Liturgy: “God Is not​ ​Simply​ ​Tolerating​ ​Our Narcissism”

What is the King’s Liturgy? King’s Liturgy defines our experience together as a Christian community. It outlines the rhythms we celebrate with the Church at large: Scripture readings, Sabbath habits, and celebration of Holy Days and historical events.

This Week’s Lectionary Readings

Acts 4:32-35
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31
Psalm 133

This week’s liturgy is contributed by Kimberly Thornbury, vice president for strategic planning:

Absalom, the son of King David had gorgeous hair. Not only was it thick and beautiful, there was just so much of it! He cut his hair once a year, and only because it was too heavy for him to carry around. He would actually weigh his hair when he cut it -about 3 pounds (2 Samuel 14:26.).

The Bible says from the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him (2 Samuel 14:25.) To add to his good looks, he bought himself a gorgeous chariot. And horses. And if that weren’t enough, he hired fifty footmen to run ahead of him.

Every morning he would take that chariot (a short distance) to the city gate, and metaphorically kiss babies and have his picture taken. He was a great and popular politician who wanted to overthrow his father and become King.

He headed out of town (by lying to his father about why he was leaving), stole his father’s chief adviser, and prepared to make himself ruler.

Since nearly all of Israel was with Absalom, King David had to evacuate the capital of Jerusalem. Smart King David, however, sent his other top adviser to Absalom to serve as a double agent. (Absalom never suspected a thing—of course, his father’s leaders would defect and serve the soon-to-be top man!)

To make a dramatic story short, the double agent led to Absalom’s army being pulverized. Absalom ran away on a mule in the forest of Ephraim. His beautiful hair got caught in the branches, leaving him helpless. David’s general Joab plunged three daggers into Absalom’s heart, threw him in a pit, and covered him with stones. The battle was over.

When David’s army returned, David did not ask how the battle went. Instead he asked, “Is Absalom safe?” His advisers did not answer outright. Again David asked “But what of young Absalom? Is he all right?” Yet again, the King was not given a direct answer. David asked a third time, “But what about my son, is he all right?”

When David heard the news of the death, he climbed the stairs to his room shaking and weeping “… If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33.) Of all the people in the world Absalom could have hurt, the one he hurt the most was his father – the one who loved him most, despite all of Absalom’s rebellion.

God the father loves and forgives. He moves towards us, no matter how dysfunctional and messed up we are. Even with our disordered passions, He pursues us. The state of our righteousness is not the point, but rather the overwhelming love of the father. On the night Jesus was betrayed, he prayed that we would know that we’ve been loved by the Father with the same intensity of love He has for His beloved Son (John 17:23.) As the liturgy verses in 1 John explain, Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, our advocate. God is not simply tolerating you in all of your weakness and sin, your selfishness, bad choices and narcissism. Rather the Father loves you and longs for you to know it. You will never be good enough to earn God’s favor. God sees you in all your selfish and rebellious ways and yet desires to be reconciled with you through Christ. Accept this as truth, confess your sins to Him, and believe that He loves you and forgives you despite the fact that he knows all our failures. He will supply the help you need and He will never turn his back to you.