Sermons

"The Trojan Horse in Our Souls"

Sermon by the Reverend Greg Cole
Emmanuel Church
June 13, 2004 – Proper 6C

2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15 and Luke 7:36-50

In classical mythology, the Greeks, upon their pretended abandonment of ancient Troy, left a gigantic, hollow, and wooden horse behind, just outside the city gates. The Trojans, regarding the horse as a sacrifice to Athena, opened the city gates and took it into Troy. Greek soldiers, hiding inside the horse, burst forth at night and opened the gates to the Greek army, who conquered the city. A Trojan horse subsequently came to refer to anything or anybody designed to undermine or destroy from within. The term has reentered the vocabulary of computers as a type of virus that pretends to be something useful but in reality can be quite harmful.

One New Testament scholar likens parables to a Trojan horse. We find them so alluring that we allow them into the inner court of our consciousness, not aware of the challenges that they present until it is too late. The metaphorical armies that they contain may not be great, but they hit us where we are most vulnerable and where and when we least expect it. They challenge our souls by confronting our assumptions, actions, and values.

Consider, as an example, the story of Nathan and David as told in our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures. David has created a real mess. He has an affair with Bathsheba. When he receives word that she is pregnant, David has Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, killed and he takes Bathsheba as his wife. As you might imagine, God is not happy about any of this. Therefore, God sends the prophet Nathan to speak to David.

Nathan does not approach David with a full frontal assault. He knows that if he does, David will have time to get his defenses up, to make excuses, or to deflect attention away from his own actions. Therefore, Nathan creates a metaphorical Trojan horse. He tells the parable of the two men – one very wealthy and the other quite poor. The wealthy man has many lambs, but the poor man has only one, and he treats that one as a member of his family. When the wealthy man needs a lamb for an unexpected guest, he takes the poor man’s lamb instead of using one of his own.

The trap has been set. Nathan has drawn David into his story. He has made it past David’s defenses and into the inner court of his mind and emotions. David responds as expected – incensed at the injustice of it all. David insists that the rich man must repay the poor man fourfold in restitution. At the height of David’s anger, Nathan springs the trap. The Trojan horse opens up and the real purpose becomes known. “You are the man,” Nathan says with all the convictions of someone who clearly has the upper hand. It is too late for David. He has let the Trojan horse through the gates and he is defeated.

To his credit, David quickly gets the point. He has abused his position, his power, his God given place in life. Now, he must come to terms with his actions. He says to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Because he recognizes his sin and repents, the Lord forgives David. However, even with forgiveness, David must pay the price for his sins. Bathsheba's child dies. In addition, as Nathan said to David, “the sword shall never depart from your house,” a truth that haunted ancient Israel from that time forward.

As with many stories, there are several layers of meaning behind this one. The first, obviously, has to do with David as an individual who misuses his gifts and position for selfish gain and has to pay the price. Nathan’s trap, his Trojan horse, is effective in that it compels David to look not at the actions of others but at his own deeds. There is a lesson in that for all of us. So often, we focus our energies on the actions of others – assigning blame, deflecting attention from our own responsibilities, looking to shift our thoughts from ourselves to others. Our story teaches us that we will live much healthier lives if we focus less on the actions of others and more on our own actions. We cannot control what others say or do, but we can control what we say or do. We can, with God’s help, live self-reflective, carefully considered lives that enable us to take responsibility and to move forward in godliness and humility. If each of us took responsibility only for our own actions, understanding in Nathan’s words that “we are the man or woman” who stands in need of forgiveness, our families, our church community, and our world would be a much better place.

The second layer of meaning in this story moves beyond just David to the entire nation of Israel. It is a story of the gifts and responsibilities entrusted to the nation of Israel and their struggle to live as faithful people. Repeatedly, they fail to live according to the standards that God has set for them. Repeatedly, they must repent and ask forgiveness. Fortunately, repeatedly God forgives and brings the people back into right relationship with him.

Ultimately, this story is about the long-suffering and patience of a God who always is eager and ready to forgive, who waits only for us to open our hearts to receive forgiveness. Today’s Gospel story is a great complement to the story of David. It is a story of the overwhelming compassion, love, and forgiveness of Jesus. Simon, Jesus’ host, does not understand why Jesus would allow a woman who very clearly is a sinner to wash his feet and anoint them with oil. Simon thinks that if Jesus really knew what this woman had done, he would not treat her so kindly. However, Jesus sees something very different than does Simon. Where Simon saw only a sinner, Jesus saw a sinner pardoned and restored.

What a wonderful, freeing, life-giving lesson that is. Like David, you and I stand condemned as sinners, as people who, despite our best efforts, sometimes make choices that lead us into sin. However, like the woman, we stand before God not as sinners but as sinners who have been forgiven and reconciled through the love of Christ. Yes, you and I are the men or the women of David’s story. We are also the men or the women of Jesus’ story, people who stand before God as forgiven, healed, and deeply loved by a God who always desires for us life and health rather than sin and death. We live into this life by taking responsibility for our own actions rather than those of others and by opening our hearts to the power of God’s forgiveness. Amen.