Who Are You - A Sermon for Reformation Sunday October 25 2026

Welcome to week 7 of the Narrative Lectionary.

We have been hearing stories of the God of the Covenant 

From the Flood and rainbow

to Abraham and Sarah,

Joseph and his brothers,

Moses & the pillar of fire and cloud,

and Joshua’s covenanting with Israel:

how God has promised Israel land,

blessing

and descendants

and God always keeps God’s promises.

Today marks a shift in focus

with the Narrative Lectionary.

We have heard about the God of the covenant,

and how God saves,

now we move into life under the covenant,

how Israel and its people live amidst God’s promises.

Today’s main character is David.

David was chosen to be king, around the year 1000 BCE

the youngest child,

a shepherd,

a musician,

a man after God’s own heart,

perhaps considered Israel’s greatest king.

As we enter the story of life under the covenant,

the book of Samuel has listed

some of David’s victories in battle.

Today we hear of his greatest failure.

David’s greatest failure can easily become ours too.

Invite Reader Forward

We are a reformation people,

ours is a Church that is always reforming,

living in God’s image,

led by the Spirit,

centered upon God’s Holy Word.

So let us welcome God’s Word in openness

with our scripture acclamation:

you’ll recognize this famous tune from Martin Luther,

God’s Word is Our Great Heritage

Scripture Acclamation God’s Word is Our Great Heritage  (ELW 509)

God’s Word is our great heritage

And shall be ours forever;

To spread its light from age to age

Shall be our chief endeavour.

Through life it guides our way;

In death it is our stay.

Lord grant while time shall last

Your church may hold it fast

Throughout all generations.

Reading: : 2 Samuel 11:1-5, 26-27; 12:1-9;

A Reading from Second Samuel.

1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, "This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite." 4 So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.

5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. 27 When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,

12:1 and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him." 5 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; 6 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." 7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; 8 I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

Word of God. Word of Life.

Thanks be to God!

(Slide 1 – David)

I am David.

I am a saint and a sinner.

I have been prepared by God to live into my calling.

I seek to follow the leading of God’s Spirit.

I am a man after God’s own heart.

And I want what I want.

I’m the king, after all.

What’s a little manipulation here

and a little cover-up there?

I tried to get Uriah to sleep with his wife,

but that soldier was just too loyal to me,

staying at my side.

When that didn’t work,

I had him killed.

I killed a man so I could have his wife.

I was really close to getting away with it.

But if you sweep enough dirt under the rug,

eventually the rug slips

and the dirt seeps out.

And now I’m sorry.

Maybe I’m sorry because I got caught,

but I’m also sorry because

I can see the harm I’ve caused.

I want to be a man after God’s own heart,

and now I am a king and a disgrace to my nation.

So I repent.

You’ve heard the words of the psalm I wrote, Psalm 51:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.”

Part of the battle of being faithful

is learning to acknowledge our sin

and turn back to God.

We cannot cleanse ourselves.

We need God’s forgiveness.

(Slide 2 – Soldiers)

I am a soldier of the king.

And yes, I put Uriah in that part of the battle.

I knew he would be killed.

But we were just doing what we were told.

Have you ever heard of the chain of command?

Can a soldier say no to the king,

even when the king is wrong?

Uriah was a great soldier,

a friend,

a top-notch man.

He didn’t deserve this.

Being one of the king’s mighty men feels powerful,

especially when we are victorious in battle.

But right now, I feel powerless.

And perhaps that is the danger.

We can become so accustomed to following orders,

protecting the powerful,

and preserving our own place in the system

that we stop asking whether what we are doing

is right or wrong.

(Slide 3 – Nathan)

I am Nathan,

the prophet of the Lord,

and I serve in the king’s court.

Speaking truth to power is no simple task.

But God called me to confront the king, so I went.

I told David a story about a rich man

who took the beloved lamb of a poor man

rather than sacrifice one of his own animals.

David was furious. That man deserved to be punished!

And I said to David, “You are the man!”

Perhaps the real miracle in this story

is that David actually listened.

