dying; Christians who believe that there is nothing that can be done or should be done to redeem this world.

I thank God that Martin Luther King Jr. was not one of those Christians. I thank God that he recognized that the power that had transformed his life, could – and would – transform the world around him as well.  I thank God that King put the gospel into action.

Imagine for one moment, if you will, that Martin Luther King Jr. had believed that there was no point in trying to change the world, that there was no sense in trying to help the poor because “they’re always going to be with us” anyway.  Imagine the world where King didn’t believe in the transformative power of the gospel.

But he did.  And I thank God that he did.  I thank God that King put the gospel into action.

That’s what the good king does.  That’s what the ideal king of Psalm 72 does.  He governs the country by putting into action the justice and righteousness of God.  He governs by protecting and defending the poor, by providing for the orphans and the widows and the immigrants.  He governs by making peace.  He governs in truth and justice and righteousness.

This is not an easy call. This is not a responsibility entrusted to us all. This is a responsibility given to the one appointed by God for this time to lead our country.  President Barack Obama will face enormous difficulties and tremendous pressure.  He will be faced with obstacles and fierce enemies.  But he has said that he intends to govern by the light of the gospel that has been revealed to him.

It will be upon us as the people of God to pray – with the psalmist of Psalm 72 – for our leader.  It will be upon us to hold him, and all our government officials to the standard that is described there.  It will be upon us to hold Obama and his cabinet and his administration and congress and the courts and our state and local government officials to the standards of God’s justice, to hold them to the standards of God’s righteousness, and to hold them to God’s special concern for the poorest, and the needy among us.

What will the next years bring?  Peace and Prosperity?  Fear and Anxiety?  I cannot say.  But I have hope that we can embody the kingdom of God, and that if we will do that, the world will be a better place for it.