been distressed over the request for a king, did what was asked of him and anointed Saul.

Transcription

1 How Big is Your Brave? I Samuel 17:1a, 4-11, 19-23, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) June 24, 2018 Rev. Jill Cameron Michel When last we left the people of Israel, they were crying out for a king. But much has happened since then. A young man named Saul was introduced, standing a head taller than anyone else and proving to be the first chosen to serve as king over Israel. Samuel, the prophet, the one who had been distressed over the request for a king, did what was asked of him and anointed Saul. However, not without restating the warning as he reminded the people of Israel that they had often strayed from God and that the request for a king was another instance. Yet with that reminder came reassurance, For the Lord will not cast away his people, for his great name s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself, 1 proclaimed Samuel. And yet with Saul as king, with ongoing battles with the Philistines, with people not patient enough to wait on the Lord, with vows made but not always held up, soon the day came when it became clear to Samuel and God, if no one else that Saul was a disappointment. So, even as Saul remained the leader of the people, the king over Israel, God sent Samuel to anoint the one who would, eventually, become the next king. He was the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem. A young boy, a musician, a shepherd, a man of good presence. 2 And soon his presence was requested by the king. 1 I Samuel 12:22, NRSV. 2 I Samuel 16:18, NRSV.

2 After all, is seems, Saul was struggling. Scripture describes that the spirit of God had left him and that an evil spirit was tormenting him. But what he discovered was that music soothes his soul. So, the young musician was requested and found to be the one who could soothe Saul. But one day he was called on in another way. Saul and the army were out, again battling against the Philistines, and on this day facing the most intimidating foe one giant of a man named Goliath. The young musician also ended up on the scene, having been sent on an errand to bring lunch to his older brothers who were among those fighting in Saul s army. And yet when he arrived he discovered that no one, including the great warrior Saul, knew what to do with this enemy. But this shepherd, this musician, this anointed one did not hesitate. Send me, he said to Saul, I will go against him. While the idea seemed ludicrous after all, this wasn t a trained warrior, not even a boy who was fully a man; this was one who spent most of his time playing music and sitting in the fields with the sheep and yet Saul was out of options. And so the young man went. Not in the armor and helmet Saul had loaned him. Not with the sword that nearly weighed as much as he did. He went instead with his staff, five stones, and his sling the tools of a shepherd. He went with courage the gift of a shepherd. He went with God as one who was called to stand on behalf of Israel. And while Goliath laughed in the face of this young man, his laughter did not last long as soon he was defeated by David. It is likely that if you grew up in the church, you heard this story at some point. My most vivid memory of this story comes from a book in the Arch Book series that resided in the church

3 library of my home congregation. In fact, many of my early Bible story memories are in the form of Arch Book illustrations. This story tends to be an especially big hit with children, perhaps because the main character is still a child himself. David, not yet fully grown (though perhaps older than I thought him to be in my early reading years) is the unlikely hero who takes down the enemy. In this feat of mythological proportions, the child becomes the hero and the people are saved from their greatest threat. Of course, our childhood stories don t dwell on the difficult realities of war. They don t remind us that the way this story ends, which we would have heard had we asked Jen to read a few verses further, is with David not only defeating Goliath but beheading him, something today we would consider an unnecessary act of violence in the midst of war. Our childhood stories also don t remind us that we can t just call someone different from us our enemy and take them out. And yet, even if we acknowledge the difficult realities of the setting and situation, of the actions of the people of Israel and others in the midst of war, still there is something that draws us into this story. Still there is something to which we connect. Because this is a story of courage of a person who found his brave even when it would have been easy to deny it. For us, we do not typically come up against a military enemy. And for us, our opportunities to live bravely are rarely going to involve battle or physical conflict. But we are all called to face different things and to discover our brave alongside David. It may be that you find your brave when you choose to value yourself enough to leave a situation or relationship that is destroying you. It may be that you find your brave when you

4 choose to value another person enough to sacrifice your stuff or your power for their good. It may be that you find your brave when you choose to speak out on behalf of justice. Sometimes our act of courage, our opportunity to embrace the brave within us, comes as we confront something that is evil or unjust or broken. And sometimes it comes when decide to listen, to pause, to be willing to hear another side of the story, to humanize even the one who has opposed us. But all of us have opportunities to practice courage to find our brave. And we can learn some important lessons from David. Perhaps the most important one comes when we remember that David s brave was not actually about him. It was instead about his relationship with God. In fact, I have heard and read as many have said that his ability to align his heart with God and to be brave in a time when it was anything but logical may just have grown from his role as a shepherd. And this is about more than what the story points out. After all, David, as he speaks with Saul, reminds him that shepherds are warriors, too. He has been trained to not only hang out with his sheep but also to protect them and that can mean fighting off wild animals. Now, in the story we hear David make this point. And yet many commentators also point out that most of the hours he spent in his role as a shepherd weren t nearly that exciting. Most of the time was quiet, sitting, studying the stars, and likely talking and listening to God. So, as we seek to find courage in our lives, perhaps the first place to look is toward God. How would our perspective be different if we were listening to God? What enemies might we name if we were looking through God shaped lenses? And who would we discover isn t an enemy at all, if we let God s heart dictate our understandings? What injustices might we stand up to if we were committed to living lives on behalf of God? These are important questions and they are questions that can only be answered when we are nurturing our relationship with God.

5 So, the first step toward courage is to be in regular relationship with God and to be in a relationship that is more about listening than talking. Not only do we then figure out where our courage needs to be directed but we also discover our gifts for this action. Remember, Saul offered David his armor, his helmet, his sword. Any trained warrior knew you wanted these these were the tools of battle. And yet, they didn t fit David. Rather David was differently equipped. And so, as we seek to find our brave, to discover the situations in which we need to stand up with courage, we must remember that trying to be someone else in someone else s clothing is not our job. We are equipped for that to which we are called. We are equipped to be who and where we were created to be. The question is, are we brave enough to trust our equipping? Remember, David was equipped by God with the necessary skills to accomplish the task he was called to do. Trying to be someone else, trying to wear someone else's clothing (even protective armor) [was] simply a hindrance. When David [stuck] with what he [knew], when he [stuck] with what God [had] given him, then it [worked]. 3 I wonder what would happen if people of faith were to make a commitment to listen to the voice and the heart of God? I wonder what would happen if those of us who claim to be Christians committed that our primary identity was to be God s people was to live from God s heart was to walk in the ways of Jesus? Sometimes we discover our brave in personal situations. I think of the This is My Brave movement of sharing personal stories to give a voice and face to mental illness in order to release its stigma. 4 I think of people I know who have found the courage to walk away from abusive situations. All of these deeply personal, but each having an even wider impact

6 Sometimes we discover our brave in our commitments. I think of those I have known who have made major lifestyle changes in order to live in greater harmony with the earth or to be less dependent upon money and stuff in order to live more simply and share more generously. Sometimes we discover our brave as we look at situations of injustice. I think of those who cried out this last week on behalf of immigrant families. I think of those who commit their time, money, and other resources to work and advocate on behalf of the hungry. I think of the young people of Parkland, FL who have taken tragedy and turned it into courage as they advocate for an end to gun violence. This world needs brave people. We need people willing to listen to God and willing to work on God s behalf. We need people willing to stand up for what is right and to step forward with courage. We need people willing to discover how God has equipped us and to live bravely in that equipping. We need people willing to ask, how big is my brave? and willing, with God, to let it grow. Amen.