Waiting Patiently Upon the Lord

A Sermon for the 4^th Sunday after Pentecost (RCL B) 6-24-2012

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              1 Samuel 17:57-18:5,10-16; Psalm 133; Mark 4:35-41

Themes:         Jonathan and David, unity in the love of God, Jesus as Master

Title:               Waiting Patiently Upon the Lord

My dear sisters and brothers: we are continuing our journey through these chronicles of the kings of Israel. Last week we heard about the anointing of David as the new king of Israel, appointed to replace the failed reign of Saul, and we talked together about how David had the heart of a champion, the heart of a king.

Today we continue with more of the legends surrounding the rise of David as the greatest King in Hebrew history. But today, the text from the First Book of Samuel presents us with a very different lesson drawn from the story of David.

But first I need to ask you this question: Does anyone here like to watch movies? Yes…me too!

I’m sure that you can think of a hundred movies where the hero of the story goes out and conquers takes what is rightfully his! Like every single action movie ever made!

This is what our popular culture teaches: the strong man takes what is his, the strong man claims his rights, the strong man takes his own.

But this is the exact opposite of what we see in David’s rise to the throne. For in David, we see an attitude of patient waiting upon God.

These stories that we are reading are full of symbolic imagery.

We could have read today about David’s victory over Goliath. And you may remember that Saul had offered the use of his own armor and his own sword to young David who had the moxie to challenge Goliath in open combat. But Saul’s armor was too big for young David, and so instead he wore his own clothes into battle. And his weapon of choice was his trusty sling and 5 smooth stones picked out of the nearby streambed.

Now remember: in the age of kings, one of the primary symbols of royal power was the sword.

The one who wielded the sword of the king could wield the authority of the king. Even Saint Paul in the New Testament - a thousand years after the rise of King David - referred to this symbolism when he reminded the readers of his Letter to the Romans that “the [governing] authority does not bear the sword in vain” (Romans 13:4). The sword is the symbol of authority and power.

Saul had offered his own sword to David the young man, but he was not ready for it.

Instead, when he killed Goliath in the field with his sling, he used the sword of the great giant to cut off the giant’s head! In that battle, David was symbolically given power over the Philistines by the hand of God.

Notice the details, my friends: David did not take this authority by intrigue nor by skillful manipulation. The authors of this text are clear to stress that it was given to him by the desire of God.

And so David now returns to Saul with the head of Goliath, and the sword of Goliath, in his hands.

Can you imagine it? What a nasty, gruesome sight!

But there he stands, holding the symbolic power over the Philistines. He could have taken the throne right then and there! As the one who defeated the hated enemy of the people, he could have struck down Saul and taken the throne and all the gathered armies would have followed him!

But he did not. He waited, and what happens then but the power and position and privilege of the crown prince is given to him!

We are never told why Jonathan loved David. But the why does not matter; what matters to the story is the result.

Jonathan is the eldest son of Saul, and so he stands first in line to claim the throne after his father.

But, because of his love for David, he gives away his birthright. And now David stands as the rightful prince, the rightful heir to the throne, with all the symbols of princely power.

Can you see the message clearly being expressed?

The editors of this text are sending a clear message: David did not usurp the throne from Saul, and David did not usurp the position of Jonathan as the one in line for the throne.

It was given to him – yes, by the love of Jonathan, but it was given to David truly by the hand of God.

Unlike the heroes of our popular culture who take what is rightfully theirs, David is presented to us as the one who waited patiently upon the Lord, the one who had every opportunity to take the kingship away from Saul, and who did not.

Remember how the story is presented: as a young boy he was anointed to be the next king.

So he knew that God had called and appointed him to be king. And it would have been so easy for him to return with the head and the sword of Goliath and to take the throne! David had multiple opportunities to kill Saul and take the throne.

But David knew that God would let him know when the time was right.

I’ve talked with all of you about Abba Agathon who lived in the Egyptian desert in the 3^rd century. He was the monk who walked around with a stone in his mouth for 3 years until he had learned how to control his tongue! So you know what kind of serious man he was!

Once this Abba Agathon was out walking with his disciples, and one of his disciples found a small green pea on the road. And so he asked his elder, “Father, may I take it?”

The old Abba looked at him with astonishment and asked, “Was it you who put it there?”

“No”, the disciples replied.

“How then,” the elder Agathon continued, “can you take up something which you did not put down?”

(The Sayings of the Desert Fathers by Benedicta Ward, 1984: p. 22).

Now, this is quite obviously an extreme example. 

Surely, if you need food to eat – and especially in the desert! – and there is a spare pea lying in the road, surely you can take it and eat it!

But the point is not about that one little pea. The point for Abba Agathon – and for all of these ancient masters in the desert – was to change the instinctual responses of the human heart.

If you see something that you need or want lying on the ground, what is your natural response?

Is it not to take it, to grab it?  

But what is the state of mind of one who lives completely within a patient trust in God?

My first vivid encounter with this attitude came from our neighbor when we lived outside of Richmond, Virginia. Our neighbor was an American Indian medicine man – Barry Thunder Eagle Leno.

Barry took me under his wings during the 3 years that I was there in seminary.

Often, when we talked, Barry would mention in passing that he needed some thing or other, and then he would finish his sentence by saying, “but it’ll come when it’s time.” And that was his attitude.

He lived with this sense of patient trust that whatever was truly necessary would come to him when the time was right.

I remember being amazed by this perspective, and I remember even more wanting to emulate it! Wanting to live with that same kind of patient trust.   

The Bible tells us that this is how David lived, this is how David came to be the greatest King in the history of Israel.

Not by forcefully grabbing and taking that which was his by right.

But rather by patiently waiting upon God, waiting for God’s good timing.

What about you? Are you able to live with this same kind of attitude and perspective?

Can you live each day with this kind of patient trust in Christ, who – after all – is the Master over even the wind and the sea? 

May it always be so among us who have been anointed and called as kings and priests to serve God for ever and ever. Amen. 

Why are you afraid?

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.

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.

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.