FIVE SMOOTH STONES 1 Samuel 17: 1-15; 19-23; 32-49

Transcription

1 Sermon: June 24, 2012 FIVE SMOOTH STONES 1 Samuel 17: 1-15; 19-23; When I was in fifth grade, I attended a small elementary school just outside Allentown, PA. During recess, a bunch of us boys would always gather on the far corner of the playground for a game of touch football. To be quite honest, though, I dreaded those games but it s what we boys did so I went along. When choosing up sides, I d usually be among the last to be chosen. I was a string bean that could be knocked over by a good gust of wind. Not exactly football material. When it was our team s turn with the ball, I was usually told to head off to the side after the ball was hiked. In other words, stay out of the way. So confident was the other team that no one would ever toss the ball in my direction that they usually didn t bother assigning anyone to cover me. Even if the ball was tossed to me, the likelihood that I would actually catch the darn thing was slim to none. In all honesty, I was quite content with this arrangement. I was quite glad no one ever thought to throw the ball towards me. There was no pressure, no fear of failure. One day, however, all that changed. The team I ended up on was up against some pretty stiff competition. Hike! the Quarterback said and I took off for my usual spot. Desperately, the quarterback looked for someone to throw the ball to but the other team was so good that no one was in the clear, except me, of course. His eye caught my eye. You ve got to be kidding! I

2 thought. He s not seriously considering this, is he? Even I wouldn t throw the ball to me! The quarterback looked away again and I breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close one. I thought. After a short while, his eyes again turned towards me. My heart pounded in my chest. This is it. I thought. He s going to throw that ball and I m going to drop it. This is going to be the worst day of my life! He lifted the ball and, sure enough, threw it. Panic stricken, I reached out to grab it and, surprising even myself, I actually caught the darn thing. Now what?! I wondered. Run! Shouted some small voice from within. Run! So I did I ran as fast as my two skinny legs could carry me I weaved in and out and around everyone that got in my way. Here and there a hand brushed against me but, by some sheer miracle, never enough to count me out. I ran oh how I ran and soon the goal line was in view. This can t be really happening! I thought. Might I actually score a point? For the last few feet it was clear sailing. I ran over that goal line like a pro. My team cheered while I stood there in absolute shock. As far as I was concerned, this was the Super bowl, my David and Goliath moment that would go down in the history books. It would be the story told and retold for years to come at Oak Hill Elementary School. Remember the time They would say. It would be the inspiration for every scrawny, fumbling, athletically challenged kid to follow me. Here s one for the Davids! My successors would shout as they reached out for the ball. Well, that s how it panned out in my head. It was and always will be one of my most glorious of days.

3 The story of David and Goliath. Perhaps there is no story from the Bible that provokes the imagination quite like it. It s the story of the underdog up against the likes of the invincible; the story of the little guy beating out the big guy; the story of the scrawny kid scoring a goal! Out there in the desert, two armies have hit a stalemate. Israel s army, under the leadership of King Saul, is on one side and the mighty Philistines on the other. In every way, these two forces are mismatched. The Philistines are experts at war. They are well equipped the latest in modern day weaponry and armor. Their swords glisten in the sunlight; their spears piled high, their horses strong and chomping at the bit, their armor seemingly invincible. Israel s army hid among the rocks and vegetation, quaking in fear. They were sorely out armed and outmatched. Earlier we are told that they did not have a metal smith among them so, at best, we can assume their weapons were little more than clubs, sticks, and rocks. They were probably dressed in their street clothes with no armor to protect them. It s hard to figure out why the Philistines just didn t rush in for an easy victory. Instead, they sent their mightiest warrior, Goliath, to propose a challenge. Perhaps their hope was to save their resources for a more worthy opponent and, maybe, get a few good slaves in the process. Shaking the ground with the thunder of his footsteps, Goliath, the giant, emerges from the Philistine ranks. Some have suggested that he was at least 9 feet tall and his suit of armor weighed more than 150 pounds. His spear handle was the size of a baseball bat and the tip of that spear, made of iron, weighed, at least, fifteen pounds.

