Sermon for Proper 7 B (RCL), Offered by Nathan Ferrell at HS, Bellmawr & St. Luke’s, Westville
Texts: 1 Sam 17:1,4-11,19-23,32-49; Psalm 9; 2 Cor 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
Welcome, my friends, to the summer of King David! Welcome. All summer long, every week we will hear a passage in our Lectionary about the life of David, and in mid-August it will continue with the life of his successor, Solomon the wise.
David’s life story is revealed to us in greater detail and clarity than that of any other life in the Hebrew scriptures. He has set an example to the people of God for 3000 years. Today, we are given the task of hearing again the familiar old story of David’s defeat of Goliath.
I am certain that many of you glazed over while hearing this story read aloud, because most of us have heard it now a thousand times. But if we listen carefully to the familiar old stories, even here can we discern the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us.
David is our prime example of a risk-taker in the Hebrew scriptures. His boldness in the face of such overwhelming odds is a testimony to his own determination as well as the strength of his trust in God. When all others were stuck in their fear – paralyzed and unable to act, David walked forward, straight out to the battle line.
And in the amazing courage of David we have this truth confirmed: to have faith, to trust in the living God means having the capability of taking risks.
Think about this, my friends: if we honestly trust that God is the Master of all things, that God has a good and loving purpose for our lives, then when an opportunity to act for good presents itself, we ought to be people who are ready to move forward, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
I am sure that many of you have heard the Risk Poem. This poem has floated around in popular culture for quite some time. I tried to research its origin, but was unsuccessful. The author is not known. It certainly smacks of trite pop psychology, but I see truth in it nonetheless. This is the Risk poem.
Texts: 1 Sam 17:1,4-11,19-23,32-49; Psalm 9; 2 Cor 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
Welcome, my friends, to the summer of King David! Welcome. All summer long, every week we will hear a passage in our Lectionary about the life of David, and in mid-August it will continue with the life of his successor, Solomon the wise.
David’s life story is revealed to us in greater detail and clarity than that of any other life in the Hebrew scriptures. He has set an example to the people of God for 3000 years. Today, we are given the task of hearing again the familiar old story of David’s defeat of Goliath.
I am certain that many of you glazed over while hearing this story read aloud, because most of us have heard it now a thousand times. But if we listen carefully to the familiar old stories, even here can we discern the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us.
David is our prime example of a risk-taker in the Hebrew scriptures. His boldness in the face of such overwhelming odds is a testimony to his own determination as well as the strength of his trust in God. When all others were stuck in their fear – paralyzed and unable to act, David walked forward, straight out to the battle line.
And in the amazing courage of David we have this truth confirmed: to have faith, to trust in the living God means having the capability of taking risks.
Think about this, my friends: if we honestly trust that God is the Master of all things, that God has a good and loving purpose for our lives, then when an opportunity to act for good presents itself, we ought to be people who are ready to move forward, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
I am sure that many of you have heard the Risk Poem. This poem has floated around in popular culture for quite some time. I tried to research its origin, but was unsuccessful. The author is not known. It certainly smacks of trite pop psychology, but I see truth in it nonetheless. This is the Risk poem.
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to others is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.To hope is to risk despair.To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken,because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing,does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow,but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love,
live.Chained by their certitude, they are a slave,they forfeited their freedom.
Only the person who risks is truly free.
There is deep truth here, I believe. If we avoid taking risks out of fear, then we are bound by our past and unable to grow. This is the dynamic at work in our Gospel reading for today. Jesus had just called the 12 apostles, and they had left their old lives to follow him. But they were still dominated by their fear. They did not yet understand who this Christ is. We, of course, live on the other side of the resurrection. We know who this Messiah is, and yet the Lord’s question is just as fitting for us as it was for them: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
So let us all be clear about this: to overcome our fear, to live by faith and trust so that we are inspired to boldness and courage – this is the task of our lives in Christ.
And when we take these steps of faith, God can act. There are times when God intervenes in history and in our lives in a way that cannot be explained by any other means. Luck is not part of a Christian’s vocabulary. We cannot, and we should not, attribute the good things in our lives to mere happenstance.
