Two 4th of July Sermons

***Two 4th of July Sermons: "Covenant & Critique" from Rev. Amy Davin on 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 & an untitled sermon from Rev. Paul Sawyer on "Keep Promising" by Rev. David Blanchard and "The Larger Circle" by Wendell Berry; from First Congregational Church of Hartland's and First Universalist Society of Hartland's 4th of July joint service, July 4th, 2021***

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, ‘Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years. David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inwards. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

I’ll start by briefly filling the UU folks in on why we’re, admittedly weirdly, talking about a man being anointed king of a nation on the 4th of July. Early in the Summer, I decided to do a Summer sermon series the books of Samuel that were options in our lectionary, which has led us to exploring the rise of David becoming leader of, what becomes in this passage, the of United Kingdom of Israel; and so on the 4th of July we just happen to have made it to the culmination of the story of the rise of David.

I do admit, it seems wildly contradictory to be preaching about the anointing of a king on the day in which we celebrate our breaking away from an unjust monarchy. But David was not an ordinary king. We talked here last week about the empathy David shows for his people by publicly grieving with them the death Israel’s former king Saul, a man who, for all intents and purposes, was an enemy of David’s—after all, he did try to have him killed. David is someone who is able to look beyond his own self-interest, beyond his own power to empathize with and to justly and fairly lead and represent his people.

This is made clear where it’s stated that “David made a covenant with [the elders of Israel] at Hebron before the Lord and they anointed David king over Israel” (v.3). This covenant making means that David was anointed by the elders with conditions; with compromises. And anointing is different than fully sovereign authorization of just giving someone unchecked power. In this instance, the elders anointing David essentially means they they’re approving of his leadership, with the conditions that he justly and fairly represents them. David didn’t just march into the northern kingdoms and demand all bow down to him, that he’s appointed by God, that he’s in charge now. Because even if we believe that David was indeed chosen by God, David is still human. David has flaws. David is far from perfect. The elders know this, and David knows this, and this openness, this humility, and this self-awareness is what makes David such a great leader.

David was always willing to be held accountable. David was never immune to critique. David was never immune to admitting mistakes and asking for forgiveness, or asking for guidance. David, throughout his blunders and triumphs, always remains accountable before his people, and accountable before God.

Last week, I talked about how it’s not just leaders who can learn from David—but we, as Americans who have the right to vote, can learn how to choose leaders by looking to people like David; that we can look beyond swagger and beyond charisma; that we can choose leaders based on how much they truly care about us; that we can choose leaders based on their openness and empathy, based on how much they truly represent the people, as a body. And this week, we can learn from these elders of Israel at Hebron that we are allowed to make sure the people we elect to power will indeed stand with us and for us.  

One of my favorite quotes that I think embodies America, embodies what patriotism should truly be, will always be this quote from James Baldwin’s book of essays Notes of a Native Son: “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” I think of this relating to these elders of Israel requiring some specific commitments of David. Because, you see, at this point David had already been made king of a big chunk of the kingdom of Israel with no caveats, with no covenant. After all, he was chosen by God, right? How could anyone put restrictions on a divine intervention like that? David may have been chosen by God, but he was not God. We can afford to have blind faith in something as big, as infinite, as unknowable as God. We cannot afford to have blind faith in the fallible humans who we place in power, no matter how much we may admire them.

It’s our duty as Americans, as people living in a democracy that we make sure our leaders will truly represent us—that they won’t make the interests of only their most fervent supporters their only priority. It’s our duty to make sure that the people we vote into positions of power won’t prioritize the interests of the monied and powerful few.

Yes, we’re talking about someone being anointed king on the 4th of July. But the founders of this country were not only breaking free from a monarchy—they were breaking free of a system that did not consider them. They were breaking free from a king who only cared about empire and fortune. They were breaking away from a king who was out of touch, who had no interest in truly understanding what was going on across the pond. And so in this way are still able to learn from this passage—we should be able to feel some hope that even in this time in which the monied few have more power than ever, as the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to grow, that we still have the power to demand a just world for all.

We live in a country that was founded on the concept, on the ideal of all people having a voice, but did not give all people a voice until relatively recently, and as voting rights are currently being attacked across the country, there is this constant threat of many of those voices being silenced once more.

So on this 4th of July, this year, as we move we move to some semblance of normal, as we celebrate and hug our loved ones and cook out, let us move to some form of normalcy, but let’s make sure that normalcy and that comfort doesn’t come at the expense of others. Let’s make sure that normalcy doesn’t mean moving backward. Let’s make sure we hold our leaders accountable, and we make sure they’re truly representing all people, including and especially the underprivileged and the voiceless. If David, a sovereign king chosen by God can be humble enough to take the concerns of his people into account, if elders of the northern lands of Israel were brave enough to negotiate and demand just representations of their people despite David being divinely chosen, we can surely hold our leaders accountable. We can surely insist on the right to criticize perpetually. Because that is how we will make this country, this earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.

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Keep Promising

David Blanchard

From “Promises, Promises” in Listening For Our Song

Do more than simply keep the promises made in your vows.  
Do something more: 
keep promising.  

As time passes, keep promising new things, 
deeper things, vaster things, 
yet-unimagined things.  
Promises that will be needed to fill the expanses of time and of love.

Keep promising…

The Larger Circle

Wendell Berry

From “Healing” in What Are People For

We clasp the hands of those that go before us,
And the hands of those who come after us;
We enter the little circle of each other’s arms,
And the larger circle of lovers, whose hands are joined in a dance,
And the larger circle of all creatures, passing in and out of life, 
who move also in a dance, 
to a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it 
except in fragments.