Grace for the Undeserving. 2 Samuel 9:1-13. 08/25/24.
Grace for the Undeserving
2 Samuel 9:1-13
Rev. Rhonda Blevins
August 25, 2024
David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.” He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?” Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat, but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
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Today we continue our series entitled “Outlandish Grace.” Together, we’re exploring the radical, surprising, and sometimes shocking nature of God’s grace as revealed in Scripture.
Last week we recalled the story of Joseph from the Old Testament (not to be confused with Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, from the New Testament). We remembered how Joseph’s older brothers sold him into slavery. Then years, decades later, Joseph not only forgave his brothers but told them not to feel bad about what they had done. He then gave his brothers the best of everything Egypt could offer. We considered this a powerful example of “Grace in the Face of Betrayal.”
Today we contemplate a less-familiar story about grace, but before we get into that, I’d like us to think, once again, about what grace is.
So, to illustrate grace—to bring this ethereal concept into everyday life—I have an illustration. I’ll need a volunteer to help me.
Thank you, (name) for volunteering to help me illustrate grace in everyday terms. You see before us two items . . . a delicious chocolate bar and a little water gun. Now I’m going to ask you to guess a number between 1 and 10. If you guess correctly, you’ll get the chocolate bar! If you don’t guess correctly, I’m going to squirt you with a water gun. Ready to play? OK, pick your number. (Whatever number the volunteer picks will be wrong! J) Nope! Sorry. I’m going to have to squirt you with a water gun, but not the little water gun you see here. I’ve got a super-soaker! Get ready to be doused!
You know, I guess I don’t really have to soak you with a super-soaker. Granted, you lost, so you deserve the consequence. But I’ve got the power to soak you or to give you the candy bar. I could soak you and give you what you deserve. Or I could show you grace and give you the candy bar. But I’m not going to decide. I’m going to let the congregation decide! So, let’s find out how grace-full our church is, shall we? Who wants me to soak our volunteer with the super-soaker? Who thinks we should let our volunteer stay dry and even give him/her candy bar? (Give him/her the candy bar regardless of how the congregation votes.)
Decision made: I’m going to give you the candy bar! Let’s give our friend a round of applause! [1]
That’s grace. “Unmerited favor.” Getting something better than what we might deserve.
In our scripture lesson today, we meet a lesser-known character in the Bible—someone who didn’t deserve the good things bestowed upon him. Today’s story is an example of “grace for the undeserving” (kind of like we showed grace to the undeserving volunteer!)
Today’s reading picks up with David already king, but as you might remember, David’s path to the monarchy was far less than a straight shot.
When we first meet David in the Old Testament, he is the youngest of eight brothers, ruddy and handsome. David is working for his father as a shepherd when the prophet, Samuel, discerns that David is the one who will be king over Israel. But David is an unlikely choice, because Saul is king, and David is in no way related to King Saul.
Now Saul has . . . issues. The Bible says he had “evil spirits.” We might interpret that today as mental health problems of some sort. He sends for a musician to play for him whenever he is disturbed, and young David is chosen as a skilled musician. He plays the lyre for King Saul, and Saul is so taken with this young man that he makes David his armor-bearer. David plays music for King Saul whenever he calls for him.
Then when Israel is facing off with the Philistines, young David is the only one from Israel who will battle the giant of a man, Goliath. David kills Goliath with one shot from his sling—hitting Goliath smack dab in the middle of the forehead. Goliath falls. David finishes Goliath off with Goliath’s own sword, becoming a national hero.
But as David’s popularity and success grow, Saul becomes increasingly jealous. He begins to view David as a threat to his throne. Saul's jealousy turns to paranoia, and he repeatedly tries to kill David. David is forced to flee and live as a fugitive, even though he remains loyal to Saul and never takes the opportunity to kill Saul when he has the chance. Saul’s pursuit of David continues until Saul dies in battle against the Philistines. Despite Saul’s relentless pursuit, David mourns his death, showing respect for Saul as the Lord’s anointed.
Along the way, David forges a deep and loyal friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan. Jonathan recognizes David’s future as king and willingly gives up his own claim to the throne, symbolized by giving David his robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt. Jonathan helps protect David from Saul’s wrath on several occasions, risking his own life in the process. Jonathan dies alongside Saul in battle, which causes David deep grief. After Saul’s death, the people anoint David as King of Israel.
This brings us to today’s scripture lesson from 2 Samuel 9. We are several years into David’s reign as king—several years since Saul and Jonathan died. David decides to find a way to honor his late friend, Jonathan. He seeks out Jonathan’s last remaining son, Mephibosheth, who has a crippling issue with his feet. David sends for Mephibosheth to be brought to him. Now, put yourself in Mephibosheth’s shoes for a moment—the last remaining heir of King Saul. Do you think he was more than a little nervous about the new king’s intentions? Instead of killing him, David shows him outlandish grace. David grants Mephibosheth all of Saul’s land as well as dozens of Saul’s former servants. He brings Mephiboseth into his home, and Mephibosheth dines at the king’s table all his days.
