June 25, Hero Central. (VBS) (Ordinary Time) Psalm 34:14; 1 Samuel 16:1-12; 1 Samuel 25; Luke 2:41-52

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1 June 25, 2017 Hero Central (VBS) (Ordinary Time) Psalm 34:14; 1 Samuel 16:1-12; 1 Samuel 25; Luke 2:41-52 Are we really hero material before God? When we get right down to it, what s a hero anyway? With the wave of superhero movies, you d think that special powers define a hero. But we have the Holy Spirit. Maybe a real hero is someone who does something big. But what project is bigger than the kingdom of God? Maybe a real hero is defined by whether or not someone is saved from something. By that measure, God is the principal hero in our lives. But in the end, sacrifice is what measures a hero for us. Whether it s personal risk, secretive generosity, selfless courage, uncompromising wisdom or more, the Bible has particular things to say about what makes for a real hero in God s eyes. And the list is more within reach than we may think.

2 Psalm 34:14 14 Turn away from evil! Do good! Seek peace and go after it! What do you think of this as a personal motto? 1 Samuel 16: The Lord said to Samuel, How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found [a] my next king among his sons. 2 How can I do that? Samuel asked. When Saul hears of it he ll kill me! Take a heifer with you, the Lord replied, and say, I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you. 4 Samuel did what the Lord instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. Do you come in peace? they asked. 5 Yes, Samuel answered. I ve come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice. Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well. 6 When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, That must be the Lord s anointed right in front. 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven t selected him. God [b] doesn t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart. 8 Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, The Lord hasn t chosen this one either. 9 So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, No, the Lord hasn t chosen this one. 10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord hasn t picked any of these. 11 Then Samuel 2 of 12

3 1 Samuel 16: Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered to mourn for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. David then left and went down to the Maon wilderness. [a] asked Jesse, Is that all of your boys? There is still the youngest one, Jesse answered, but he s out keeping the sheep. Send for him, Samuel told Jesse, because we can t proceed until he gets here. [c] 12 So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The Lord said, That s the one. Go anoint him. Footnotes: 1 Samuel 16:1 Or seen 1 Samuel 16:7 LXX; MT lacks God. 1 Samuel 16:11 MT; LXX we won t sit down (that is, to eat) What makes David a hero here? What role do you imagine God has reserved for you? Who exhibits the most bravery in this story? 2 There was a man in Maon who did business in Carmel. He was a very important man and owned three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. At that time, he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The man s name was Nabal, and his wife s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and attractive woman, but her husband was a hard man who did evil things. He was a Calebite. 4 While in the wilderness, David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten servants, telling them, Go up to Carmel. When you get to Nabal, greet him for me. 6 Say this to him: Peace to you, [b] your household, and all that is yours! 7 I ve heard that you are now shearing sheep. As you know, your shepherds were with us in the wilderness. [c] We didn t mistreat them. Moreover, the whole time they were at Carmel, nothing of theirs went 3 of 12

4 missing. 8 Ask your servants; they will tell you the same. So please receive these young men favorably, because we ve come on a special day. Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your son David. 9 When David s young men arrived, they said all this to Nabal on David s behalf. Then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David s servants, Who is David? Who is Jesse s son? There are all sorts of slaves running away from their masters these days. 11 Why should I take my bread, my water, and the meat I ve butchered for my shearers and give it to people who came here from who knows where? 12 So David s young servants turned around and went back the way they came. When they arrived, they reported every word of this to David. 13 Then David said to his soldiers, All of you, strap on your swords! So each of them strapped on their swords, and David did the same. Nearly four hundred men went up with David. Two hundred men remained back with the supplies. 4 of One of Nabal s servants told his wife Abigail, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he just yelled at them. 15 But the men were very good to us and didn t mistreat us. Nothing of ours went missing the whole time we were out with them in the fields. 16 In fact, the whole time we were with them, watching our sheep, they were a protective wall around us both night and day. 17 Think about that and see what you can do, because trouble is coming for our master and his whole household. But he s such a despicable person no one can speak to him. 18 Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep ready for cooking, five seahs [d] of roasted grain, one hundred One ancient rabbi explained that this story illustrates how those who are righteous speak little, but do a lot.

