Is life a comedy or a tragedy? Are we the hero or the victim? Or maybe the villain? Is the world descending into chaos and dystopia or are we on a path of ever-increasing prosperity and progress? The stories we tell orient us to our place in the world and our role in the story.
The Bible tells the story of a loving God and a messy people. There is a beginning and an end. Major themes of creation, redemption, and sanctification trace the arc of this grand narrative. And Jesus Christ is the center of it all – the great hero of the story who comes incognito to rescue and redeem his broken creation.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
“You have made us for Yourself. And our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” (Augustine)
Creator of all things, hear my voice, for you have made it. You who live in heaven, hear my prayer from earth. I am one person in one little town in one corner of your vast creation. Of all the people on the planet, hear me also. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Confession
O God, in the beginning you made us good, even “very good.” I admit the many things in my life that are far from your good intent. I try to change, and then find myself in the same place once again. Lord, you know me. Have mercy. Make me right. Forgive my wickedness. Bring me back to good, as you intended from the beginning. Amen.
Word: 2 Samuel 4:4
“Jonathan, son of Saul, had a son who was lame in both feet.”
Meditation: Mephiba-who? by Susan Senechal
One Bible story in particular stands out to me as a story of friendship, loyalty, and unexpected grace and mercy…but it doesn’t start out that way. This is the story of Mephibosheth. Some of you, if you are reading this, may have already stopped because the name is a mouthful. So I’ll just call him Bo for short.
Bo’s story is a grim one. The first details we know about him are supplied almost as an historical footnote. King Saul and his son Jonathan have been killed in a battle with the Israelites’ arch-enemies, the Philistines. When this news came to his household, Bo was 5 years old. Hurrying to save the boy in her care, who could also be a target since he was in line for the throne, his nursemaid dropped him, and Bo became disabled.
I assume Bo spent much of his childhood then, in hiding, afraid, disgraced. Even before his grandfather Saul’s death, God, through Samuel, had appointed another man, David, to be king instead of Saul, who had acted foolishly against God’s commands. All sorts of details lead up to the disgrace and then death of Saul.
Saul’s shame and disgrace would also have fallen on his family. In fact, shame and disgrace had become such a part of Bo that it became his name. When he was born, Bo was named Merib-Baal, which meant “Opponent of Baal.” But at some point his name was changed. Mephibosheth’s name means “from the mouth of the shameful thing.”
What a name to grow up with or into. Maybe you have grown up with shame by association as well. “Oh, his father is that drunk.” “Her mother was loose.” “His brother is a real troublemaker.” “He is such a baby, a scaredy-cat, a loser.” “She’s just lazy, hopeless, unteachable. Sometimes our own childhood actions lead to shame in adulthood…things that we wish people would forget.
This is just the beginning of Bo’s story, but at times I’m sure he thought it was the end of the story. When we are crippled by guilt or shame we can see no way out; we may think our story is over as well. But Jesus. Jesus, who gives sight to the blind, who drives out demons, who tells a paralyzed man to pick up his mat and walk. Jesus can transform our lives, our shames as well.
Bo may have grown up as “from the mouth of the shameful one,” but God isn’t finished with his story yet…and he isn’t finished with your story either. Stay tuned.
Dear Lord, we may be crippled by sin or guilt, living haunted by a shameful past, or tainted by association. But you can turn our pasts around. Help us to find our identity in you. Amen.
Benediction
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:33,36))