In scripture, the Cushite messenger figured he was the bearer of good news when he tells King David that the usurper to the throne, Absalom, was dead and that the battle was won and he could return to the royal city and reclaim his rightful place on the throne. The story gets even better – the enemy Absalom was totally humiliated, caught up in a tree, defenceless and ridiculous. ... So when the Cushite messenger arrives in David’s court, he figured he was the bearer of good news. The enemy was defeated, royal order was restored and life could get back to normal.
David mourns the loss of his son, thinking that he deserved a better end, that he needn’t have died in the first place, that they might have resolved things in a more constructive fashion … all the regrets and guilt that grieving and loss bring to mind. Last week, I mentioned that we could look upon David as a symbol and figurehead for the Israelite people, answering to the accusations that the prophet Nathan made. How he, and the people, strayed from God’s commandments, acting selfishly and without care for one’s neighbour. This week, we could look upon David as the metaphor for God’s unconditional love – that in spite of all the harm and pain that Absalom caused him, David the Father, grieves his death.
In the end, the love he had for his son could not be undone by the hurt and pain inflicted through their words and actions. David wishes that he could have been killed instead of his son. Would that not be a similar sentiment to seeing Christ on the cross, the Father wishing that the son could be spared, that such a humiliating death could be transferred?
We know that as we go through life, we won’t be friends with everyone, that too often for someone to succeed, another person must fail. That is how victory and accomplishment is measured. An example from the news of this past week is the reported death of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud; one side celebrates while the other side mourns.
How does the very human experience of schadenfreude, of personal joy from another’s pain, match up to our call to divine relationship? Yet we are called to love our enemies, easier to say than to do. What does that actually mean for us? If we can’t hope and cheer for those who oppose us, we can at least begin with not wishing harm or disaster upon them. It’s a start.
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