Monday, June 29, 2015

Dancing with David: Building a House


June 28th, 2015                          “Building a House”                     Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: Dancing with David

2 Samuel 7

          Today we are continuing with our summer sermon series, “Dancing with David.”  So far we have read and thought about David’s anointing by Samuel to be king over Israel, and David’s famous battle with the giant Goliath.  Last week we read about David bringing the ark into Jerusalem.  That story was full of surprises from the smiting of Uzzah, to the zeal of David’s dancing, to the sad tale of David’s wife Michal.  You may remember that for the writer of Samuel, the story of the ark coming to Jerusalem was all about politics and religion.  We will find those themes emerge again in our story today.

          When our reading begins, David is on top of the world.  By this time David has vanquished all his enemies and those who would speak against him.  He is at the height of his career as the King of Israel and I am inclined to believe that he is also at the high point of his whole life.  At this point the world is his oyster.  It is with this sense of bravado that David announces to the prophet Nathan that he is thinking about building a temple to keep the ark in Jerusalem.  Of course, David can do no wrong, so Nathan encourages him to go ahead with his plan.

          But, during the night, the word of the Lord comes to Nathan, making it clear that God has a whole different idea.  God says to Nathan that he has been happy to roam about with the people and the mobile ark.  He never asked for a house did he?  So Nathan should go remind David that it was God who plucked David up out of his life as a shepherd and made him King over Israel, and it is God who will build a house for David.

          This whole text hinges on a play on words that we lose in our English translations.  The Hebrew word for the temple that David is thinking about building is bet.  That word can also be used to mean house, like the city of Bethlehem which means “house of bread”.  The word bet also can be used to mean a dynasty.  That is where the whole passage turns.  David says he will build a house (bet) for the Lord meaning temple, but the Lord says he will build a house (bet again) for David meaning a dynasty.  The Lord promises that David’s family will always sit on the throne in Jerusalem.

          Well, Nathan takes this great vision to David and David is overwhelmed by God’s generosity.  Well, overwhelmed to a point.  Immediately David goes in to pray before the Lord.  At first David is humble before the Lord, showing deference to God’s will.  “Who am I to be so richly blessed?” he wonders.  Then David praises God, declaring that God is great and there is no other like him.  Then the prayer goes in a bit of a different direction, and one that readers up to this point find to be a common theme of David’s, demand.  “And now, O Lord God, as for the word you have spoken concerning me and my dynasty, confirm it forever as you have promised,” David says.  And again, he reminds God that God only speaks truth and so this promise of a dynasty, this promise of eternal power over the throne, should bless David’s family forever.  It’s quite the request.

           Now as I mentioned, the story of David is all about politics and this chapter is a shining example of that.  In fact, this chapter is central to the political themes of the Old Testament as a whole.  There is an awful lot going on here beneath the simple surface of Nathan’s vision and David’s prayer.  First of all, it is important to point out that this text has a complex history.  While the story of Nathan’s vision and David’s prayer certainly existed in the time of David, scholars are certain that it did not exist in this form.  Many writers have had their hand in this text, as is true for many of our favorite Bible passages, and so this text reflects the views of the later nation of Israel.

          Let me explain; politically this text is most significant for people after David’s time rather than during.  First of all, this text explains why David, the greatest king ever to reign in Israel did not build the temple, but that his son did.  Shouldn’t the best king ever have built the temple?  Well, this text makes it clear that God didn’t want a temple right then, but if David’s son built it that would be OK.  Along that line of thinking, this text says that God’s presence does not rely on the temple anyway.  This will be very important to the Israelites when the temple is destroyed and they are living in exile.

          As far as kingship in Israel, this text makes bold claims.  First of all, it legitimizes dynastic rule.  This is important.  The first king of Israel was Saul; David took the throne from Saul in a military coup.  This text states that only someone from David’s line can now legitimately become king.  Not only does this make the rulership of Israel strictly a family affair, it also negates any possibility for a coup in the future as no outsider could ever sit on the throne with God’s blessing.

          Probably most important, this text promises a ruler from David’s line into all eternity.  In verse 16 where God promises “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever,” we find the very center of the whole Old Testament.  This is where the Jewish Messianic hope comes from; there will always be a Davidic monarch to rule in Israel.  It is from this passage that the Israelites will derive hope during exile.  They were sure that someone from David’s line would rule again, even if there was no throne in Israel at the time.  And this of course is why it’s so important to prove that Jesus was from the line of David.  Jesus had to be from David’s house in order to be the Messiah.

          And that leads us to the religious implications for this text.  The Jewish faith will become centered on this promise to David, this promise of faithfulness.  The hope that leads the Israelites through hard times is found here.  They believed that God’s promises were true, even when the world around them spoke otherwise.  We share this trait, as we continue to believe that the kingdom of God is here among us, even though the world around us is not what we hope.  Like the Israelites, we have faith in the promises of God, especially during hard times.

