From the Pastor |
Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
When Samuel was a young boy he learned to discern the voice of God. As he grew, his connection to God grew stronger and Samuel was greatly respected and revered. However, as he grew older, fear of what would happen after Samuel died caused the people to demand that Samuel appoint a king to rule over all of Israel. They wanted Samuel to decide who would rule. Now the problem with this is that God was supposed to be the one and only king of Israel. But they were not trusting God to rule them… to protect them… to care for them. Samuel was upset by this and told the people: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has declared: I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing you. But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, ‘No, we want a king instead!’” [1 Samuel 8:18-19] Saul was chosen to be king… and he looked the part. Saul was a tall, handsome man; it was said that “No one in Israel was more handsome than Saul, and he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.” Saul, however, made a mess of things, refusing to obey God’s commands, with the result was that God ended up rejecting Saul. But God had a plan and spoke again to Samuel, saying, “I have someone else in mind, and I want you to go and anoint him. Go to the house of Jesse, in Bethlehem, and from his sons I will point my choice out to you.” Samuel was not enthused about this new task; in fact, he was frightened. “Saul will kill me,” he said. But Samuel was always obedient to God’s commands and so, reluctantly, he went, under the ruse of going to Jesse’s house to conduct a sacrificial offering. Jesse’s first son, the oldest, was brought in and immediately Samuel thinks THIS must be the one! He is tall and handsome and strong… this is the next king of Israel! So, Samuel must have been pretty surprised when God said… “Uh, Uh, UH… sorry that is NOT the right one!” Six other sons came forward, each looking like they could fit the role of king, but God said the same about each one. “Sorry, not the ONE!” God told Samuel that he was looking for the wrong things. Samuel was looking for someone who “looked” like a king. But God had other criteria. He told Samuel “Do not consider his appearance or his height… The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” After each of the 7 brothers were rejected, Samuel asks Jesse… “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Even Jesse had missed calling David in from the fields… by human standards… David was pretty unimportant. Now, ironically, when David appears, he is the very picture of physical beauty. David was handsome, with beautiful eyes… it sounds to me like David was what we would refer to as a “pretty boy” and as we all know sometimes being “pretty” can be detrimental for a boy… he was also on the short side… he is a young teenage boy… a shepherd, not a warrior. Certainly, especially at first glance... David did not seem like “king material”! Yet, God chose him to be the next and greatest King of Israel. Now, David didn’t start out being great; he wasn’t some charismatic personality… David Was A Kid! A mere shepherd boy. David was the one whose own father had not thought him important enough to call in when the great prophet of God came to visit. Jesse overlooked David. Samuel, himself, would have overlooked David… we would have overlooked David because just like Samuel… WE tend to judge others based on what we can see... what is on the outside. Our society judges each of us based on beauty, youth, body shape, strength and power, money and possessions… If we are not beautiful… young and thin… if we do not possess strength and power and money… we are often overlooked… even dismissed or ridiculed. Even as Disciples of Christ who SHOULD know better... We often fail to look past the exterior to really see someone deep down and get to know what is in their heart. WE often only look at the outside, but God does not judge us based on outward appearances, but by what is in the heart! Don’t judge a book by its cover… How often have we heard that, and yet… how often do we ignore that very advice? Things are not always what they seem… PEOPLE are not always what they seem… God saw what Samuel and the others did not see. God saw inside David’s heart: David possessed the heart of a servant… David possessed a heart of integrity…David possessed the heart of a shepherd a leader… David was courageous and generous… and most of all… David respected God’s covenant of genuine faith… He would make serious mistakes, but David had a repentant and faithful heart. God sees what is in the heart. Not just the facade we show to the world, but what is deep inside. God can see not just what we are, but what we can become through the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to learn to see through the eyes of God. To see the people around us for who they are, not what they look like… Today, we are called to see as God’s sees: To look into the heart, rather than to linger on outward appearances; to try to see with our eyes the way God sees each of us. To look around the community and try and see what is in the hearts of our neighbors. We can see the elderly who appear frail, a bit unsteady on their feet, whose hearing and sight and memory are diminished… and see a burden... OR maybe we can look deeper and see hearts of great wisdom and courage. We can look at the gay couple and turn our noses up at the “abomination” of their lifestyle… or see the young black man walking by and fear he is some kind of “hood”… OR we can look deeper and see hearts of caring and perseverance. We can see the man with dirty hands and clothes, and just walk by thinking how “nasty” and smelly he is… OR we can look deeper and see a heart of patience and strength. We can see the young man with Down’s syndrome and just think about what a shame it is… OR we can look deeper and see a heart of kindness and love. We can see that homely, awkward child sitting alone at lunch and just steer clear… OR we can look deeper and see a gentle heart longing to love. How do you see others? Do you judge not by appearances, but by the heart? It is difficult to do, but it is the right way to see others. Take time this Lenten Season to re-focus your vision, and look for the heart of those around you... for that place where courage, caring and perseverance, patience and strength, kindness, gentleness, generosity and love reside. Amen
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Yeon Shin
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