“Send in the clowns. Where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns . . .” Remember Judy Collins singing Stephen Sondheim’s song in 1975. (If that was way before your time, I apologize!) Reading about the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, this lilting melody came to mind. These clowns were sad clowns killing children of their predecessors and trying to win the war to be the most wicked king. What a dubious distinction. The political solutions did not resolve the problems.
As I heard the heartbreaking stories coming out of Israel this week, I thought about how little our world has changed. Who harms children? How do the Hamas leaders justify this brutal assault on humanity? Today I heard that children between ten and fourteen years of age comprise most of the people going to the hospital from the Israeli response in Gaza. In one of the imprecatory Psalms, the writer who has seen his own children harmed says he will rejoice when his enemies’ children are harmed. Was it Gandhi who said, “If we all practice eye for eye and tooth for tooth, we will all soon be left blind and toothless.” How many children have died in our world through elective abortions? If the world keeps killing kids, we may find ourselves childless. And won’t we be diminished?
Ahab was the most wicked king of them all. Not only did he harm others, but by marrying Jezebel, he institutionalized idolatry in Israel. They renounced the Shema and broke the first four commandments by worshipping Baal. When the rulers had done their worst, God sent preachers to speak his word to them. Elijah came preaching that the Lord had had enough. I know we don’t elect preachers to lead us. Frankly, most preachers don’t want the demotion to politician. But I pray we will never become comfortable with wickedness. Collins concludes the aforementioned clown song by saying, “Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they're here.” I think of that song when I read the news.
In a world where clowns often make their way into power, there are still decent human beings. I don’t mean people who use religion as a means to accomplish their own ends. I mean people who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength as well as their neighbors as themselves. They appeal to our best and not our worst. Like David, Asa was such a good king. He ruled in righteousness as his opponents devolved into decadence. Somebody, somewhere wants to do right today. Is it you? Is it I? When we do, we will eclipse the stories about the sad clowns.