          The other religious theme in this text is God’s sovereignty.  David was so high with his own sense of power that he thought he should do something for God.  If David was being honored, then David should lift God up to be honored as well.  God made clear to the prophet Nathan that he didn’t need any help.  This was all about what God could do for David and not what David could do for God.  This was about God’s plan for David, not David’s plan for God.

          Eugene Peterson makes this point best when he writes,

God’s word to David through Nathan was essentially this: “You want to build me a house?  Forget it—I’m going to build you a house.  The kingdom that I’m shaping here isn’t what you do for me but what I do through you.  I’m doing the building here, not you.  I’m not going to let you confuse things by launching a building operation of your own.  If I let you fill Jerusalem with the sights and sounds of your building program—carpenters’ hammers, masons’ chisels, teamsters’ shouts—before long everyone will be caught up in what you are doing, and not attentive to what I am doing.  This is a kingdom that we’re dealing with, and I am the king.  I’ve gotten along without a so-called house for a long time now.  Where did you ever come up with the idea that I need or want a house?  If there’s any building to be done, I’m doing it.  

          How often do we get confused about what is our plan and what is God’s plan?  I think we do this in our own lives and in the life of the church.  While it is important to think of God and to keep God central in our plans, it is also important to keep our ears open for a word from others that might open our eyes to the plans that God has for us instead.

          How often do we ask the question about how we can build this house, this church for God?  We have a building, a facility, that demands a lot of attention.  And as our facility ages, the attention that it demands grows.  We spend a lot of time wondering how we can build up this house of God, wondering that we can do for God by taking care of these buildings.  We spend relatively little time wondering what God is doing for us.  How is God building us as people into the church?  How is God building churches, sacred spaces, into our own lives as individuals?  Like David, sometimes we need to stop and listen to consider God’s plans before we simply forge ahead with our own good ideas.

So, this is where we leave off for today.  David wants to build God a house, (temple) but God is going to build David a house (dynasty) instead.  The promises that God makes to David are really important here.  As I mentioned this is the highpoint of David kingship, and when you are at the top there is nowhere to go but down.  When I get back from my vacation we will see what David does that puts his place on the throne in jeopardy.  Amen.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Dancing with David: David Dances


June 21st, 2015    “David Dances”   Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: Dancing with David

2 Samuel 6

          Today we continue our summer sermon series, “Dancing with David” and this morning’s reading is obviously the idea behind the name of our series.  Already this summer we have wondered at God’s choice of David as King, when he was anointed by Samuel to rule in place of Saul.  While Saul remains on the throne of Israel, David rises to power through charm, charisma, and his battle prowess.  Last week we read of the amazing defeat of Goliath; an act that was as much about David’s faith in the Lord as it was about his ability with the slingshot.  Today’s reading is all about bringing the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, an act that will help to centralize power in Israel under David’s kingship.

          You will notice that we have skipped ahead a bit from last week’s reading.  In the chapters that we missed, there was a violent dance between David and Saul.  Saul was very jealous of David’s military successes, and was often threatening David’s life.  The death toll rises and yet David manages over and over again not only to elude Saul but to spare Saul’s own life, a sign of David’s great heart (or great cunning) depending on how you interpret things.  Eventually Saul and his sons are killed in battle with the Philistines and David takes over the throne.  There is a bit of uprising between Saul’s final supporters but after more fighting and more death, David is able to unite the kingdom under his leadership.

          This morning’s text is all about the ark of God.  Readers of the books of Samuel haven’t heard about the ark since 1 Samuel 6 where it was nearly forgotten in Kiriath-jearim.  Beginning in 2 Samuel 6, readers might assume David is amassing an army to battle with the Philistines again, but instead, David is rousing 30,000 men to go get the ark of the covenant and to bring it back to Jerusalem.

          The men get the ark and put it on an ox cart and begin to celebrate as they bring the ark into the city.  But, in the midst of the celebration, tragedy strikes.  The oxen begin to shake the cart and the ark becomes unsteady.  As the ark begins to fall, the priest Uzzah reaches out his hand to brace it.  No sooner does he touch the ark than he is struck dead upon the spot.

          Modern readers don’t know what to make of this.  Who is this God who would end the life of someone who was clearly meaning well?  David is also troubled and the writer tells us that he was angry with God for this outburst.  In fact David renames the place “Perez-uzzah” meaning bursting out against Uzzah.  David thinks to himself that maybe the ark is more trouble than it is worth and so he decides to leave it in the home of Obed-edom. 

          Well, three months pass during which the house of Obed-edom is richly blessed because of the ark.  Being a shrewd ruler, David desires this blessing for his own house and so sets off to bring the ark to Jerusalem again.  But this time he is more careful, stopping every six paces to make sacrifices in an attempt to placate his temperamental God.