But, let us also be clear about this: risk-taking does not always turn out the way we hope. Faith is not a magic formula to achieve success. We must not be naïve about David’s example and what it means for us. As we will hear about in the weeks to come, we need to remember also that after David’s amazing defeat of Goliath, Saul spent many years trying to kill David. The young man had to live for years in the caves and hills of Judea, constantly fleeing for his life. The Psalms attributed to David pay tribute to the range of experiences that David encountered. In some of the Psalms, we hear David uttering the deepest laments of the human heart. And we know, of course, of the death of his son after his illicit tryst with Bath-sheba. David’s faith and courage did not shield him from the pains of human life.
The Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, took a risk while living under the reign of the Third Reich. He felt compelled by God to join in a covert attempt to assassinate Hitler. For Bonheoffer, this was akin to dealing with a fictional madman in a town who drives every day in a reckless manner. Eventually, the man drives up on the sidewalks and begins running down pedestrians. The typical pastoral response is to minister to those who are the victims of the madman driver. But Bonhoeffer believed that his responsibility as pastor was instead to stop the madman driver from ever driving again. He took the risk of joining this effort. However, the plot was foiled. Bonhoeffer was arrested and was killed by the Nazis just a few weeks before the Allied troops arrived. His risk-taking, his courage, inspired by his faith, failed to achieve its goal and ultimately cost him his life.
So let us all be clear about this: to overcome our fear, to live by faith and trust so that we are inspired to boldness and courage – this is the task of our lives in Christ.
And when we take these steps of faith, God can act. There are times when God intervenes in history and in our lives in a way that cannot be explained by any other means. Luck is not part of a Christian’s vocabulary. We cannot, and we should not, attribute the good things in our lives to mere happenstance.
But, let us also be clear about this: risk-taking does not always turn out the way we hope. Faith is not a magic formula to achieve success. We must not be naïve about David’s example and what it means for us. As we will hear about in the weeks to come, we need to remember also that after David’s amazing defeat of Goliath, Saul spent many years trying to kill David. The young man had to live for years in the caves and hills of Judea, constantly fleeing for his life. The Psalms attributed to David pay tribute to the range of experiences that David encountered. In some of the Psalms, we hear David uttering the deepest laments of the human heart. And we know, of course, of the death of his son after his illicit tryst with Bath-sheba. David’s faith and courage did not shield him from the pains of human life.
The Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, took a risk while living under the reign of the Third Reich. He felt compelled by God to join in a covert attempt to assassinate Hitler. For Bonheoffer, this was akin to dealing with a fictional madman in a town who drives every day in a reckless manner. Eventually, the man drives up on the sidewalks and begins running down pedestrians. The typical pastoral response is to minister to those who are the victims of the madman driver. But Bonhoeffer believed that his responsibility as pastor was instead to stop the madman driver from ever driving again. He took the risk of joining this effort. However, the plot was foiled. Bonhoeffer was arrested and was killed by the Nazis just a few weeks before the Allied troops arrived. His risk-taking, his courage, inspired by his faith, failed to achieve its goal and ultimately cost him his life.
And what about the apostles themselves? By the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, they learned to overcome their fear and to trust in God in all things. Because of their courage, we are here today. But remember that all 12 of their lives ended in tragedy in one form or another. Receiving the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire did not protect them from pain and hardship in this world. Their boldness cost them their lives, but God was able to do amazing things through them.
And so the question for us remains the same: why are you afraid? In spite of our failures, in spite of our foolishness and blindness, if we can move forward in courage and boldness and truly live our lives by faith, then God might be able to do something amazing in your life. You have to simply take the first step. As the Lord said to St Paul, so it can be said about all of us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
You know, we pray for this every week. After receiving Christ in the sacrament, we pray:
“Grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart.”
And so may the great God of life find us always ready and willing to turn this prayer into a reality in the real world. Amen.
And so the question for us remains the same: why are you afraid? In spite of our failures, in spite of our foolishness and blindness, if we can move forward in courage and boldness and truly live our lives by faith, then God might be able to do something amazing in your life. You have to simply take the first step. As the Lord said to St Paul, so it can be said about all of us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
You know, we pray for this every week. After receiving Christ in the sacrament, we pray:
“Grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart.”
And so may the great God of life find us always ready and willing to turn this prayer into a reality in the real world. Amen.
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