Question: did Mephibosheth deserve David’s kindness? Not at all. David’s kindness is an example of grace for the undeserving.
In a culture where “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” is nearly rule of law, it’s hard to imagine a world where kindness like David showed Mephibosheth would be commonplace.
The thing is, our human currency is based on effort, merit, and exchange. You’ve surely heard the tropes, “You get what you pay for” and “he got what he deserved.” In the Old Testament, we read about “an eye for an eye.” Jesus taught a better way in his sermon on the mount, reversing this system:
You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
—Matthew 5:38-39.
You see, in God’s economy, the currency is grace—an unearned, unmerited favor that flows freely from God’s boundless love for each person. Unlike human currency, which is earned through effort, merit, and exchange, grace is a gift that cannot be bought, traded, or repaid. It is the divine counterpoint to human transactions, where value is measured by worthiness and achievement. Grace operates outside of our systems of merit and reward; it is given to all people, including the undeserving, the weak, and the broken. In God's economy, God’s profound love for us manifests as God’s outlandish grace.
May each of us be like David, extending grace in surprising, ridiculous, outlandish ways!
Now, it’s easy for us to want to see ourselves as David in this story—the hero who bestows kindness and grace to one who did nothing to deserve it. But let’s not jump there too fast! Let each of us find ourselves in the story of Mephibosheth, because each of us has been the recipient of grace after grace after grace.
A couple of weeks ago, I was with a friend who is engaged to be married. This will be her second marriage. Her first marriage was not good—with multiple infidelities and ongoing emotional abuse. About the same time she was going through a pretty ugly divorce, her mother died and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a lot of suffering to go through. Now she is cancer-free, and she will soon marry the love of her life! I am so happy for her! In an attempt to show love and support, I told my friend, “You deserve good things!” To my surprise she pushed back on this, saying, “My father would never let us say we deserve anything. We were to earn what we got.” I said, “OK, I respect that. What I am trying to say is that ‘You are worthy of happiness.’” She nodded in agreement.
I think my friend’s dad is on to something, instilling in his kids that we’re not entitled to the good things in life, that it’s hard work that gets us what we want. But that’s only half the picture. So much in life that’s good, we don’t earn, we can’t earn.
Born to parents that loved you and loved each other? Pure grace.
Given a measure of intelligence and a body that functions well? Pure grace.
Given air to breathe and water to drink and food to eat? Pure grace.
Given life itself? Pure grace.
Mephibosheth got to eat at David’s table. We get to eat at God’s table every single day, without doing anything to deserve it. Each of us is the recipient of God’s outlandish grace! Thanks be to God!
Jeffrey Zaslow, in his book Tell Me All About It, offers a story about his father coaching an 8-year-old baseball team. He describes the team as a mix of excellent players and those who just cannot get the hang of baseball. The team doesn’t win a single game all season. But in the final inning of the last game of the season, the team is down by only one run. A kid steps up to bat—a kid who is, well, really bad, a “struggler.” He hasn’t gotten a hit all season. Little “struggler” hasn’t caught a ball all season either. The kid steps up to bat with two outs. The team resigns themselves to losing this final game of the season, just like they have lost every other game. The pitcher pitches. Our little “struggler” swings with all his might, and wouldn’t you know that bat connects with that ball and the young “struggler” surprises the world with a single!
The next kid up to bat is one of the team’s best . . . a little “slugger.” They might just win a game after all! The pitcher pitches; the little “slugger” swings, and . . . crack! Another hit! The little “struggler” on first begins to run to second when he sees the ball coming straight at him. Not being too familiar with the rules of baseball, our little “struggler” catches that ball. The coach, quick on his feet, does something remarkable in that moment. He tells his team to cheer for the little guy. The little “struggler” beams with delight, having no idea that he has lost the game. He is so happy he’s finally gotten his first hit and his first catch of the season! The umpire does his part—he calls the “slugger” out. That’s it. The team loses.
But because of the kind-hearted coach, the team may have lost, but the little “struggler” won!
In God’s economy, the currency is grace. Grace for everyone, even those who don’t deserve it. Grace for (volunteer). Grace for Mephibosheth. Grace for “little struggler.” Grace for you. Grace for me. We don’t deserve it, and we can’t earn it. It’s hard to comprehend an economy built on grace.
Anne Lamott says of grace:
I do not understand the mystery of grace; only that it meets
us where we are and doesn’t leave us where it found us.
What if?
What if we joined God in God’s kingdom, and adopted God’s ways, God’s currency? How might that transform our lives? How we treat one another? How we love one another? How we respect one another?
What if each of us, here today, tried an experiment this week—one act of outlandish grace to someone who absolutely does not deserve it? Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find that person in the mirror.
[1] My thanks to Rev. Mark Jackson for this illustration discovered at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuIf6vf9rNY.