          The ark finally arrives in the city of Jerusalem and a city wide party ensues.  There is great feasting and dancing in the streets as the people celebrate with joy at the presence of God.  Even David dances like crazy, leaping in the air with such abandon that he carelessly exposes his genitals.

          Alas, the reading does not end on a positive note.  Poor Michal, David’s pawn of a wife, is unhappy to see the king disgrace himself in such a way and she makes her views clear to her husband.  David replies coldly to a wife that he doesn’t love and the reading ends with the note that Michal was barren from that day on.

          Now, other than being an interesting read, you might be wondering what this text is really about.  There are two clear themes that the writer of Samuel wants to get across to the reader; politics and religion.

          We will begin with politics.  If we go way back in the story of David we realize what a political tale it really is.  You will remember that Saul had been ordained as the legitimate ruler of the nation of Israel.  And while Saul is still ruling as king, David is also ordained as the king of Israel.  As you know, there cannot be two kings, and so what follows is a game of cat and mouse between Saul and David to determine who will gain the power of the throne.  David is not the hero some might assume.  He runs around with a rag tag band of outlaws and his rise to power is violent and bloody.  Many will die before David finally sits on the throne, including King Saul.

          A sad story is found in the role of David’s wife Michal who is no more than a pawn in this political scheme.  Michal is the daughter of Saul and originally Saul offered to give Michal to David as his bride for the extremely high price of 100 Philistine foreskins.  Saul hoped David would perish in his attempt to secure such a prize.  But David succeeds (I’d hate to see that wedding gift!) and he and Michal are married.  But as David gains a following, Saul takes Michal back and gives her instead to another man, Palti. 

When David finally becomes king, he again takes Michal as his own, and she is forced to walk to Jerusalem in tears with her other husband, Palti, following behind her.  Needless to say, when we meet Michal in this part of the story she is not a big fan of King David.  Don’t forget that Michal is Saul’s daughter so if she were to have a son, that son might have a claim to the throne that would challenge David’s.  Her barren womb is a blessing to David’s kingship.

          For David, bringing the ark to Jerusalem is all about politics because it is legitimizes his rule.  If David has God on his side then David is the rightful king of Israel, no matter how he obtained the throne.  David is bringing the ark to Jerusalem to cement his leadership of the country.  He is also bringing it there to mark Jerusalem as the center of the nation.  David is attempting to build an empire with Jerusalem as its capital city.  It is all politics and if David can prove that God is on his side, then no one can stop him.

          Of course, bringing the ark to Jerusalem is also about religion.  The ark is the symbol of God’s presence among the people.  The Israelites used to haul it out into battle with them to scare away their enemies.  In some ways, the ark is God to the people, a very holy object that if one touches casually as Uzzah did the penalty is certain death.  David, though he may not be the innocent king we would hope, does have a heart for God.  He wants to bring God back into the lives of the Israelites, and he will do it by reminding them of the ark.

          As the ark comes into the city the people worship God with joy.  There is music and trumpet blasts.  There is singing and dancing in the street.  And there is food as the people celebrate around the table.  Everyone rejoices that the presence of God had come into the city.  Now God’s blessing will surely be upon the house of David and upon the nation of Israel.

          When we explore these strange and dramatic Old Testament texts of smiting and dancing in the streets, modern readers often see no connection to the God of the New Testament.  Surely the God who strikes Uzzah dead is not the same “Abba” that Jesus speaks of.  And yet we know that they are one and the same.           

          The God of the fearsome holiness of the ark is the same God we worship today.  We have just lost a little of our reverence.  God has always been wholly other and when properly considered should inspire a bit of fear into our hearts.  This is a God who demands to be taken seriously, not casually as poor Uzzah learned the hard way.  Perhaps we modern believers should not take attendance at worship as lightly as we do; walking in here every Sunday with the same casualness of walking into Wal-Mart.  Instead perhaps we should approach God with a greater humbleness, acknowledging the power of whom we seek.  For the God we worship certainly has the ability to consume us all, as much as God offers us great blessing.

          This week I was also struck by Uzzah’s assumption that he needed to help God.  The ark was slipping and Uzzah reached out to stop its fall, but what would have happened if it had fallen.  I am guessing that if the lid slipped off it wouldn’t be all “Raiders of the Lost Ark” melted faces.  More likely, nothing would happen.  God has all these rules about how to treat the ark but I think those rules were to inspire reverence, not to protect the ark itself.  Uzzah is trying to save the ark, trying to help God, and in doing so he puts himself above his station.  I wonder how often we try to help God in our own world.  We have some idea of what God might want or what God may be doing, so we reach out and try to do it ourselves.  I’m not sure that’s a good idea, and it certainly didn’t work out well for Uzzah!

