David, Bathsheba, and Fried Chicken

A Bible Study story

Had a kinda rough day at work. And I was slated to lead Bible Study afterwards at the low-income apartment complex where we've been meeting for nearly three years. The co-leader was out of town, but that's ok because I enjoy leading. Our normal "cook" had planned to feed us well tonight, but she had to spend much of the day in the hospital with her teenager who had an asthma attack that morning. So we called an audible and bought some family style fried chicken and sides from the joint down the street.

(The empty tables awaiting guests)

Bible study starts with dinner at 5:30. At 5:30 it was just me. I pray. At 5:45 my wife shows up with the food and it's me and her and chicken for 16. Sigh. Then our good friend T. the cook shows up. We ask how her child is doing and talk about another friend going through a very difficult time. Let's eat, I guess. We start to eat and then we see three people walking by that we recognized from the outreach event we had at a park a few weeks ago. T, always the bold one, waves them down and tells them to join us for Bible Study and dinner. They come in, a Mom, a cousin, and a rising high school freshman. Jesus said that if you have a banquet and no one comes, go out into the street and bring in anyone you find. This is my first time witnessing it in action.

The teenager is sweet and she wants to go swimming in this heat. She's not a great swimmer and got scared the last time in the pool when a friend was pulling her underwater, but she's not scared now and wants to go back. She IS a little scared of high school at a new place this fall. Will she know anybody? Probably not, she thinks. Her friends are going to a different school. She also mentions her asthma inhaler. It's hot and muggy and she's only recently been diagnosed and she's still figuring it out.

Then R, our young director of urban ministry arrives and so does C, a kind and gentle older soul. R engages the teenager and my wife chats with C and things are starting to flow. Then T's daughter J shows up and is feeling better from her asthma attack earlier in the day. J passes on advice to the visiting teenager and Mom about inhalers and color-coded carriers she uses. J also tells the teenager that she'll be at the same school and so now she does know somebody at the school. J also promises that she not only has a friend, but a protector, a guardian Senior so to speak. Knowing J, this is not an empty promise. I smile at the exchange.

After we eat and chat a bit, the trio we pulled in had to leave, but we invited them back next week. J also had to leave, so that left five of us to move on to the actual Bible Study. Psalm 51 was the passage, a favorite of mine. David's great Psalm of repentance.

I never assume everyone who comes knows the details of even the "famous" Bible stories. So we start with the note before the Psalm about David, Bathsheba, and Nathan. We talk about context in a modern setting. It shapes how we read. You can read MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail by itself, but to know the context brings it to life. More recently, we mention January 6, 2021 as a context to certain political commentary.

So I summarize David's descent into evil with all the twists and turns it takes. He stays home instead of fighting. He sees Bathsheba. He desires. He takes. He sends her away. Time passes. Pregnancy. Panic. Recall Uriah and try a cover up. Foiled by Uriah's integrity. Rage gives birth to plan B. A King commands defeat to bury his shame on the battlefield. Betrayal. Murder. Mischief managed. But then comes a prophet. "You are the man!" Exposed! Finally a crushing repentance comes.

It's always interesting to see the reactions of those who hear these stories unpacked for the first time. We talk about how the Bible tells the ugly, unvarnished truth. And now we're finally ready to read the Psalm.

What does real repentance look like? Real confession without excuses or qualifiers? Pleading for mercy with blood stained hands. Finding grace greater than our guilt, and yet still facing earthly consequences. It's a good discussion and our small group is fully engaged. The Word has come alive in a small way.

I had had a rough day at work. And I sat alone in an empty room discouraged that maybe no one would even come. But something happened. Something invisible to the world zooming through the busy intersection right outside our meeting room. The Spirit moved. And that's more than enough.