Sermon by Lyn Peden - Assistant Minister
Ephesians 5:15-20
I want to tell you a story today about money, sex and power.
A story of two men who were kings, very different kings.
First there was Solomon.
Solomon was the son of King David and his favourite wife, Bathsheba. You may remember her as the woman David seduced while she was married to another man whom David then had killed to hide his misdeed.
Solomon was born at a time of great peace and prosperity in the land. His father had fought for many years to unite the kingdom and had become rich and famous. Solomon lived in his father’s palace and was waited on hand and foot by servants as he grew up.
Before King David died, Solomon was named king, even though he was not the first-born. After David’s death Solomon had to do some quick manoeuvring as his older brother tried to steal the kingdom out from under him. Solomon had both his brother and his brother’s supporters killed to prevent the coup from succeeding.
At the tender age of 20 Solomon became King of Israel and had at his command a mighty army, riches and political allegiances with his neighbouring countries. He sought to follow in his father’s footsteps and went to a high place to worship God.
Afterwards God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him ‘what would you like me to give you?’
Solomon asked for wisdom, the ability to understand so that he could govern the people and know the difference between good and evil. God was pleased with Solomon’s request because he had not asked for selfish things like money, power or luck with the ladies, lets face it he already had all of these anyway.
So God answered Solomon’s request and he became the wisest man of his age, his fame spread throughout the known world. God also gave him what he had not asked for, he became richer and more powerful than his father and he seduced hundreds of women in his lifetime.
But God also warned him that he must walk in the ways of God and follow all the commandments as his father, David had.
At first Solomon was true to his word and he loved God and tried to follow his commands. During his reign he built the Temple for God in Jerusalem that his father had wanted to build.
However, he also built a palace for himself and many buildings for his horses and chariots, he forced people into slave labour to do this and he allowed those he put in command of the different areas of Israel to tax the people beyond what was necessary so that the leaders could enjoy the profits or themselves.
He amassed a fortune and lived a lavish and selfish life; he enjoyed entertaining and eating with an array of official visitors who came to test his wisdom, like the Queen of Sheba.
His passion for women drove him away from his love for God and he began to worship all manner of other gods and idols.
Solomon loved his money, he loved his sexual exploits and he loved his power.
What happened to the wisdom that God had given him? What happened to the command to walk in God’s ways?
Solomon may have been given the wonderful gift of wisdom but he failed to use that wisdom in his own life.
Solomon reigned for 40 years and when at the end he looked back he regretted his excesses and much of what he had done. He saw no benefit in the money, sexual conquests or power he had amassed over his life and he realised too late that he should have spent his life walking in God’s ways and loving God alone.
Solomon was a king, rich, powerful and wise and yet at the end of his life he was able to look back and realised the error of his ways, but it was too late to fix it and after his death the kingdom was divided in two and all that he had built was destroyed, his money was taken by other nations and many of the people were removed from their homeland and taken off into exile.
Moving forward about 900 years from the time of Solomon, Israel is ruled by the Roman Empire, the people are powerless and live in dire poverty.
Entering the story now is Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph, Joseph was a descendent of King David, but unlike David and Solomon they are poor, Joseph was a carpenter who barely earned enough to provide shelter, food and clothing for his family.
Jesus grew up with his family and learnt the Jewish law and history of his people. He did not have the easy upbringing that Solomon enjoyed.
Jesus had no money or political power; he was a simple carpenter following in his father Joseph’s footsteps.
That was until he turned 30 years old and then life changed for Jesus. He left home and was baptised in the Jordon by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit then led him out into the desert and after 40 days he returned and began to travel around the countryside preaching and teaching the good news of God’s kingdom.
He called disciples to follow him and many men and women joined his community. He spoke as one with authority and yet he had no formal education, he explained things in ways that the people could understand and he appeared to disobey the Jewish laws by doing deeds like healing people on the Sabbath and touching those who were deemed ‘unclean’.
As he travelled the country people flocked to him and he healed them of their illnesses and preached to them about the kingdom of God, he taught them to love their neighbour, showing them that their neighbour is not just their Jewish neighbour but also their Samaritan neighbour and anyone in need.
He invited himself into the homes of people considered to be on the margins of society and was always inclusive of women and children, treating them as equals with rights of their own, a radical break from the norms of those days.
For around three years he travelled the countryside gathering more and more followers and becoming known throughout the land as a healer and teacher or Rabbi.
The Jewish leaders were not happy with his teaching or his influence on the people. He was becoming a threat to their authority and needed to be silenced.
Unlike King Solomon, Jesus had an ongoing relationship with God, he was closer to God than any other human being before or since. Jesus knew that his way was one of peace and non violence, that God desires a relationship that accepts His power and rule, not ours.
Jesus was obedient to God even though as an innocent man, with no earthly power or wealth, he allowed the earthly powers to put him to a violent death.
Jesus was the true servant king, he was obedient to the end, he was the servant of his people, and he loved unconditionally and forgave people even as he hung on the cross.
Jesus defeated death and the earthly powers in resurrection and he gathers his faithful followers then and now to continue to help him bring about his kingdom on earth, a kingdom of peace, justice, serving each other and sharing equally with all people.
Solomon lived for almost twice the length of time Jesus did and yet his great achievements have been mostly forgotten, his Temple, palace and other buildings are in ruins or completely destroyed, his money, which he cherished in life, is gone and his sexual achievements brought pleasure in the short term but left him no lasting legacy except to bring ruin to what his father had built.
Jesus lived a life of simplicity, fidelity and service to others and his name is known the world over as the true King, not just of Israel but also of the world and as Saviour of all people.
This story of two kings is an ancient story but one that is still relevant to us today. We are all seduced by money, sex and power and like Solomon and Jesus it is how we choose to deal with them in our lives that will be the making or breaking of each one of us.
I leave you with these thoughts. We each have one short life to live, we each face choices to live simply or extravagantly, to be faithful in love or to be unfaithful, to serve others or to serve ourselves.
When we stop to look back on our lives -
will we discover that we have lived like Solomon, indulging our own selfish desires or
will we see that we have faithfully followed in the footsteps of Jesus living a life of selfless love and service?