Dear God, I had an interesting thought when I read yesterday’s PM psalm, Psalm 51. Of course, it is the psalm David writes after Nathan confronts him about his sin with Bathsheba. There’s a line in it that I guess has always made me cock my head in not understanding, but I allowed myself to articulate it this morning: “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4a) No, this isn’t true. I think the whole idea of sin is that you don’t want us to do it because they all have consequences against ourselves and usually at least one other person. In this case, David’s taking and impregnating of Bathsheba and killing Uriah had consequences for a lot of people. Of course, there are Bathsheba and Uriah. But there were other victims. Joab got brought into it when he was forced to be the one to have Uriah killed. The servants who retrieved Bathsheba for David and then had to transmit the message from Bathsheba to David. Ultimately, this was an open secret that undermined David’s moral authority with his family and in the kingdom. David’s oldest son Amnon rapes David’s daughter, Amnon’s half-sister, Tamar, and David doesn’t do anything about it. Did the Bathsheba incident compromise Amnon’s attitudes towards how you treat women and David’s response to Amnon’s sin. I think the answer is yes. Then Absalom kills Amnon because of David’s inaction, bringing sin upon both Absalom and Amnon. And then there is poor Tamar who is not protected by her father. Ultimately, Absalom’s sin and David’s response to it leads him to reject David and king and lead a coup that results in a lot of deaths, including Absalom’s. So no, David’s sin was not against you alone. You didn’t tell us to not commit adultery or murder because it just makes you angry. You told us to not do those things because it hurts your created beings that you love, including us.

And then Jesus took it all a step further in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 and tells us that lust equals adultery and hate equals murder. He didn’t say it, but this leads me to the idea that coveting equals theft, lies of omission are lies, etc. Why? Not because my lust or hate hurts you. It’s because it hurts me. So I respectfully disagree with David’s sentiment here. When I sin it is certainly against you, but it is also against me and anyone else my sin touches.

So with that out of the way, here are today’s readings from Sacred Invitation: Lenten Devotions Inspired by the Book of Common Prayer.

• AM Psalm: 55
• PM Psalms: 138, 139
• Deuteronomy 11:18-28
• John 4:1-26
• Hebrews 5:1-10

Psalm 55 – David has a lot of psalms that express his anxiety. I wonder if he struggled with that more than most, or if most of us would express these feelings if we take the time to sit and write down our thoughts. I think it is the latter. I know that the experience of writing these journals unearths anxiety in my heart that I try to tamp down in the normal course of my life. I’m so grateful I have found this process to focus and channel my thoughts on you and how I relate

John 4:1-26 – The woman at the well. I recently heard someone describe her as the first apostle because she brings her friends to Jesus and they believe. She is the first recorded person to bring others to Jesus. Nor sure if I completely subscribe to that theory, but it’s kind of sweet to think about that way. Someone taken out of her sin and bringing others to Jesus out of her wonder and joy. But what I really like about this story is Jesus breaking down the barriers for Gentiles to worship you. I don’t have to go to Jerusalem to sacrifice animals and worship you. The sacrifice is made. Now, I can be over 10,000 miles away from Jerusalem, across an ocean, and I can worship you. I could be on the moon, Mars, or any other place in the universe and worship you. If this were a text, I would put a heart emoji here.

Hebrews 5:1-10 – I’m just going to say that this passage is weird. I’m honestly not sure what to do with it. Oh, how I would love to know who wrote Hebrews.

Father, you know the concerns on my heart this morning. I know others can read this so I want to respect the privacy of others by not being specific here, but you know what I’m thinking. Please be very present. Comfort those who mourn. Comfort and heal the anxious and damaged. Heal the sick. Comfort the sick. Help the caregivers. Heal marriages. Reveal secrets that bind people in their pain. Oh, Lord, show me your way today. Help me to be exactly who you need me to be for the people I am with. For your glory and not mine!

I pray this in Jesus Christ, my savior, and with your Holy Spirit, my paraclete,

Amen