4 Goliath s challenge to King Saul s army was this. Send someone to do battle with him. If they win, the Philistines will be their servants but if he wins, the Israelites will be servants of the Philistines. King Saul offered all kinds of riches to anyone in his ranks who would volunteer but no one came forward. For forty days this went on. Each day Goliath would taunt King Saul and his army with his challenge. That alone had to be demoralizing. On one of those days, David, upon the instructions of his father Jesse, brought food to his brothers and others on the front lines. Without such supplies from their families, Saul s soldiers would starve. While there, he heard Goliath and wondered out loud what this was about. Who is this fool who thinks he s so high and mighty? David asks some of the soldiers. Doesn t this guy know that we are the people of the living God? David s brother, Eliab, overhears this conversation and is totally humiliated! There goes his kid brother again saying stupid things! He grabs David by the scruff of the neck and pulls him aside. What the heck are you doing here?! Eliab exclaims. Who s taking care of the sheep back home? This is man s work you shouldn t be here. You re just a kid. Gosh! David says. I was only asking a question. Eliab rolls his eyes. Eventually, David is so flabbergasted by the fact that no one will volunteer to take on Goliath that he takes on the challenge himself. The interesting thing is that David is utterly convinced that victory will easily be his. With all sincerity, he tells the King that he has no doubts who will prevail. After all, he tells King Saul, Goliath can t be any more dangerous than the lions and bears he protects his flock from. Goliath is

5 just another mean looking lion whose roar is worse than his bite. Can you imagine how utterly foolish David sounded? A kid a naïve, crazy kid with delusions of grandeur. Notice, however, that David is the only one who introduces a component here that everyone else, including King Saul, has clearly forgotten God. The source of David s confidence, the source of David s surety is not in his own skills as much as it is in his belief that God will not let his people down. This Hebrew nation, conceived and given birth to, saved and sustained by God, had completely dismissed God from their lives. Only David utters God s name. Only David believes that God s hand will determine the outcome. King Saul accepts David s offer. In a comical scene, Saul then tries to literally stuff David into the conventions of the day. After all, only warriors have a chance against warriors. After Saul piles his armor on David, so heavy is this thing that David can t even lift a leg to walk let alone wield Saul s sword. David quickly sloughs off Saul s armor and, instead, grabs that which he knows best - his sling shot and five smooth stones from a nearby patch of water. As David takes his place in the battle field, David stands more alone than we might initially assume. He stands alone against the mighty Goliath and Philistines. He stands alone as Saul and his soldiers cover their eyes, certain that David is not long for this world. The one thing, the one thing (!) that sets David apart from everyone is his God saturated imagination. Now for all those who think that sermons are pretty harmless, notice what David does first here. He preaches a sermon to Goliath. It s key to his victory. Swords and spears

6 may break my bones, he preaches, but I come in the name of the Lord and you re toast, Goliath! So, while I might put you to sleep sometimes just be glad I haven t taken anyone down lately because we all know what us Davids are capable of after giving a sermon. Well, as the old saying goes, the bigger they are the harder they fall and Goliath falls hard. What clearly set David apart from everyone else, what gave David the ability to think creatively, to move swiftly on his feet, to rise above the fear consumed Israelite army and the overconfident, well equipped Philistines was his God saturated imagination. An imagination that enabled him to believe, with absolute certainty, that God could use even his five smooth stones to quell a mighty and dangerous threat. An imagination that enabled him to believe that God s righteousness could prevail even in the midst of what appeared to be unbeatable odds. An imagination that enabled him to see beyond the conventions of warfare to the possibilities of God fare. It makes one wonder, doesn t it? Could it be that our God saturated imaginations have also become sorely stunted and inhibited? Might that be the reason why we cannot seem to escape the strangle hold today s Goliaths have on us? Could it be that the constant cycle of troubles and conflicts we find ourselves in stems from our inability to see beyond the narrow limits of our small realities? Is the biggest challenge we face today a lack of God induced, God saturated, God provoked imagination where even the impossible seems possible? The same kind of lack of imagination that made the Israelites cower in fear behind rocks? Is it our lack of a holy imagination that causes us to quickly dismiss the five smooth stones sitting in our pockets? Is it our

7 lack of a holy imagination which makes us think we are no match for the formidable threats of our day? Is it our lack of a holy imagination that causes fear to consume us to the point where we can see little else? Today we have the privilege and honor of thanking two Davids who live among us. Two Davids who have used their five small stones to battle the giants of our day. These five smooth stones have included praying for us unceasingly, bringing us meals when we could not cook for ourselves, visiting us when we were sick and lonely, sending us cards when we feared we were forgotten, and reminding us, again and again, that the biggest threat we face in our day is the loss of a Gospel induced, God saturated imagination. Even when it was hard to do, even when physical challenges made it difficult for them, they have used their five smooth stones because they never ceased to believe that even they could take down giants. Thank you Lois and Lillian for being our David s and for constantly reminding us of what is truly possible when one uses their God saturated imaginations! To God alone be all the glory! Amen.