          This week I was also really struck by the verse “David and all the house of Israel danced before the Lord with all their might.”  I’m not sure I have ever danced with all my might, and believe me I’ve got some great dance moves.  This week I was struck by the joy and zeal of this celebration.  By the all-consuming act of worshipping God with such abandon.  David gets so lost in the moment that he doesn’t even seem to notice that he is accidently exposing himself.  What would it be like for us to get so wrapped up in our celebration of God?  What would it be like for us to worship with such abandonment?  We can hardly clap our hands in worship, let alone dance our hearts out!

As we travel this summer through the story of David we will experience more of this seemingly foreign Old Testament God; this God of power and politics, this God of great temper and great blessing.  It is my hope that as we explore these texts together we will have a better understanding of the hero David, and a fuller sense of the God we worship.  But today, I encourage us to celebrate as the Israelites did.  For surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.  The Israelites were celebrating the presence of God in the ark, and as modern Christians we claim the presence of God here in our gathered worship today.  Our response should be as theirs was; to welcome God with songs, dances, and shouts of joy.  But please, keep your pants on.  Amen.

         

         

Monday, June 15, 2015

Dancing with David: David and Goliath

June 14th, 2015    “David and Goliath”    Rev. Heather Jepsen
Summer Sermon Series: Dancing with David
1 Samuel 17
          Today we are continuing our summer sermon series; “Dancing with David”.  Last week we read about David’s anointing at the hand of Samuel.  You may remember that the people of Israel had been asking for a king.  They wanted to be like other nations around them.  Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel, but he began to interpret the commands of the Lord to serve his own ends.  God was displeased, removed Saul from his favor, and sent Samuel to anoint a new king.  Despite the fact that he was the youngest of 8 brothers and the least qualified to rule, God has chosen David, the son of Jesse from Bethlehem as his new king. 
          This week we are looking at the Bible’s most famous story about David, the story of David and Goliath.  This is one of the few Biblical stories that has transcended the life of the church, and become a part of our everyday culture.  Even people who have never read the Bible or attended church know the story of the shepherd boy who defeats the giant.  As we study the text today you will notice that this is a different kind of Biblical storytelling.  In fact, this is one of the most epically told stories in all of our Scriptures.  Let’s look at it together . . .
          (Read verses 1-11)
          Clearly we have a battle scene on our hands.  The Philistines, a constant enemy of Israel are on one side of the valley.  The king of Israel, Saul, and his troops are on the other side.  Every day Goliath heads out into the valley to taunt the armies of Israel.  The text says Goliath stands six cubits and a span which translates to almost 10 feet tall.  Clearly, this was a big guy!  A lot of time is spent describing Goliath’s armor.  He is meant to be seen as un-impregnable force.  This guy would have been impossible to take down so it is no wonder that the armies of Israel cower away in fear.
          (Read verses 12-16)
          It is interesting to note here that it appears the writer has no previous knowledge of who David is.  In fact, there will be no mention in this story of the episode we read last week when he was anointed to be the new king.  What we are looking at here is another one of those stories in the Scriptures where we have multiple story lines all woven together.  You may remember that from last summer when we looked at Genesis and studied the two different creation stories. 
Scholars think that there are actually three different introductions to David found in our Bible.  The first is the story we read last week, the second is the story of how David came to court to play his harp for Saul, and this is the third introduction to David.  We will find that not only does this narrative of David not demonstrate any knowledge of his anointing as king, it also does not actually work with the story in the chapter before where he comes to the court to play harp.  In this story, Saul has no prior knowledge of who David is, which wouldn’t make sense if he had been playing harp for him at court. 
In fact, the Scriptures don’t even agree on whether or not it was David who killed Goliath.  In 2 Samuel 21:19 we read “Then there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.”  Clearly, this account of David and Goliath is not meant to be a historical rendering.  It is more important to the Biblical authors as a tale of moral and religious significance giving us insight into the heart of our hero David.
(Read verses 17-30)
So this is the story of how David comes to the court of Saul.  His brothers were already fighting in the armies of Saul.  David is sent out to the battle field by his father Jesse to bring rations to his brothers and provisions for the troops.  He is also asked to return with word of his brothers’ well-being so that his father knows they are “ok”. 
David comes to deliver the meal and hears Goliath and his taunts against the nation of Israel.  David is astounded that the Israelites have such little faith in the promised deliverance from the Lord.  He asks about to find out why the armies of Israel are so hesitant and afraid.  Do they not believe in the power of the Lord to save?
