Pentecost 3, Proper 7, Yr. B, 2009
1 Sam. 17:1a,4-11,19-23,32-49; Ps.9:9-20; 2 Cor.
6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
Today’s readings give us two
perfect examples of how we can be confused about the Bible.
For anyone who’s been in
Sunday School or sat in the pews for a few years these are two stories you’ve
probably heard.
The First is David and
Goliath…classic flannel board Bible story.
In last week’s Old Testament
reading, David, the lowly youngest son of Jesse, was just anointed by Samuel.
We know that David will
become the king over
But before that he volunteers
in this story to battle against the great warrior of the Philistines…Goliath of
Gath.
The boy David miraculously
defeats the giant Goliath with his slingshot and one stone.
The Lord gives David the
strength to overcome Goliath despite the odds.
The Gospel story has
similarities.
The weather kicks up while
the disciples and Jesus are sailing across the
Jesus is sleeping, the
disciples are freaking out.
And Jesus miraculously calms
the storm with a word.
Jesus himself overcomes the
forces of nature despite the odds.
When we hear stories from the
Bible like this we typically think there must be some point to them for us…we
hope we can see a useful point.
The Bible tells us the most
important things that we can know about God and how God is at work and about
what it means to be human…
So we
should be drawing conclusions about God and about us from stories like
this.
Which can be hard, right?
Because stories like David
and Goliath and Jesus calming the storm seem to be saying that God is going to
make things right and safe for the people that love God and that God loves.
Except we know that other
parts of the Bible say that life is often full of pain and struggle for all people.
Including those who love God.
And all we have to do is look around and see
that things are going haywire everywhere.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have
the assurance that God would calm any choppy waters or scary winds that
threaten to rock our boat and dump us overboard.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know
that God would always protect us from any harm?
I know some of you are
thinking that I’m on a pretty slippery slope right now.
But I’m not saying that God is far away and
doesn’t care about what happens in our everyday lives.
I believe just the
opposite…that God is very near and cares very much about our everyday lives..
But I want to point to a
difference between believing that God’s love brings favor in the form of
victory and fortune and safety in this life…
And believing that God’s love
brings us favor in the form of simple, unmerited, eternal belovedness.
People who are rich and safe
and well fed are not necessarily loved more by God.
People who win wars or
control empires are not necessarily loved more by God.
And I don’t think these great
Bible stories are saying that.
Understanding the Bible can
be tricky for us.
Partially because we tent to
try to figure things out using our lenses.
Science, psychology, that
sort of thing.
We face the danger of
trivializing Bible stories and missing their meaning for us today because they
come from such a different worldview than ours.
Or we run the risk of taking
pieces of the Bible and making them mean something that serves our modern
purposes.
For example.
On the surface the story of
David and Goliath says that God’s anointing insured victory.
Kind of like…don’t worry God
is with us.
We’re not completely sure
about that.
So as modern followers of
Jesus we try to make sense of that by saying…
…yes, in the eternal sense
God brings us victory.
In the end we make it to
heaven and then all is well.
And the same could be said of
the story of Jesus calming the storm.
Don’t worry, God will keep us
safe
But then we have to wonder
why bad things happen.
Where is God for us then?
All the while, I’m convinced
lots of us have a little voice in the background saying that if we’re good enough God will bring us victory
and will keep us safe.
And that if things aren’t
going so smoothly in life that maybe we’re not really loving God and believing
in God enough.
Maybe things are going
kerflooey because we don’t really have enough faith.
Christians tend to have some
conflicting ideas floating around up there.
It comes down to this…does
God care about our lives?
And if God does care about
our lives now, today…how is God caring?
God is not making us all
winners in life and is not keeping us all safe from the storms of life.
It’s actually better than
that.
God is offering unmerited,
eternal love.
God is offering to make us
beloved no matter what.
Whether or not you feel
beloved…you are beloved.
This is actually what I’m
hearing in these two stories.
These stories that we’re
reading are stories that were told for thousands of years.
Mothers and Fathers and Aunts
and Uncles and Grandparents sharing with each other and with the children the
wisdom of their tribes and clans.
Stories passed down from
generation to generation.
What would a mother or father
be expecting their children to hear in this story of David and Goliath?
They would have expected them
to hear how their world worked best.
It would be about community
and taking on one’s role in community and living out that role.
We see David,
the individual, fighting one-on-one and winning.
