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Rev. Gabrielle Suedfeld
Sermon: Lent 4, Sunday, March 19th 2023
When I was seven, my grandmother gave me a children’s Bible. It was a large book, about 10 x 15 inches, covered in purple cloth. The deluxe edition, I’m sure. On the cover was a watercolour insert of David the shepherd, sitting on a rock, watching sheep and playing a lyre. A multi-tasker.
And that’s probably the picture many of us have in our heads, of this complex character, larger than life (but smaller than Goliath), adventurous, impulsive, sometimes sinful, but always loved and respected as the founder a house that stretches all the way to Jesus.
Actually, David’s life was a series of battles, family dysfunction, power politics and sorrow. Maybe he should have stayed with the sheep!
John Holbert (Discerning Divine Activity :Reflections on 1 Samuel 15:1-13, www.patheos.com. March 27, 2011) puts it this way:
“It is fair to say that this extraordinary tale of power politics, difficulties of family, and the future of the people of Israel has too often been reduced to flannel board simplicity.”
I spent a fun time on Thursday, delving into chapters of biblical history, because you can’t really appreciate what’s going on in this little scene unless you know why David was chosen. So here is a little bit of history that will serve you well in many other stories.
It all begins with the twelve tribes of Israel, settled nicely on the land God gave them after the Exodus, in Canaan. Rolling farmland, dotted with sheep and goats. The clans going about their business, worshiping, trading, sometimes squabbling among themselves, as many extended families do.
And then, around the year 1000 bce, the Philistines enter the scene. Pillaging, killing, eating away at the borders of each clan territory. The Hebrew people were not equipped to defend themselves as individual groups. They were still in the bronze age; their weapons were no match for the iron swords and axes of the invaders.
So they decided on a corporate merger – the elders of the tribes proclaimed that they would become one kingdom.
“All the other nations have a king, we should too.” “After all,” they say in 1 Samuel chapter 8, “Samuel is getting old, he’s not able to advise us as a judge and prophet, and his sons are a real mess, taking bribes and perverting justice. They’ll never fill his sandals.”
Samuel has a long conversation with God, who sighs and says,
“It’s not your fault, these people have been forsaking me on a regular basis since I brought them out of Egypt. They’re not going to change now. Listen to what they have to say, but warn them what it will be like to have a king instead of judges and elders in a tribe.”
Samuel obeys God.
“OK, if you want a king, you can have one, but remember, he will take your sons for war, and appoint his own military commanders, he will use your people to plow the fields over which he will have control, He can take your daughters to serve in the palace. He will give your fields and vineyards to his court favourites. He will use your cattle for his own work, and take ten percent of your flocks. When all that happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you. This was not God’s plan, and you won’t get any help from that direction, either.”
But still the people demanded a king, and Samuel choses Saul, a handsome young man from the tribe of Benjamin. For several years, things go well. Saul is a competent king. He appoints the right people to deal with the Philistines. There are military victories, and truth be told, Saul didn’t change much of the internal workings of the tribes when they united into a kingdom. He didn’t spend money on large building projects and lived rather simply.. Samuel announced his “retirement”, and it looked as if the whole kingdom plan was going to work.
But after a number of years, Saul began to be corrupted by his own power. He made unlawful sacrifices, he broke his vows to God, he appropriated flocks that belonged to the public domain, and he seemed to be sinking into depression and irregular behaviour. In great sorrow, and probably some shame, Samuel had to confront Saul, and turn his back on him because he was no longer fit to be king over all the people.
And so we come to today’s reading. Saul is still officially the king, but Samuel has been commanded by God to anoint a successor, and he goes to Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, in secret, to find the next ruler, a prince in waiting.
Jesse is only too happy to gather his seven oldest sons for inspection. He lines them up, like a beauty contest, starting with the eldest and going down to one of the younger ones. Samuel looks, and is impressed with Eliab. He’s young, and tall, and handsome. God says “don’t look at his appearance, look into his heart. He’s not the one”
So Samuel goes down the line, but none of the seven candidates is the winner. “Do you have any other sons?” he asks Jesse. “Oh, just the youngest, but he’s out watching the sheep.” David is fetched straight from the fields. And God chooses him. Yes, he is glowing with health, from all that fresh air, but there’s something else about him. God says “this is the one.” And Samuel anoints David in the presence of his family and God’s power was on David from that day.
This is the beginning of the story. David is a teenager, Saul is still clinging to kingship, and several years will pass before David can take the throne. He will comfort Saul by playing his harp, he will kill Goliath, he will get thrown out of the kingdom by Saul’s jealousy, wander around for a bit, and be anointed twice more. Those are stories for a later time.