David’s oldest brother Eliab sneers at his audacity to question the battle strategies of the king’s army.  David doesn’t know the first thing about fighting and probably only wants to see bloodshed anyway.
(Read verses 31-37)
News comes to Saul that David is criticizing his army and so he asks after David.  David makes it clear right away that he is willing to go to battle against the giant Goliath.  Saul points out the obvious, that Goliath is a huge seasoned fighter and David is just a young shepherd boy.  David then launches into a bit of grandstanding about is ability to fight off wild animals when he works with the sheep.  As we follow his story, we will find that a lot of David’s success is due to his charisma and confidence and this is certainly no exception.
(Read verses 38-40)
Saul agrees to let David enter the battlefield, and really it is of little concern to him.  If David dies, it is no loss for Saul and if he manages a miracle and wins will that can only be good.  Saul clothes David in his own armor, probably because it was the best available on the battle field.  The writing is meant to be comical as the armor is too big for young David.  He decides to enter the battlefield armed only with his slingshot.  The emphasis on David’s vulnerability is important here.
(Read verses 41-51)
After a lot of trash talk the battle commences and there is relatively little action.  The two men charge and David’s rock somehow manages to sink into Goliath’s head.  The reader is meant to understand that this is a miracle due to David’s great faith in the Lord.  The story is not about his fighting ability or even his heroics.  Instead it is about David’s faith in the God of Israel and the triumph that the Lord promises over his enemies.  In a gruesome turn of events that the Children’s Bible often leaves out, David manages to remove Goliath’s massive sword from its sheath and he cuts off the giants head just to be sure he has finished the job.
(Read verses 51b-58)
After Goliath is defeated, the armies of Israel chase the Philistines out of the area and plunder their camp.  In gory triumph, David drags the head of Goliath all the way back to the city of Jerusalem. 
There is a bit of political intrigue at the end of the story when Saul asks who David is.  Just a few verses ago the two had a lengthy discussion, so how is it that Saul suddenly doesn’t know who David is?  Scholars think that what Saul is actually asking about is David’s allegiance.  When Saul asks, “whose son are you?”, he is really asking where David’s allegiance lies.  Is he faithful to Saul and his kingship or is he his own man?  David’s response is evasive and gives nothing away “I am the son of Jesse.”
This is one of our favorite Bible stories for good reason.  It is well written, it is exciting, and it is the classic underdog story.  In many ways this is the entire story of our faith; the triumph of the weak over the strong.  Throughout the Scriptures we read promises of the righteous weak succeeding in overcoming the unrighteous powerful.
As many of you know, I have been extremely busy this week completing our family’s move.  Lucky for me a perfect illustration of the David and Goliath story fell out of the sky and hit me on the head.  Well, at least it felt like that.  I was busy driving back and forth between the houses this week when I happened to hear an interesting story on NPR’s morning edition.
It is a story about the Goliath of our time; Islamic terrorism and its extreme violence.  The David in our story is Karim Wasfi, the conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra.  Karim lives in a well off neighborhood in Baghdad called Mansour.  Terrorists waged an attack in the area and bombed out a street in his neighborhood.  In response to the violence, Karim took his cello and sat amid the wreckage playing a piece he composed entitled “Baghdad Mourning Melancholy.”  His friend filmed the event and the video has gone viral.
I love this piece as a parallel to David.  Like David, Karim chooses to approach Goliath with no armor.  We will see in the video that he is wearing his performance attire.  Unlike the United States approach of great armor and strength, Karim approaches in weakness, much like David refusing the armor of Saul.  Karim has no rock to throw, but what he does have is the power of music.  It will certainly not defeat an enemy like ISIS, but it does strike a blow in the name of peace and beauty in the world.  And it seeks to break down the biggest weapon that terrorists have, which is fear.
Karim says "This was an action respecting the souls and the spirits of the fallen ones due to terror around the world — and, of course, Baghdad, because we're living the reality over here.  The other side chose to turn every element, every aspect of life in Iraq into a battle and into a war zone.  I chose to turn every corner of Iraq into a spot for civility, beauty and compassion.   I was connecting everything: death, spirits, bodies, life.  People were supportive.  They were appreciating the fact that someone can still at least lead their emotions and spirits towards something beautiful, to rise above the intimidation of improvised death.  Unlike what people think, we have a choice of fighting back.  We can't just surrender to the impending doom of uncertainty by not functioning. But I think it's an awakening for everybody to make a choice and to choose how they want to live, not how they want to die."
If that’s not a story of David and Goliath I don’t know what is.  Let’s watch the video of Karim Wasfi as he plays Baghdad Mourning Melancholy amid the rubble of the streets of Baghdad. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tyDtGAGoqI

