What's Inside

March 22, 2020 1 Samuel 16:1-13 What’s Inside 4th Sunday of Lent Year A Children’s Sermon Object: Box of chocolates with mixed fillings and Card stock printed with 1 Samuel 16 (reference only) (Open the box of chocolate. Take one out, bite it, and announce its filling. Take out a second piece of chocolate, bite it, and announce its filling.) These pieces of chocolate are very good! From the outside, they very much alike, but when you bite into them, you find out that they are very different. Without the map that sometimes comes with the box, you have to break or bite the chocolate to know what’s inside. Sometimes we judge people by how they look on the outside, but a story in the Bible lets us know that God looks at us differently. (Hold up the card stock with 1 Samuel 16 printed on it.) In 1 Samuel, chapter 16, God told Samuel, his prophet, to anoint a new king for Israel. Anointing is an old practice that involved pouring oil onto the head of a person chosen for a special job. God sent Samuel to the town of Bethlehem, where he was to meet a man named Jesse. Jesse didn’t know it yet, but one of his eight sons was going to be chosen as the next king. So Samuel came to town, and Jesse called together his sons. First, Samuel met Eliab. The Bible doesn’t tell us what Eliab looked like, but Samuel was impressed. After seeing Eliab, Samuel thought that he must be the next king. But do you know what God said? In verse 7, God said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Samuel looked at Eliab on the outside and was sure that he would be the next king, but God told Samuel that he was looking at our hearts. Finally, Samuel met David. David was the youngest. Usually, the Bible doesn’t say much about the way a person looks, but in this case, it does give us some clues. The middle part of verse 12 says, “Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.” Do you know what ruddy means? It means “red.” We don’t know if verse 12 means that David had red hair or if he had a reddish complexion from being out in the sun while he was watching the sheep, but the Bible says that he was ruddy and handsome. The Bible doesn’t say this, but it’s possible that David was short. Remember that in verse 7, God told Samuel not to consider Eliab’s height. Saul, the first king of Israel, was tall, so Samuel and the other people might have expected another tall man to be the new king. When Samuel saw David, he probably thought, “He’s young, he’s short, and he smells like the sheep he watches all day. He couldn’t possibly be the next king.” But remember what else God said in verse 7. God looks at our hearts, not our faces or our heights or anything else on the outside. God knew that David loved him very much and that David was the best choice for the new king. So God told Samuel to anoint David. Stewardship Moment When Alaska experienced a terrible earthquake a couple decades ago, the governor’s wife said that she had received many letters and phone calls asking her to help people’s relatives and friends. She also received many offers of help. But she received one letter she won’t forget. It was from a ten-year-old boy from Bemidji, Minnesota, who sent her two nickels. He said he hoped it would help some of the suffering the quake had caused. In a postscript to his letter he had written these words: "P.S. If you need more, please let me know." scripture 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Common English Bible (CEB) Samuel anoints David 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 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.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The LORD’s spirit came over David from that point forward. Then Samuel left and went to Ramah. Footnotes: a. 1 Samuel 16:1 Or seen b. 1 Samuel 16:7 LXX; MT lacks God. c. 1 Samuel 16:11 MT; LXX we won’t sit down (that is, to eat) Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon Speaking of Facebook, there was a facebook post that said, when I decided to give up something for lent, I wasn’t planning on giving up quite this much. Lent, the season of preparation for Easter, now there is a concept. It seems like so much has happen since the beginning of lent. This is the fourth Sunday of lent. There are some years, where I get to do lent, and then there are years like this where lent does me. Lent is definitely doing me this year. It seems like the whole world has changed, every day there is a new development in this coronavirus pandemic. In the next few moments, I am going to invite us to put all of that stuff aside, and get back to the lent at hand. Let us focus, and think – where do we find God in the midst of all of the things going on in the world. And how do we continue in our busy lives to develop a relationship with God. Our scripture for today is an invitation for us to look at David as an example of someone with an awesome relationship with God. Whatever David did in life, whereever he was – he always stayed in touch with God. He found God in every circumstance. The stories of David are some of the most lively in the bible. David was the king of Israel, but he was also a father, a husband, a sinner, a child of God – given a purpose in life. There are many stories of David, - David and Goliath, David and Bathesheba, David and Jonothan, David and Saul. The psalms are David’s writings about how we went through life and hound God in the good and the bad. Our scripture is the story of how David was chosen and anointed by God. – God must have know all along that God wanted David to be king. But it was not obvious to Samuel the prophet. He sets out on a journey to Bethlehem. He does not know who he is looking for. And since Saul was tall, and strong, he assumed that the new king would be also. When he went to the house of Jesse, the father of 7 sons, Saul assumed that the oldest would be God’s choice, or at least the second or even third choice. Michael Jordan was actually not the first choice of the bulls, ot even the second, but the third choice – but I am sure they picked him, even though he wasn’t the first choice. Our ways are not God’s ways – we look at outward appearance, God looks at the heart. Sometimes God does not look for A people, or even B people. God looks for C people – ordinary people who are committed, consecrated and compassionate. God chose David because he was humble, good hearted and filled with the Holy Spirit. When we look at people how do we judge them worthy? What do we look for? What God Sees In the midst of our Lenten journey, God doesn't see us as everyone else sees us. People around us may see us as cool, successful, unattractive, popular, old, whatever. It doesn't matter at all how others may see us. God sees our hearts, sees us as we really are. Perhaps we wish we had him fooled, like those we've led to believe that we're less frightened, more confident, happier than we really are. Or perhaps we're deeply grateful that God sees through all the shallow, negative judgments which so many