What strikes me about this little scene today, is how we view leadership and responsibility. What do we want from our leaders, in church, in government? This is a story that has contemporary issues all over it.
We’re used to thinking that we live in a democracy, that everyone should have equal opportunity and equal justice, no matter their gender, social status, religion, family of origin, etc. Well, come on, you know that’s not the case. The good news here is that we know, and we struggle, and we admit that we have a long way to go before we can have justice and equality and economic stability in this country.
We are used to thinking that kings (or sometimes, today, queens,) get that way through inheritance. But historically, people could become leaders of nations by being appointed, or through conquest, or marriage, or even election. And they had varying powers at different times in history.
We are used to thinking that our elections determine the will of the people, so everything will be alright. Every day, the news tells us that is not so either.
We are used to thinking that our elected officials will behave in a civil manner to one another for the good of all the people, and what we see in reality is that there is criticism of the party in power, suspicion, untruths being told, harassment, and confusion.
I believe that if you are dissatisfied with the ones in power, you need to come up with a list of better ways to do things, rather than just saying “the other party is wrong”. There are times to compromise, times to speak the truth with honesty and courage, times to be willing to accept challenges and change.
It’s not easy to be a leader of any kind in today’s world. We are all raw from the events of the past few years, and we want to sit back and relax for a while. Instead, like Samuel being called out of retirement, we are being asked to gather our strength, stop grousing and griping, and get on with the business of repairing the world. In some way, we are all being called to leadership and responsibility. And that’s hard.
There are world leaders who seem bent on destruction, using their power to threaten, to supress freedom, to use their wealth and influence for their own gain. There are leaders of large corporations who see only the profit they can make, and disregard the cost in terms of human life, and the well-being of the planet. There are leaders in every facet of life who may have started out with all good intentions, but just didn’t get the support they needed, or decided to go it alone, and who ultimately failed in their positions of responsibility.
Things haven’t changed much in three thousand years I keep thinking about our First Nation’s societies, and how they were changed after settlers came, after the government initiated the Indian Act, after children were taken away. In bits and pieces, the story is becoming clear, and we are committed to finding ways to heal the repair the damage.
As I listened to stories during my ministry over thirty years ago, I began to understand what tribal wisdom entailed. I think that human beings are really designed to live in a tribal configuration, not in huge corporate, institutional and commercial settings.
In a smaller group, in small towns, in small churches, people know each other, they notice how children develop, they call out the skills of each as an individual, and figure out how they will support growth and talents for the good of the community. Sometimes, people get lost in the impersonal busyness of larger settings.
First Nation’s tribal governance worked just fine, much of the time. The intimate family connections and clan setups were often enough to deal with social problems in a village. And they still are! But we took away the tribal council, and replaced it with a European style band council, and it doesn’t always work with the wisdom and the heritage of the people.
We look at our church, and realize that we had four levels of governance until a few years ago, and now we have three. Eliminating the presbytery meant that some of the local area support of our neighbouring churches, the regular gathering times of lay leaders and clergy, the wisdom of people we knew, is no long there, and we are working to find ways to build new relationships.
Our country is vast in area, and we need to appreciate all levels of government which lead to a healthy society. So we have not only a federal government, but provincial leadership that reflects the unique aspects in social and economic and geographical differences that make us so richly blessed. And then we have our local town and city councils, so that people can express their concerns and dreams for the future of each small area.
This is a story about responsible leadership, and how changes in style of government can cause a society to be shaken to its roots. It may make us take a look into our own hearts and ask:
What do we expect of our leaders? And how can we support them? How can we express our disagreement in a civil and constructive manner?
How do we choose them? When we participate in the elective process where does our wisdom and faith come in?
Are we open to new ideas, willing to risk, or do we always go for the tried and true?
Are we looking at leadership from an earthly point of view, or with the eyes of God?
How long do we hold on to grudges, sorrows, losses before we move on to actively participate in a new regime?
What are we learning as we change and shape a new culture? How do we accommodate and celebrate those on the margins of our comfort zone?
And finally, How can we make room for younger voices, who have less experience, but more energy, and who still believe that the improbable can be a reality, and that the impossible only takes a little longer?
The Good News in today’s story is that we look back on ancient events, and know that God never gave up on those beloved people. We look at our own situation, and know that God is still here, even when we falter. We are held up even now by the strength of the Spirit, and the promises of the resurrection, in our Lenten