But they would have seen
David as one person taking on their role in that community.
An anointed role, yes.
But people would be expected
to hear that David had accepted his role and had lived it out for the good of
the whole.
Not for personal glory, but
for the survival of the tribe of
And he did it with the gifts
and tools that he had.
They tried to give him the
armor and weapons of a soldier.
But he took them off.
Instead he went with the
simple cloak and staff and bag of the shepherd that he was.
David was a shepherd and that
was enough.
He didn’t need to be
something else in order to answer his call.
David accepted the call of
the tribe and David stepped forward to serve others just as he was.
That is all that God asks of
us.
And that is the heart of it.
David stood up for the people
who were downtrodden.
He stood up to defend the
downtrodden Israelites against the Philistines.
David stepped forward to love
and serve his neighbor even though it was risky.
And that is the same theme we
hear echoed in the story of Jesus and the disciples in the storm.
What would people long ago
have heard in this story?
In the past weeks in our
Gospel lessons from Mark we’ve been hearing the parables that Jesus was telling
about the
He’s been preaching from this
boat anchored out in the
He’s been talking about seeds
and sowers and mustard seeds growing into great bushes.
Now it’s nighttime and Jesus
tells the disciples to pull up anchor and sail east.
This is a boat full of men
who fish for a living…in boats, on the sea.
If mothers and fathers were
telling their children this story what would they be expecting them to hear?
In their world all of nature,
the cosmos, was a mystery inhabited by gods of all kinds.
This story would remind them
of the creation story of their people…of the wind from God sweeping over the
face of the waters.
It would remind them of the
story of Jonah, the prophet, sailing away on a boat and a huge storm coming up
because Jonah was trying to flee from God.
They would also know this bit
of geography, too.
This story begins on the
western shore of the
Jesus takes them on a journey
to the eastern shore…the side that was Gentile territory.
These disciples are setting
off on one of many missions that takes them to be with those who are unclean.
Jesus is taking them and
offering himself for people that they don’t even think that God can love.
Jesus is crazy…he’s actually saying that God’s love will not be contained
or owned or be kept hidden from anyone.
If we had been hearing this
story back then we would have recognized this miracle of calming the storm as a
clear statement that Jesus is God.
Even though the disciples
ask…who is this then that even the wind and sea obey him?
It is God…the God who swept
across the face of the waters in creation is the God who is sitting in the
boat.
And they would have heard that God’s love is a
gift to all people…not just a chosen few.
Not only that, Jesus is the
God who is expecting us take risks…
To sail across scary and
uncertain waters to bring God’s love to that very person that we imagined was
beyond the reach of God’s love.
The point of these stories is
not that God will keep us safe and protected and will help us win in life if we
just ask nicely.
The point is that God is
expecting us to pick up our slingshot or get in the boat…whatever it takes…
God is expecting us to accept
our role, to accept our calling in the Body of Christ with whatever gifts we
have…
We are being called to stand
up for our neighbor.
It’s not an option as a
follower of Jesus.
It won’t wait until you have
more time, or you aren’t so messed up, or you feel more worthy…
We are loved just as we are.
And we are called to take
risks just as we are.
God is caring for us in this
life right now.
We don’t have to wait for
heaven for God’s favor.
God’s favor is that we are
beloved.
We are beloved and we each
have a part to play in the
The truth is that even if we
know in our heads that we are beloved sometimes it can be hard to convince our
heart of that.
We can feel unworthy.
Yes, get over it.
We are unworthy and we are
still beloved.
Go figure.
But this one thing is true.
The more you take risks now
and reach out to serve others, to stand up for others, the more your heart will
understand what it means to be beloved.
Love your neighbor and love
the ones you can’t even imagine that God’s wants to be your neighbor.
And over time you will be
amazed at the transformation in your heart.
Don’t wait for some magical
right moment.
And don’t wait for some
perfect neighbor…
Whoever you are, wherever you
are in your life, no matter how messed up and imperfect you think you are.
Or even if you think you’re
just fine, a good person with no major sins to speak of…
Let being beloved by God be
the thing that makes you strong.
Get in the boat with Jesus
and take a risk.
Pick up your slingshot and
take a risk.
Someone near you needs to be
loved, needs to be served, needs someone to stand up for them.
It may be as simple as
standing up against gossip or cruel comments or jokes about a group of people.
I guarantee you there is
someone near you who God will open your heart to.
You are beloved…you can take
a risk.