Our leaders need to be held accountable

when they abuse their power and hurt others.

Sometimes we need to be creative

in helping people recognize the truth about themselves.

Think about the commandments.

Coveting led David to adultery,

and adultery led to murder.

David placed himself above God

and treated other human beings

as though their lives mattered less than his desires.

The commandments help us to live together in peace,

to protect our neighbours,

and to recognize our own sin.

Not one of us is perfect.

We all need God.

(Slide 4 – Bathsheba)

I am Bathsheba.

What about me?

It was my, you know,

“special time of the month”

and I had just been visited

by my “great aunt Flo”

Give me a break men,

it’s just a period,

it’s just some blood.

I get the whole cleansing bath thing:

I mean, blood is sacred,

it is the source of life,

so touching blood makes us unclean,

so to be clean again before our God

we have a ritualistic bath,

but part of me just thinks its just because

periods freak men out.

David saw me bathing, so he sent for me.

And the king gets what the king wants.

You can’t exactly say no to the king.

By the way, I wasn’t on the roof.

David was.

I was in my own home.

I didn’t think I needed a curtain.

And generations of faithful people have blamed me

for David’s adultery.

Talk about powerless.

My baby died, too.

Apparently, this was part of the consequences

of David’s sin.

But why did my baby have to die?

And now I hear David repenting.

Have you heard the words of Psalm 51?

“Against you, you alone, have I sinned.”

What about Uriah, David?

You sinned against him.

And what about me?

David, you sinned against me.

(Slide 5 – The Characters / Us)

So, who are you in this story?

Are you David?

Have you been tempted to use your power

to get what you want,

even when doing so hurts someone else?

The sin of coveting

another person’s house or spouse or any possession

can easily grow into something more damaging.

It is never too late to repent.

By God’s Spirit,

we can turn away from that old sinful self

and turn back to God.

We can use whatever power and privilege we have

to protect the vulnerable

rather than exploit them.

Are you one of David’s soldiers?

Are you following orders,

keeping quiet,

while participating in a system that hurts people?

The king sends people to serve his purposes,

out of a place of power,

that power might increase.

God sends us,

not out of a place of power,

but in weakness,

that love and peace might increase.

Even when we feel powerless,

we have choices.

We have a voice.

We can stand alongside those who are being harmed.

Maybe it is time to walk away from that kind of position

where you are doing harm at another’s command.

Maybe it’s time to stop

shopping at that store

or buying that product

or investing in that fund.

When profits come at the expense of the vulnerable.

Are you Nathan?

Do you feel called to speak truth

into situations of injustice and abuse?

Use your voice.

Hold the powerful accountable.

But remember to tell the whole truth,

look to the margins for the people

who are being overlooked.

Nathan confronted David,

the sin against Uriah

but what about Bathsheba?

Find compassion for those who are hurt,

and set aside.

And are you Bathsheba?

Have you been sinned against?

Have you experienced abuse or injustice

and feel powerless to escape?

Please know that your story matters.

Find someone safe to talk to.

Keep seeking justice.

You do not have to carry this alone.

God is with you.

Remember the mission of Jesus,

who has been sent into the world

to bring good news to the poor,

release to the captives,

and freedom to the oppressed.

God’s concern is not only for those who have sinned,

but those who are the sinned against.

We are called into forgiveness,

to forgive others as we have been forgiven.

But forgiveness does not mean

pretending the harm never happened.

Forgiveness does not erase earthly consequences,

nor does it excuse abuse,

nor does forgiveness require the abused

seek reconciliation.

Forgiveness ought not allow

the powerful to escape accountability.

God’s Spirit will comfort the afflicted

and afflict the comfortable.

For the sinner,

there is forgiveness and new life in Jesus.

For the sinned against,

there is healing and new life in Jesus.

For the worker

there is labour and new life in Jesus’ name.

For the prophet

there is Word to be proclaimed

and new life to be lived in Jesus’ name.

One way or another,

whoever you are in this story,

by God’s grace,

you are blessed by our God

and you too might be a blessing to others.

Thanks be to God. Amen.