people have placed on us. Probably it's both. Our Lord, to our joy and to our sorrow, looks into our hearts and sees us as we really are. In Lent, that's a call for introspection: to confess that we have not loved our Lord with our whole hearts, nor loved our neighbors as ourselves. In Lent, it's especially important that we confess our sinfulness as specifically as we're able. In what ways have we failed God and ourselves? Because we can't hide from God, we dare not use all our usual ways to avoid our sinfulness. We're used to denying our sins, minimizing them, excusing them, blaming them on others. This Lent, let's examine ourselves, asking God to search our hearts. We benefit from naming our sins, our needs, and losses, and failings. And we admit to God that only by his grace and guidance can we find healing and help. G. Edward Whetstone, Caught in the Acts, CSS Publishing When we look at people it is important that we look at them as God sees them, not as we see them. God sees the inner heart. That makes all of the difference in the world. Jim Eaton, looks back on his life and remembers being in high school in 1965. His family moved around a lot so as Freshman, he was a little insecure. Until they moved to small town in Michigan. His English teacher was Mrs. Sonnebonne. He remembers her as a short lady who always wore high heals, but she had a spunky personality. Everyone’s desk was arranged in a circle. And everyone, the boys and girls has long hair. It was important for Mrs. Sonnebonne to look you in the eye, if your hair was in your face, she would take a hair clip and pin it back so she could see you. It only took one time for the students to get the point. One of their assignments was to rewrite a fairy talk. This student took that task seriously, and wrote a play. Not only did he get an A – the teacher had students in the class perform the play. After class, she had the student stay after. She said to him, Jim I didn’t know who you were until today – not I know that you are truly a writer. Those words meant the world to a young insecure man looking for identity. That was who he became from that day forward – writer - he went on to write several more plays for Mrs. Sonnebonne’s class. He continued to write, he still writes for the church as an adult. He will always be grateful – that teacher gave him a very special gift – the gift of himself. The Lord sent Samuel into a small desert town – to anoint a king. I small, insecure you shepdherd boy became the king of Israel. When Samuel anointed David, he gave David the gift of himself – a man after God’s own heart – and he lived that role for the rest of his life. How does God see you? What gift of self has God given you, how are you using it? We cant’ love anyone else until we love ourselves as God loves us. We cant give to others that we have not given ourselves, we cant see the gift of light in others, unless we see the light within ourselves. In the mist of the chaos and confusion – get back to finding God in every person and every situation – especially within ourselves. That is God’s gift to each of us. Let us pray….. Amen. Take a moment to remember God’s grace as we listen. Not go forth. Additional illustrations Humor: It's The Blind Man Mrs. Smith was stark-naked and just about to step into the shower when the doorbell rang. She hollered, "Who is it?" He shouted back, "It's the blind man." She figured it was safe, so she opened the door. He looked at her in shock and asked, "Where do you want me to hang these blinds, lady?" Ann Landers, The Washington Post, October 13, 1998. Years ago, there was a story of a candidate for Congress who never missed an opportunity to go after a vote. Just before election time, he would tear all around his district getting acquainted and passing out campaign brochures. On one occasion, he walked into a backyard where a little girl happened to be milking a cow. As usual, he introduced himself and explained that he was running for Congress. Just then the mother stuck her head out the back door and called, "Mary, who is that fellow you're talking to?" Mary explained that the visitor was a man running for Congress. "You come right in the house," commanded the mother, with great concern in her voice. And then as an afterthought, she added, "And if that fellow is a politician, bring the cow in with you." Politics, politics - vote when the time comes, but do it as properly as you can. Not on the basis of simple partisan politics, not on the basis of pure self-interest, and not on the basis of image. Paul makes it clear that, whether we are voting or doing anything else, as Christians we should "do it as unto the Lord." Wilma, 20th of 22 children, suffered from polio as a very young child. By age six, Wilma had also survived double pneumonia, scarlet fever, and whooping cough. She was frail and weak, often needing assistance to accomplish even the smallest tasks at home or school. Based only on her outward appearance, Wilma was destined for a life of poverty, dependence, and frustration. However, Wilma had a fierce determination to overcome this crippling illness. Through grueling exercises and relentless discipline, Wilma not only began to walk, she started to run. Then Wilma not only ran, she ran fast, faster than anyone in her school. The little girl with frail legs and a fragile body had become a young woman with a powerful body and a courageous heart. At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Wilma Rudolph didn’t just run, she sprinted her way to three Olympic gold medals: for the 100 and 200 meter dashes and as anchor in the 400 meter relay. “The Lord does not see what mortals see… the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Second, our scripture lesson reminds us that the Lord’s presence and power are deep inside our own hearts. Few, if any of us, will become great world leaders like David or Olympic champions like Wilma Rudolph. Nevertheless, it is the Lord’s power within us that prepares us to enter the new and challenging spaces that lie just before us. The world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson, were on a camping trip. They were in their sleeping bags looking up at the sky. Holmes said, "Watson, look up. What do you see?" Watson answered, "Well, I see thousands of stars." "And what does that mean to you?" Holmes inquired. "Well," said Watson, "I guess it means we will have another nice day tomorrow." Watson paused for a moment and then asked, "What does it mean to you, Holmes?" "To me," said Holmes somberly, "it means someone has stolen our tent." This world is governed by "C" people - not "the best and the brightest" only, but the committed, the consecrated, and the compassionate. In scriptures you find over and over again that "C" people also prevail. Indeed, God chooses ordinary people to achieve extraordinary tasks. The things we say we'll never do - "It's not in me" - become the very things God's grace leads us into. God gives us the resources we need at the time we need them.