Looking in the Mirror
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13
August 3, 2003
St. John United Methodist Church
David Beckett, D.Min.

The story is told of a king who had two mirrors in rooms where he entertained guests. One mirror, which made people look thin, was put in the room where people assembled before dinner. The other, which made people look fat, was put in the room where guests moved after dinner.

How do you feel about mirrors? There are times when we wish that our mirrors would not reflect a true image of our bodies. We don’t want to see ourselves as we really are. We want to look different. Mirrors are like bathroom scales. They can either be our enemy or our friend. It all depends on how comfortable we are with reality.

Are you a person who wants to see life as it really is? You want the facts. You dislike pretenses. Or do you enjoy a certain amount of fantasy in your life. You don’t mind looking into a slightly distorted mirror from time to time.

There are times when people cannot see themselves as they truly are…times when alcohol or drugs distort their mirrors on a daily basis…times when we are blinded to our image that we cannot see how we are destroying ourselves and those we love. Whatever the dependency, some people simply don’t believe they have a problem. Sometimes the only way to get them to accept reality and begin the process of recovery is to convene a confrontation. Professionals call it "an intervention."

Now you might think interventions are a new thing. Not so. Today’s scripture is about such an intervention. The prophet, Nathan, calls the meeting. Nathan is the facilitator, and David — the adulterous and murderous head of the family of Jesse — is the subject of the intervention. Here’s a guy who apparently sleeps well at night, who thinks nothing of coveting his neighbor’s wife, and who later orders a hit on the husband, telling his hit man, Joab, "Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another" (2 Samuel 11:25).

But Nathan was not going to forget about it. The confrontation begins with a story. "There were two men in a certain city," says Nathan, "the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb" (12:1-2). The little ewe lamb was "like a daughter" to the poor man, says Nathan. He would feed it at his table and let it drink from his very own cup. Then one day a traveler comes to visit the rich man, and the rich man decides he needs to slaughter an animal to feed his guest. Does he take an animal from his own flocks and herds to fix a meal for the traveler? Noooo! He’s got plenty of lambs to choose from, but instead he takes the poor man’s lamb and kills it and cooks it for dinner.
David reacts with irritation and anger. "As the Lord lives," he shouts, "the man who has done this deserves to die" (v. 5). Nathan says to David, "You are the man!" (v. 7).

David is so busted. He sees reality clearly for the very first time. Nathan’s intervention, which used a story as a tool of nonjudgmental confrontation, enables David to see the truth about himself and even pronounce judgment on himself. It is when he sees himself in the story that David realizes he has a problem, and begins the process of recovery. Just a few verses later, David honestly confesses, "I have sinned against the LORD" (v. 13).

What we see here is the power of sacred story. How are you doing with your Bible reading these days? Is it hard to pick it up and read it? If so, then the reason may be because we are not connecting our heartfelt needs with the God of the Bible. We need to see ourselves in scripture. We can’t see everything about us. We need "mirrors"; people, stories, songs, art that will reflect back to us an image of who we are and what we are doing. What story in scripture has been a mirror for you?

Not only can the people of scripture be "mirrors" for us, but the people of today can be as well. Who are the people in your life who have been able to look through all of your masks and facades and see you as you really are? Certainly we go through stages where we don’t want anyone to be our mirror. We don’t want to look at ourselves and so we surround ourselves with people who will reflect the image we want of ourselves. The friends we choose are in some measure a reflection of our desire to hide from the truth about ourselves. We don’t want to hang around people who might expose us to the world. We want them to keep our secrets and maintain our image. We are so afraid of being exposed.

King David feared being exposed, but not to the point where he would do whatever it took to engage in a cover up. The key to David’s spiritual success was how he viewed sin and failure. His sins, which were many, did not block him permanently from turning towards God, receiving forgiveness, and beginning again.

Do you have sins that seem to permanently block you from turning to God? How do you respond when others attempt to be a mirror so you can see your sin, your darkness, your pain? Most of us do not naturally desire to look upon our faults and blind spots. And we generally do not appreciate others who try to point them out to us. But looking at the painful reflections of ourselves is exactly the beginning point of the spiritual life. If we were to boil down the spiritual life into its simplest form it would be this. The spiritual life is a journey where we see ourselves as we really are, in the situation as it really is, with God as God really is. God wants to be real for each one of you. God wants you to see your situation as it really is. And God desires you to see yourself as you truly are. Interventions are mirrors that attempt to see ourselves as God sees us.

Here’s a kind of intervention we all need: Donuts, root beer and God. There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with donuts and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons.
The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a donut. He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so incredible that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Once again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man and gave him a hug. The old man gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy on his face was asked by his son, "Father, what did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I ate donuts in the park with God." But before his son could respond, he added, "You know, he’s much younger than I expected."

What kind of mirrors are you looking into these days? Do you have the kind of friends who can help you see the dark areas of your life? Are you able to see yourself in scripture? You may not like what you see but it will be a new starting point for a deeper relationship between you and God. This is simply because grace and power become available when we see ourselves as we truly are…people who need God. And when we realize our need for God we can begin to live, not in darkness, not with distorted self-images, but with a joy in our hearts. A joy that enables us to see God in simple things like sharing donuts and root beer with a friend. A joy that knows that lunch with God is the best part of life.

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