Repentance and Servanthood (Pr 13B)

I like to look for common themes in the lectionary passages.  If I can find a way to use all four together on one topic, that’s even better.

Proper 13B uses 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a (I’ve already discussed why I dislike cutting this off before verse 14), Psalm 51:1-12 (and I’d prefer to read the entire Psalm), Ephesians 4:1-16, and John 6:24-35.  There are obvious connections between Ephesians 4 and John 6, especially if one includes the prior passage about feeding the 5,000.  But the question of John 6:28 “what shall we do?” is well answered in verse 29-believe (and I would say “put your trust in”) the one the Father has sent.  Those two verses can be combined with “unity of the Spirit,” “bond of peace,” and the offices that are ordained in Ephesians four with some powerful effect, I think.  We see Paul trying to implement the command of Jesus in practical terms.

The two Old Testament passages go together even more obviously, as one can see from the superscription of Psalm 51.  This Psalm is presented as the prayer of David after Nathan confronted him with his (David’s) sin.  Psalm 51 is a powerful outline for repentance, though I think it is good to read to the end, because the final verses present us with the end result of repentance, which is service.  Many times we treat concepts such as servant-leadership as appearing ex nihilo in the New Testament, but they are, in fact, solid Old Testament concepts as well.

I would suggest that all four passages could be combined to talk about how a servant leader deals with errors and with falling into sin.  We are all imperfect.  We all make mistakes. The real question is what we do about them.  Our political leaders like to hide their sins so that people will trust them and they can lead.  What about truly humble leadership when one is up and humble repentance when one is down?

Servant leadership involves putting one’s trust in Jesus (John 6:24-35), following his commands and pattern of ministry (Ephesians 4:1-16), willingness to hear correction (2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a), and finally willingness to repent decisively and truly turn to a new way (Psalm 51).

Resource Link:  The participatory study series pamphlet Repentance and Rejoicing discusses repentance based on the outline of Psalm 51.