Monday, June 8, 2015

Dancing with David: A King is Chosen

June 7th, 2015       “The King is Chosen”       Rev. Heather Jepsen
Summer Sermon Series: Dancing with David
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
          This morning we are embarking on a journey together, our summer sermon series.  This year we are once again returning to the stories of the Old Testament since that is unfamiliar territory for many of us.  For the next three months we will chart the journey of one of the most renowned Biblical heroes, King David.  From his anointing as a young shepherd, to his rise to power, to the building of his kingdom and its painful collapse; David’s story is one of the most beloved tales in all of the Scriptures.
          To begin the story this week, we need to back up a bit and set the stage.  It is long after the time of Moses and the Israelites are settled in the Promised Land.  They are besieged on all sides by warring armies.  The people are tired of being ruled by God and the priestly clan and so they beg for the Lord to give them a king.  The nations around them are ruled in such a manner and they too want a king to lead them to greatness and to treat with other nations.
          God is very hesitant and does not seem to think that having a king would be a good idea for the nation of Israel.  But the requests of the people wear God down and finally he relents.  With the help of the prophet Samuel, the Lord chooses and anoints Saul to rule over the nation of Israel. 
          All seems to be going along smoothly, until Saul becomes corrupted by his power.  In the chapter prior to our reading for today, the Lord commands Saul to engage the Amalekites in battle.  Saul is instructed to utterly destroy all that the Amalekites have including killing all men, women, and children as well as all livestock.  Saul follows orders to an extent.  His armies attack the Amalekites and kill nearly everyone, but Saul keeps the Amalekite king alive as well as the best animals from among the livestock.
          Now, what Saul does seems to make sense.  The king is a powerful person and could be a pawn for political maneuvering.  And the best of the livestock would have great monetary value and would be a shame to waste.  Saul even suggests that the salvaged livestock might be used as an offering to the Lord.  But God is having none of it.  The command was total destruction and since Saul did not complete the task, he is out as king.  Saul’s actions show his desire to interpret the commandments of the Lord, rather than follow them to the letter.  It is not what God wants, and so he is removed from the Lord’s favor and God will choose another to rule over Israel.
          So begins our reading for today.  The prophet Samuel has been in mourning over the shortened kingship of Saul, when God commands him to get up, get over it, and get busy anointing a new king.  God sends Samuel to the city of Bethlehem to the family of Jesse, for God has chosen a king from among the ranks of Jesse’s sons.  Samuel is understandably nervous to go.  Even though God has removed Saul from his favor, Saul is technically still the king of Israel and to anoint a new king would be an act of high treason.
          God convinces Samuel to treat the event like a common sacrifice as a cover story and so off he heads to do the Lord’s bidding.  As soon as he meets Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, Samuel is convinced that this is the man God has chosen.  He is strong and handsome, he appears wise, and he clearly would make a good leader for Israel.  But God makes it clear that this is not his choice.  In one of the most famous lines of Scripture, God says that “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
          One by one the brothers parade before Samuel, but none of those presented are chosen to be anointed as the new king.  Finally Samuel asks Jesse if these are all his sons.  It is only then that we hear of the youngest son, who is out tending the sheep.  Someone is sent to fetch the boy and when he arrives his skin is red or ruddy from the exertion of running into town from the far fields.  God makes it clear that this previously unknown, youngest brother is the one that God has chosen.  Samuel empties the horn of oil out upon David’s head and from that moment on he was filled with the spirit of the Lord.
          This is one of the most beloved stories in our scriptures because it so clearly follows one of our favorite archetypes.  David is a true underdog.  The youngest brother, the runt of the litter, the one nobody expected to rise to power; David is one of the first stories in scripture where we find the last becoming the first.  As we follow David’s story we find that his life mirrors that of many other underdogs who rise to power through dubious scheming, sheer charisma, and rugged determination.  Much like the legend of Robin Hood, the Lord of the Rings hero Strider, and the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Peter Quill; David is a bit of an unsavory character which makes us love him all the more.
