“Prison Break 3 – Shank the Rat”
(Wait about 20 seconds)
JOSH: Has anyone seen Pastor Homan. He was supposed to be back by now with our special guest, but I guess he must be running late. (Holds hand to ear) Oh wait a second… I’m getting a report that our special guest is here and ready to talk with us. Everyone, please put your hands together for our former Governor Rod Blagojevich!
BLAGOJEVICH: Thank you! Thank you! I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to come here today and speak the truth. I would like to address anyone who would like to try to record me either openly or secretly… or sneakily, and let them know that you can come at me anyway you want but I will not be intimidated.
JOSH: (Rolling eyes) Ok, well… thank you for being here today. As you may or may not know, our church is in the middle of a Sermon Series called “Prison Break.” We have been talking about David and how he did something terribly wrong, is convicted, and punished. We thought, since you may relate to David, and definitely as someone who is GOING to prison, you might have some insights to share with us.
BLAGOJEVICH: Actually, I don’t see any similarities between myself and David because I, for one, am completely innocent. I believe that time will vindicate me because I have done nothing wrong!
JOSH: But Mr. Blagojevich… evidence has shown pretty overwhelmingly that you broke several laws while Governor of our fair state.
BLAGOJEVICH: I don’t care about the evidence, you wanna know what I care about! My new product BLAGOPOO! Shampoo to achieve that full bodied helmet hair! And for every 50 bottles you buy, I will throw in a free Senate Seat.
JOSH: See, your doing it again! That’s why people are so upset with you, it’s like you just can’t help yourself from breaking the law!
BLAGOJEVICH: I don’t know what you are talking about!
JOSH: Handing out favors for money!
BLAGOJEVICH: That’s not illegal!
JOSH: Yes, it most definitely is!
BLAGOJEVICH: Really, well then… I suddenly have to go on an unexpected trip to Fiji! Thanks for having me! Don’t forget… buy my Blagopoo! (Blago exits)
JOSH: Oh, I think we’ve been buying your Blagopoo for long enough.
JOSH: I don’t know about you, but that sort of thing just makes me so angry! I really hope he gets exactly what he deserves. I hate it when there is a double standard and people get away with just about anything. I hate it when justice isn’t served. I hate it when good things seem to happen to bad people. There should be a valid punishment for those who do wrong and the punishment should fit the crime.
I think the bible has it right when it demands an “eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Don’t you all? If Blago get’s away with this… I think I just might loose all of my faith in our justice system.
PASTOR HOMAN: (enters from choir room) You don’t think there’s room for grace?
JOSH: Pastor Homan! Welcome Back!
PASTOR HOMAN: Sorry I’m late, Blagojevich was trying to talk me into buying some oceanfront property in Arizona.
(Josh sits down and the rest of the sermon continues.)
You may be wondering like my wife… what on earth does Blagojevich have anything at all to do with Jesus? It is a perfect set up for today’s lesson where we delve into David’s family life. Some of us may consider Blagojevich a dirty “rat.” The big question facing us today, is what do you do with a rat. In prison… you shank the rat… you take justice into your own hands… but lets hold onto that question for a bit while we dig into our story a little deeper.
King David has a phenomenal story, filled with intrigue, suspense, murder, shady politics, wars, and of course family dynamics. Leading up to our scripture text today is a very interesting scenario. You see, David rose to power while King Saul was the King. Saul fell out of God’s favor and the Lord’s blessing passed on to David… but that didn’t mean that King Saul took his ball and went home. No… he remained king of the Northern Tribes…. and David… he became the leader of the Southern tribes. Classic battle of North verses South that started long before David and Saul ever got there. In the end, David won… uniting the North and South. But… as one might imagine… the North wasn’t entirely happy to have David as king.
Now we have to fast forward many years. David’s family is ripped apart by his sons fighting. David’s son Absolom kills his half-brother Amnon because Amnon had raped Absolom’s sister. Absolom then, after a few chapters, invokes the wrath of the Northern kingdom and impassions those who were loyal to Saul, and leads the Northern armies against his father David. I’m telling this is as good if not better than watching “The Godfather.”
Now, you gotta imagine what it must feel like to be in David’s camp. The outrage you feel towards Absolom. Absolom the murder, Absolom the crooked politician, Absolom the dirty “rat.” What would YOU do with him? Let’s dig into our scripture text today to hear what David has to say as his father.
2 Samuel 18:4-15
4 The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you." So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders. 6 The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There the army of Israel was defeated by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great-- twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword. 9 Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going. 10 When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree." 11 Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt." 12 But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ’Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ 13 And if I had put my life in jeopardy--and nothing is hidden from the king-- you would have kept your distance from me." 14 Joab said, "I’m not going to wait like this for you." So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15 And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
2 Samuel 18:31-33
31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up against you." 32 The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man." 33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you-- O Absalom, my son, my son!"
A father’s love, shown in great compassion for the son who had turned his back on his father. While Absolom did everything he could to separate himself from David, while Absolom did everything he could to fight his father and sieze control of his power, David still had compassion and mercy in his heart. It seems like, no matter what Absolom did, David would be there to bridge whatever gap Absolom created.
Even when they were still fighting, David continually worked to invite Absolom back and bring peace between them. When Absolom was yet in exile… these words were spoken to him:
2 Samuel 14:14b
“But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.”
Our sense of justice may demand very stiff penalties for wrongdoing. But God’s justice is not the same as ours. It is his voice that cries:
"O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you-- O Absalom, my son, my son!"