5 raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes. She loaded all this on donkeys 19 and told her servants, Go on ahead of me. I ll be right behind you. But she didn t tell her husband Nabal. 20 As she was riding her donkey, going down a trail on the hillside, David and his soldiers appeared, descending toward her, and she met up with them. 21 David had just been saying, What a waste of time guarding all this man s stuff in the wilderness so that nothing of his went missing! He has repaid me evil instead of good! 22 May God deal harshly with me, David, [e] and worse still if I leave alive even one single one who urinates on a wall [f] belonging to him come morning! 23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and fell facedown before him, bowing low to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, Put the blame on me, my master! But please let me, your servant, speak to you directly. Please listen to what your servant has to say. 25 Please, my master, pay no attention to this despicable man Nabal. He s exactly what his name says he 5 of 12 WHAT DO YOU THINK? In a year Sarah conceived and bore a son. Her cynical laughter turned to the laughter of faith. God s promises are true whether we believe them or not. Mark Hillmer is! His name means fool, [g] and he is foolish! [h] But I myself, your servant, didn t see the young men that you, my master, sent. 26 I pledge, my master, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, that the Lord has held you back from bloodshed and taking vengeance into your own hands! But now let your

6 WHAT DO YOU THINK? In a time when we find wide-spread incredulity mashed-up with a politics that values entertainment over decorum and the common good, we may well have sympathy for dear Sarah. How shall we respond to God s promise of life and healing and wholeness? How shall we respond when fear is conjured and used to divide and manipulate? Cynical laughter. Disbelieving laughter. Why not? Look around. Might not our contemporary incredulous chuckles be on a par with Sarah s? Samuel Giere enemies and those who seek to harm my master be exactly like Nabal! 27 Here is a gift, which your servant has brought to my master. Please let it be given to the young men who follow you, my master. 28 Please forgive any offense by your servant. The Lord will definitely make an enduring dynasty for my master because my master fights the Lord s battles, and nothing evil will be found in you throughout your lifetime. 29 If someone chases after you and tries to kill you, my master, then your life will be bound up securely in the bundle of life [i] by the Lord your God, but he will fling away your enemies lives as from the pouch of a sling. 30 When the Lord has done for my master all the good things he has promised you, and has installed you as Israel s leader, 31 don t let this be a blot or burden on my master s conscience, that you shed blood needlessly or that my master took vengeance into his own hands. When the Lord has done good things for my master, please remember your servant. 32 David said to Abigail, Bless the Lord God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! 33 And 6 of 12

7 bless you and your good judgment for preventing me from shedding blood and taking vengeance into my own hands today! 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord God of Israel lives the one who kept me from hurting you if you hadn t come quickly and met up with me, there wouldn t be one single one who urinates on a wall left come morning. 35 Then David accepted everything she had brought for Nabal was in a great mood and very drunk, so Abigail didn t tell him anything until daybreak. 37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him everything. Nabal s heart failed inside him, and he became like a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. 39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Bless the Lord, who has rendered a verdict regarding Nabal s insult him. Return home in peace, he told her. Be assured that I ve heard your request and have agreed to it. 36 When Abigail got back home to Nabal, he was throwing a party fit for a king in his house. to me and who kept me, his servant, from doing something evil! The Lord has brought Nabal s evil down on his own head. Then David sent word to Abigail, saying that he would take her as his wife. 7 of 12

8 40 When David s servants reached Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, David has sent us to you so you can become his wife. 41 She bowed low to the ground and said, I am your servant, ready to serve and wash the feet of my master s helpers. 42 Then Abigail got up quickly and rode on her donkey, with five of her young women going with her. She followed David s messengers and became his wife. 43 David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, so both of them were his wives. 44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David s wife, to Palti, Laish s son, from Gallim. Footnotes: 1 Samuel 25:1 LXX; MT Paran 1 Samuel 25:6 Heb uncertain 1 Samuel 25:7 LXX, Syr; MT lacks in the wilderness. 1 Samuel 25:18 One seah is approximately seven and a half quarts. 1 Samuel 25:22 LXX; MT with David s enemies 1 Samuel 25:22 Descriptive phrase meaning "a male"; also in 25:34 1 Samuel 25:25 Heb nabal 1 Samuel 25:25 Heb nebalah 8 of 12 1 Samuel 25:29 Or bundle of the living ; Heb uncertain; perhaps a tied-up scroll (cf Exod 32:32-33; Ps 69:28; Isa 8:16) Are you familiar with this story? Have ever heard of Abigail? Nabal lived up to the meaning of his name. Are you living up to yours? Luke 2: Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. 42 When he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to their custom. 43 After the festival was over, they were returning home, but the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn t know it. 44 Supposing that he was among their band of travelers, they journeyed on for a full day while looking for him among their family and friends. 45 When they didn t find Jesus, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and putting questions to them. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed by his understanding and his answers. 48 When his