          As we follow his journey this summer, we will find that the story of David is also a story of our God.  The God of 1st Samuel is very anthropomorphized.  This is a God who changes his mind, a God who is touched by human failure, and a God who suffers heartache when he is rejected by his people.  This is a God who struggles internally as he seeks to discover how best to relate to his creation.  He was against the idea of a king in the first place, and he is deeply grieved by Saul’s failure.  As soon as David is anointed, the spirit of the Lord will leave Saul who will then descend into madness for the rest of his life.
          Saul’s was a conditional kingship and a failed experiment.  He was only granted authority and blessing when he followed the Lord’s commands exactly.  When Saul strays from the path, the whole thing is a wash.  By contrast, God makes a different promise with David.  God promises a faithfulness to David that he didn’t grant to Saul.  Even though David will sin, God will not remove him from authority.  As we will find, David is certainly punished for his arrogant wrongdoing, but unlike Saul he will continue to hold his place upon the throne.  And more importantly, he will continue to have the spirit of the Lord upon him throughout the whole of his lifetime.
          So, what are we to make of this story today?  Well, just like last summer, this summer we will have to wrestle with the raw, rough edged, God of the Old Testament.  This is a God who changes his mind at a whim, a God who orders the slaughter of innocents, and a God who can be very hard for us to understand.  This is also a God who engages with people on an extremely personal level.  From his conversations with Samuel this week, to his ongoing dialog with David, this is a God who seems intimately woven into the lives of individuals. 
          To be honest, I am not quite sure how to relate this story to our own lives.  That is always the challenge of these summer sermon series and that is part of the reason I make myself do them.  The gospel reading for today on the mustard seed is certainly an easier text to preach from. 
I think this week I will take the easy way out and focus on that famous line in verse 7; “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  Although he is handsome like his brothers, and he appears to have a spark of wisdom in his eyes, God sees something more in David.  He is certainly not the one we would have chosen.  He is the youngest, the least skilled, and the least prepared for leadership.  He is the least expected choice for a new king at the sacrifice that day, and as he moves through his life he will do many a thing that makes us question why God would place him in this position.  And yet, this is the choice, this is the one God chooses.  As modern people we will grow to wonder what the Lord sees in David, just as we may wonder what the Lord sees in any number of people in our world.
It is interesting to note that today’s reading is really about Samuel and hardly about David at all.  Though it is the story of the moment he is chosen for leadership, the reader is granted no idea of how David might be feeling about the whole thing.  What did he think when he was left behind to tend the sheep?  How did he react to his surprising summons?  What could have been going through his mind as the anointing oil flowed over his head and down his face?  And what was he ruminating on as he returned to the fields, anointed as king and yet still a shepherd boy?  The reader can only guess and wonder about the answers to these questions.
After our story for today, David the usurper will weasel his way into the court of Saul who is still ruling as king over Israel.  Saul is troubled by evil spirits and David will enter the court as a musician to calm Saul’s nerves with the soothing sound of his harp.  David will also serve as Saul’s armor bearer which will place him in a strategic position in battles to come.  Already he is clearly the one blessed by the Lord’s favor.
As we journey through the scriptures this summer we will see many sides of David.  From his deep love of the Lord, to his corruption through absolute power his story is surely an interesting one.  In our reading for today we are given the heading from which David’s entire story will flow, “The spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”  May the spirit of God also come upon us as we dance with David this summer.  Amen.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Embracing the Mystery


