“Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’”––2 Samuel 12:7a

One summer during my seminary years I worked for a cooperative ministry group in Huttonsville, West Virginia.  The purpose of that organization was to provide assistance to the poorest individuals of that county who couldn’t afford needed repairs on their home. Each week, a different youth group would come to help. My job was to take the teens and their leaders to job sites, introduce them to the residents and provide assistance or tools as needed. 

The minister who was my supervisor was perfect for the job. He loved the area and its people. He knew the needs of the county and had a knack for raising money for special projects. Despite all of those positive traits, my relationship with him was uneasy from the start. The day I arrived, the place where I was to stay for the summer had no idea I was coming even though the minister was to have made the arrangements. Once we began working together, too, it was clear that my supervisor and I often disagreed on how to proceed and when a difference of opinion arose he would end the conversation by saying, “Just do what I say.”  Even though I knew I would only be there for a few months, my frustration level began to grow.

Midway through the summer, a youth group from Ohio was in town. One day a girl from that church mentioned to me how much she respected the minister with whom I was working. Her group had come the previous summer and thus she had had an opportunity to see the good things he was accomplishing in the area. Thus, she spoke from a longer-term perspective than mine. Still her comment caught me on a bad day and my frustration with the man surfaced. So in response to her gracious words I began to name my grievances with him. That reaction embarrasses me now. It was a terribly inappropriate thing to do. Yet once I finished my litany the teenager calmly looked me in the eye and said, “I still think he’s a fine man.”

Her words make me think of the courageous response of the prophet Nathan long ago. It occurred after King David tried to hide the result of his affair with Bathsheba by having her husband killed in battle. When Nathan learned the sordid details, he went to his king and told a parable of a rich man who took the only lamb of a poor man to feed to a guest. When David heard the tale, he exploded. “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!” It was then that Nathan said “You are the man!” a word to power that resulted in David seeking the forgiveness of God.  Scripture is silent as to whether he sought the same gift from Bathsheba.

I wonder if there have been people in your life who have been bold enough to speak a truth to you that was sorely needed.  Individuals like that young woman whose words stopped me in my tracks and caused me to look at my supervisor in an entirely new way.  Or perhaps, there have been times when you were the one who spoke that essential message when it would have been easier to keep silent or look away. A time you risked speaking the truth to power.  

In either case, on this day, I give thanks for such individuals from the past. And pray that all of us might have the courage, when needed, to do the same. 

Thank you, Lord, for one brave teenager and prophet from the past. Help us be more like them when our time comes. Amen.