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Tag: King David

The King’s Shepherd—Psalm 23:1-6

The familiarity of the 23rd Psalm can blind us to the striking political dimensions of its message: YHWH is the shepherd of the king, protecting him from enemies and granting his kingdom prosperity. Close reflection upon this psalm may also suggest some significant applications within the contemporary world.

Pyrrhic Victories and the Bread of Life—2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; Psalm 34:1-8; John 1:43-51

Victories can be devastating when they come at bitter cost. Yet both our losses and our costly victories are put into a new perspective when we take refuge in and receive the bread of God.

Condemning Unjust Kings—2 Samuel 11:26—12:13a

Nathan’s courageous condemnation of King David’s sin is a timely example of court prophecy faithfully performed.

Of Corruption and Cover-Ups—2 Samuel 11:1-15

The story of David and Bathsheba is a story of power’s corruption and of the cover-ups of abuse—a story with considerable resonance in our own day.

The Habitation Made Desolate—Acts 1:15-26

The gory fate of Judas is an unsettling feature of the narrative of Acts for many modern readers. Yet recovering the New Testament authors’ sense of the fearful consequences of opposing the reign of Christ is a necessary task for political theology.

The Politics of Loving the Unlovely—2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 (Stephen Dawson)

Contrasting the characters of William Faulkner’s great novel Absalom, Absalom! with King David exposes the way in which the unlovely can be redeemed, albeit not without suffering.

The Politics of the Death of the Nation’s Beloved—2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 (Alastair Roberts)

The book of Samuel’s unembarrassed portrayal of a form of political rule suffused by eros—a politics displayed in David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan—may provide an illuminating challenge to our attempts to pursue a rational politics beyond such dynamics.

The Politics of the King’s Shepherd—Psalm 23:1-6 (Alastair Roberts)

The familiarity of the 23rd Psalm can blind us to the striking political dimensions of its message: YHWH is the shepherd of the king, protecting him from enemies and granting his kingdom prosperity. Close reflection upon this psalm may also suggest some significant applications within the contemporary world.

Ideological State Apparatuses, a phrase made famous by Louis Althusser, function in society to keep the bourgeoisie culture dominate. This is done through institutional establishments, such as the church, family, etc. In the US, the American Dream has been a dominant ideology that gives hope to the unprivileged that they too have a chance to thrive in a higher economic status. Unfortunately, this myth rarely comes to fruition for the lower class or the immigrant because achieving upward social mobility is nearly impossible. The American Dream thus represents a master-signifier. Something present in our culture that one must believe to be a welcomed person in society. This week’s lectionary readings could be related to the ISA that penetrate societies. From the Hebrew Scriptures passage it speaks of the beginning of David’s career as King surrounded by a religious ISA. In the Christian Scripture, Jesus speaks a parable of how everything shall eventually become God’s Kingdom. These Scriptures are both politically driven, one speaking of an earthly kingdom ruled by a king chosen by God, and the other concerning the Kingdom of God.