This Sunday's Sermon: Pentecost II, AD MMIX

With Thanks to Christy for her encouragement to post this lesson, here it is!

Pentecost II Proper 6 14 June 2009
I Samuel 15:34-16:13

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. AMEN.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PLANS GO ARWY?

Samuel the prophet had a problem. When he was a young man, the people of Israel had come to him and asked him to anoint a king over Israel, one like the other nations had. He had warned them that a king would draft their children and raise their taxes. When God told him to give the people what they wanted, his heart was broken because of the people’s rebellious attitudes towards the Lord.

In keeping with the faith and practice of the Hebrews, a king was chosen by drawing lots. Saul was strong, tall, handsome and athletic; and seemed to be a humble and devout man. But as time went on, this king whom Samuel had anointed grew prideful and dictatorial. He finally shook his fist at God by arrogating to himself the office of the Priesthood. The king begged for forgiveness, but he had gone too far. God rejected him as unfit for kingship “and Samuel never saw Saul again to his dying day, but he grieved for him, because the Lord had repented of having made him King over Israel.”

Have you ever had such a loss? I daresay most of us have. After so much hard work and happy dreaming, our plans are dashed on the rocks of unforseen occurrences. Today’s Old Testament lesson is an historic account of how the Lord called Samuel to proceed with the business of the Kingdom after the devastating rejection of King Saul. I believe that in it, God gives us a model for dealing with the disappointments in our own lives.

God said to the Prophet Samuel, “I am sending you” to:
1. overcome your inaction, to get up and move!
2. overcome your fear, to develop a plan!
3. overcome your prejudice, see it God’s way!
4. overcome your impatience, and persevere!

It is foundational that Samuel starts with a faith that God is acting in his life; that God is ultimately calling the shots. Whether we recognize it or not, that is as true in all of our lives as it was in Samuel’s. God is even working through the bad things in our lives to accomplish his purpose for mankind and to prepare us for heaven.

And so we start with faith, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. With that faith we approach the numbing and debilitating inactivity that so often accompanies grief and disappointment. The Lord tells Samuel “fill your horn of oil and take it with you, because I am sending you out to do my work!” All of the work we do is God’s work; from the honest godly toil of the laborer to the ministrations of the priest at the altar, from the classroom to household chores, it is all God’s work, and you and I are called to get up and do it to God’s glory.

Samuel points out that there is significant risk involved. “If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” God then dictates the outline of a plan, which if properly executed, will minimize the risk and ensure the success of the mission. A good plan takes every contingency into consideration. It exercises our minds and calls for bold and flexible execution, and like the action called for in step one, it helps to keep our minds off of a past we would prefer to forget.

Saul had been a mighty king and a giant of a man. Samuel could hardly be expected to anticipate any other type of candidate for the office. But God called him beyond his expectations and his prejudices and his experiences. “Pay no attention to his outward appearance and stature…the Lord does not see as a mortal sees; mortals see only appearances, but the Lord sees into the heart.” Are you willing to see beyond the ghosts of the past in order to find deliverance and knowledge of the blessings of God? Along with faithful action and a good plan that addresses our fears, it is the third step of God’s way to see beyond our own expectations.

Finally, after Jesse had brought all of his boys for the prophet to see, Samuel asked, ”are these all the sons you have?” Had the prophet taken a shortcut in his impatience, David would not have been anointed King of Israel that day. Sometimes we are tempted to take a shorter path, but in God’s economy, we are called to perseverance as we wait for the blessing.

In the life of Samuel the Prophet, God gives us a way to approach the very real disappointments in our own lives:
1. He calls us to have faith that he has a plan for each of us, and he expects us to put some muscle into the accomplishment of that plan.
2. He calls us to think through the implications of our actions or lack thereof, and to develop a good plan for pushing through our fears.
3. He calls us to broaden our vision to see the possibilities of his grace, and never to be held back by the terrifying, or the comforting ghosts and memories of the past.
4. He calls us to persevere in the face of every difficulty, in the sure knowledge that whoever endures to the end shall be saved.

So may it be among all the people of God. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.