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| Image by Jason Boldero |
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The Ancestors of Jesus:
Bathsheba
A GREETING
I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God for ever and ever.
(Psalm 52:8)
A READING
...And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,
and Solomon the father of Rehoboam.... (Matthew 1:6b-7a)
So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old; Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king. Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, “What do you wish?” She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.’ But now suddenly Adonijah has become king, though you, my lord the king, do not know it. The eyes of all are on you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
(1 Kings 1:15-18;20b)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded the people at God’s command.
(Baruch 5:8)
A REFLECTION
We are all woodland people. Like trees, we hold a genetic memory of the past because trees are parents to the child deep within us. We feel that shared history come alive every time we step into the forest, where the majesty of nature calls to us in a voice beyond our imaginations. But even in those of us who haven’t encountered trees in months or even years, the connection to the natural world is there, waiting to be remembered.
- from To Speak for the Trees: My Life's Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom
to a Healing Vision of the Forest by Diana Beresford-Kroeger
A VERSE FOR THE DAY
They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
(Psalm 1:3)
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AN IMMERSIVE WALK
Although they are thousands of years apart from each other in time, the advocacy of Bathsheba for her son to be king and the powerful witness of Diana Beresford-Kroeger for the Boreal forest, hold a similar passion: a desire for a tomorrow full of the promise of new life. Bathsheba's story as told in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings is framed by her relationship to King David and the lengths he went to in order to have her. She has experienced abuse and trauma from the forced separation from her husband who is killed by David. But hidden in the story is Bathsheba's own determination to keep the House of David alive, by ensuring that Solomon comes to power.
On the other side of time, Diana Beresford-Kroeger speaks of forests that hold "genetic memory," referring perhaps to the way that the rings of trees offer scientists historical record of previous ecological challenges like drought or fire. In To Speak for the Trees, she writes about the ways in which trees convey knowledge to each other, transferring their embodied memory. She teaches us that like Jesus, Creation itself has ancestors.
Both women have confronted power: Bathsheba stands up to her husband the king; Beresford-Kroeger confronts corporate power to speak out about deforestation and unsustainable logging. Implicit in the stories of both women are the significance of the body, whether human or ecological: to carry life and to hold memory and communicate wisdom.
To be an ancestor means to take responsibility for the future. How will the Christ that is in all things endure if we allow environmental deterioration? What is the role you will play in helping to secure future generations?
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Scripture passages are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