9 parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother said, Child, why have you treated us like this? Listen! Your father and I have been worried. We ve been looking for you! 49 Jesus replied, Why were you looking for me? Didn t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father s house? 50 But they didn t understand what he said to them. 51 Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. His mother cherished every word in her heart. 52 Jesus matured in wisdom and years, and in favor with God and with people. What do you think your reaction to Jesus would've been? Do a Google search on the terms, "Mary and Joseph scolding Jesus" and observe the results for "images." What do you notice? Do you find anything particularly heroic about anyone's actions in this story? Why or why not? About what do you think God needs to yell at you? 9 of 12 Reflection on the Luke story by Ron Allen preaching.aspx? commentary_id=2708 Christians sometimes refer to Jesus growing-up years as a model for human growth and development. The Christmas hymn, Once in David s Royal City, for example, contains the stanza, Jesus is our childhood s pattern, Day by day like us he grew. He was little, weak and helpless, Tears and smiles like us he knew. Thus he feels for all our sadness, And he shares in all our gladness. (Cecil F. Alexander, Once in David s Royal City, Chalice Hymnal [St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1995) 165 While we can assume that the infant Jesus was weak and helpless, cried and smiled, and grew from infancy through childhood and youth to adulthood, the gospels themselves are almost silent on those years. The theological

10 purposes for recalling Jesus growth in this frame of reference are often twofold -- to assure congregations that Jesus fully understands the depths and heights of the human experience and to use Jesus growth as a model for Christian education as well as for rearing children in the home. Luke s story of Jesus in the temple at the age of 12 is the only incident in the gospels about the life of Jesus between infancy and the beginning of his ministry. Luke has several intentions for this passage in the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts that are suggestive for preaching. While these motifs intersect with the themes just mentioned, they do not simply validate them in a one-to-one fashion. The latter themes are theologically important regardless of whether Luke (or other biblical writers) have them in mind. When recounting the lives of major figures in antiquity, ancient literature often included stories of unusual births and remarkable childhood feats. Ancient people regarded such stories as evidence that the gods had a special guiding role 10 of 12 in the lives of such figures. Luke s birth and childhood narratives play this role (among others): assuring listeners that the hand of God guided Jesus from the beginning. This ancient function might prompt the preacher to a contemporary consideration. What things give today s congregation reason to trust Jesus and to commit ourselves to the way to the realm? By noting that Mary and Joseph went every year to Jerusalem for the Passover, Luke 2:41-52 implies that Jesus grew up in a faithful Jewish household. The emphasis on Jesus in the temple and his interaction with the teachers of Israel plays a similar important role in the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Jesus was immersed in Judaism since his youth. He speaks as an insider with a thorough knowledge. These facts are important because by the time Luke wrote (80-90 CE) tensions had developed between Luke s congregation, whose distinguishing features were believing that the ministry of Jesus began the final and full

11 manifestation of the realm of God and welcoming gentiles into the community without complete conversion to Judaism, and other Jewish groups that did not share that belief. As the ministry of Jesus unfolds, Jesus has considerable conflict with Jewish authorities over how to interpret God s presence and purposes in the eschatological moment. The same thing is true of the church in Acts. By recollecting that Jesus was raised in a faithful Jewish atmosphere, and recalling that Jesus speaks as a Jewish insider, Luke assures listeners that the viewpoints of Jesus and the church are authentically Jewish. Jesus and the church do not reject Judaism. They interpret Jewish convictions in light of the eschatological turning of the ages. At one level, a preacher could use this theme as the beginning point to reflect with the congregation on its perceptions of, and relationship with, Jewish communities today. A sermon could help the congregation reflect on the degree to which anti-judaism 11 of 12 or even anti-semitism may touch life of the congregation and of the larger world. Taking another step, a preacher might help the congregation consider shared mission with the synagogue down the street. At another level, today Christians often find themselves in disagreement with other Christians. One Christian group sometimes proclaims the Christian way and condemns as unchristian those who hold to other interpretations. A lot of people trying to follow Jesus -- especially in the historic churches -- are confused as to what might be authentically Christian. If the congregation finds itself in such a situation a preacher might begin with Luke 2:41-52 as an analogy in a sermon in which the preacher assures the congregation of their Christian identity similarly to Luke s assurance of his earlier congregation. It is easy to be appalled that Mary and Joseph lost track of Jesus. Luke, of course, is not pointing to bad parenting, but is setting the stage for Jesus to state clearly his own understanding that he has a special relationship with God.

12 God is Jesus parent (not Joseph), and Jesus is to be about God s interests, i.e. must serve God s purposes. This notion raises a possibility for preaching. Many people today are confused about identity and vocation, about who they are and their mission in life. This is particularly (though by no means exclusively) true of Millennials. It may go too far to say that Jesus here claims his own identity and mission. Whether or not that is exegetically true, this passage could provide the preacher with an entry into the importance of claiming our own identities as disciples and witnesses in [2017]. What do you think it takes for you to be a hero? What can anyone (not just children) learn from your example? Who's responsibility is it to raise young people into adults? How much room is there in your life for playing? Additional Thoughts When's the last time you observed a child to see what they could teach you about faith? What do you do to make room for children in our church? Would you say you are a responsible user of the power God has given you? 12 of 12