May 31st, 2015     “Embracing the Mystery”     Rev. Heather Jepsen
Isaiah 6:1-8 with Psalm 29
          In our modern day and age, I believe that we have lost a lot of the mystery and reverence people once had for God.  We have spent many years trying to define and understand the nature of God.  From doctrines of the Trinity and Atonement, to big words like Perichoresis and Transubstantiation; humanity has made a strong effort over the centuries to define that which in essence is undefinable.  God is not a mystery if students can take three years of classes and “master” divinity.  
          So too, we have come to understand the created world we live in in such a way as to push aside all mystery and wonder.  What once was the magic of pinpoints of light in a distant sky is now a catalog of named stars and galaxies; complete with distance approximations between here and “there”.  What once was the inexplicable force of thunder and lightning is now a predictable pattern of air currents and temperature swirling the globe.  Where humanity once wondered at the power and presence of fire, I now carry a phone in my purse that is so complex that I not only don’t understand how it works, I don’t understand how to use all of its features properly.  Once there was mystery in the created world, now there is mystery in the wonder of things people have created.
          It is no surprise then, that we have lost our sense of the mystery of God.  If people can create things like this, than where is the wonder when we look at the creations God has made?  If people can define and label every aspect of God, then where exactly is the divinity?  God, who was once a force to be feared and respected, becomes nothing more than a quaint idea of times gone by.  And we wonder why young people don’t go to church!  Have you noticed the world they have grown up in?!?
          Our reading from Isaiah takes us back to a different time in the life of the church.  This reading takes us back to a time when God was a force and a power, God was something to fear.
          Isaiah is granted a vision of the Lord and what he sees is terrifying to behold.  Isaiah looks up from the temple and sees God sitting high on a throne.  The hem of his robe fills the temple and he is accompanied by holy and strange winged beasts.  It is a scene of immense power.  The throne symbolizes power in the political realm, the temple symbolizes power in the spiritual realm, and there is actually a lot of imagery of sexual power as well in the euphemisms of covered feet and that giant hem of God’s robe.  The vision Isaiah shares is meant to be overwhelming, and it is meant to be frightening.  This is not a God you call “Abba”; this is a God you cower away from in fear.
          Like Isaiah, readers of this scripture should feel uncomfortable.  Our response should be his response.  When faced with the sheer awesomeness of God’s power and wonder, we should hide ourselves in fear.  “Woe is me!” we should all cry when we consider being in the presence of such a God. 
          Isaiah is overcome by his own sinfulness and unworthiness, his own powerlessness and his humble place in the created order.  As he shrinks away in fear a seraph flies toward him and burns his mouth with a hot coal.  It is a symbol of his cleansing from sin, and Isaiah is now prepared to go out and be the Lord’s prophet. 
In one of the most beloved lines of scripture, the holiness of God cries out “Whom shall I send, and who shall go for us?” and Isaiah replies in a frightened stammer, “Here am I; send me!”  Lest we should all line up for the privilege of this mission, it helps to read on a few lines where we find that Isaiah is being sent to preach a word of judgment to a people who will never ever listen.  Furthermore, he is called to preach this word until the land is utterly desolate and the cities lie in waste.  Talk about a tough first call!
          I don’t know about you, but the story that Isaiah tells makes me really uncomfortable.  Political power, spiritual power, sexual power; it’s all a bit much for me.  If God is some sort of strange figure filling the temple and shaking the earth with his voice, I’m not sure I want to be part of this.  I am not sure I want to meet this God.  I’m not sure I want my lips burned off, just so I can go preach a word that no one wants to hear anyway.  I’m not sure that’s what I signed on for.
          Today is Trinity Sunday which is about the strangest Sunday in the liturgical year.  Instead of celebrating our God, it seems to me that we are celebrating an idea that we have about our God.  And what an idea it is!
          How do you explain that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; but is also one thing not three?  God is like water.  It can be vapor, ice, or liquid.  But that doesn’t really work because it is not all those things at once.  God is like light.  It is a wave and a particle.  Ok, maybe, if you got a better grade in physics than I did then that works for you.  In seminary they teach you that God is movement.  God is the three parts of the trinity dancing with each other and then dancing with you.  That’s a nice idea, but I’m not sure that works either.  God is three things and God is one thing, go figure!
          The church developed the concept of the trinity at the Council of Nicaea in 325.  The argument was about the nature of Christ.  Was Christ equal with God or less than God?  It was this argument that led to the idea of three persons, one God.  To be honest, I think the guys at Nicaea (and of course they were all guys) did a great job.  But I wish we would have left it a little more nebulous.  I wish we would have left a little more mystery in the world.  I wish we had fewer answers and fewer definitions in the church.
          Our Psalm reading for today is thought to be the oldest Psalm in our collection.  Some scholars believe that this may be a hymn from the Canaanite religion that the early Israelites adopted and made their own.  Like the God of Isaiah, the God of Psalm 29 is mystery and wonder.  Tying the power of God to the wonders of the natural world, God speaks and the storms arise.  They move into the land and bring chaos wherever they go.  Trees break, cities fall, and the land lies flooded.  God is in the power of nature, God is to be respected and feared.
          When I read verse 10, “the Lord sits enthroned over the flood” all I could think about were the people in Texas.  I imagined the destruction and chaos in cities like Huston, superimposed with the image of the giant God from Isaiah sitting on his throne.  Is this the God we worship?  Is that the God we serve?
          Like many of you, I am much more comfortable with that loving parent image of God.  I like the mother from Isaiah that yearns to hold us to her breast, I like the loving Abba that Jesus speaks of, I like the mother hen who gathers me close to her downy feathers as I shelter in her wings.  I like that God. 
          But I think sometimes I need this other God.  I need the God of Isaiah full of power which causes me to hide in fear.  I need the God of Psalm 29 who destroys forest and city with natural disaster.  I need the God of Genesis who grieves over creation and wipes it away like a child throws their toys across a room.  I need the God of Revelation who comes in frightening judgment and threatens all the world with a lake of fire. 
          I need a God who inspires fear, to remind me of who I am and my place in the world.  If I only think of the loving God, then I start to think that God loves me more than other people.  Just like how I love my own kids more than other kids in the world.  I start to think that God loves my family more than other families.  That God loves my country more than other countries.  I need to remember my place before God is the place Isaiah takes.  I need to cower in fear, I need to be humbled, and I need to remember my place, as does all of humanity.
          On this Trinity Sunday, I want to encourage you to embrace the mystery and profound holiness of our God.  Sure, we have some ideas about who God might be.  But most of God is mystery and most of God is other.  And sure we can understand a lot of our world, and we can make amazing things, but my IPhone is nothing when compared to a ripe juicy strawberry which was grown by a person, but which was made by our God. 
          It is good to feel loved and cared for by our Lord, but it is also good to remember our place.  We are each but one person on a very crowded planet.  And we are each loved equally by a very powerful and frightening God.  And we each stand as sinners when we come before our Lord’s throne.  The world we live in tells us that we are center of the universe.  Our faith is telling us another story, and I think it is one that we would all do well to embrace.  Amen.