Five Smooth Stones - June 21, 2009
The scripture text today is a rather long one and, as I prepared for the sermon, I was tempted, in the interest of time, to just summarize the story. David and Goliath. Young boy, soon to take over as king, fights giant and wins. However, as I read it again myself, I realized there was a lot in it that I didn’t remember - which happens when we go only on memory. So, long though it is, let me read the story of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17 - slightly shortened and from The Message version of the Bible, which I hope, will make it fresh for us all.
The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. . . . Saul (still the king of Israel) and the Israelites came together, camped at Oak Valley, (bet you didn’t remember that!) and spread out their troops in battle readiness for the Philistines. The Philistines were on one hill, the Israelites on the opposing hill, with the valley between them. A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor - 126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail - the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him. (Wonder how much that weighed!) Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, "Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves. But if I get the upper hand and kill him, you'll all become our slaves and serve us. I challenge the troops of Israel this day. Give me a man. Let us fight it out together!" When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.
Enter David. He was the son of Jesse the Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. (We met David and Jesse two weeks ago when the young shepherd David was anointed the next king of Israel - but clearly, the word was not yet out, probably because Saul was still alive and was still king.) Jesse, the father of eight sons, was himself too old to join Saul's army. Jesse's three older sons (who’d been passed up for the king job) had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who had joined up with Saul were Eliab, the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah. David was the youngest son. While his three oldest brothers went to war with Saul, David went back and forth from attending to Saul (perhaps some king-training?) to tending his father's sheep in Bethlehem. Each morning and evening for forty days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech. One day, Jesse told David his son, "Take this sack of cracked wheat and these ten loaves of bread and run them down to your brothers in the camp. And take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of their division. Check in on your brothers to see whether they are getting along all right, and let me know how they're doing - Saul and your brothers, and all the Israelites in their war with the Philistines in the Oak Valley." David was up at the crack of dawn and, having arranged for someone to tend his flock, took the food and was on his way just as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the army was moving into battle formation, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines moved into position, facing each other, battle-ready. David left his bundles of food in the care of a sentry, ran to the troops who were deployed, and greeted his brothers. While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him. The Israelites, to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant - totally frightened. The talk among the troops was, "Have you ever seen anything like this, this man openly and defiantly challenging Israel?" . . . David, who was talking to the men standing around him, asked: "Who does he think he is, anyway . . . this Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?" Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: "What are you doing here? Why aren’t you minding your own business tending that scrawny flock of sheep?" (Ya think there’s some sibling rivalry here?). . . "What is it with you?" replied David. "All I did was ask a question . . ."
The things David was saying were picked up and reported to Saul (the king). Saul sent for him. "Master," said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this Philistine." Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced - and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born." David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference - I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine." Saul said, "Go. And God help you!" Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge. David told Saul, "I can't even move with all this stuff on me. I'm not used to this." And he took it all off.
Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath. (This sling was probably like this one that I bought in Bethany, just outside Jerusalem.) As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered - a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed. The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods. "Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice." David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I'm about to (win) and the whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear. . ." (Would that we’d remembered that lesson!) That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed facedown in the dirt.
That's how David beat the Philistine - with a sling and a stone. . . No sword for David! . . . When the Philistines saw that their great champion was dead, they scattered, running for their lives. The men of Israel and Judah were up on their feet, shouting! They chased the Philistines all the way to the outskirts of Gath and the gates of Ekron. As soon as David came back from killing the Philistine, Saul (the king) asked him, "Young man, whose son are you?" "I'm the son of your servant Jesse," said David, "the one who lives in Bethlehem."
As I said before, we’ve heard this story. Not only that, we know this story in our own lives. We know all about Goliath. We face Goliaths in our lives all the time. There are the societal Goliaths - we call them the powers-that-be. They are institutions and organizations that have power over us. It is okay when the power is used well - but that is not always the case. Which is what we see in the story - Goliath was a big guy but there is no evidence that he was a particularly bad guy. He was just big and he had learned to use his bigness to get what he and his team wanted. Happens all the time in the NBA and the NFL! And it happens all too often in the more dangerous arena of civil and religious institutions. Consider Enron, AIG, Bernie Maddof. Power is seductive for those who have it and even good people can do terrible things to keep or get power. We don’t think about it much until someone or something powerful affects us or hurts us or does something that challenges our moral integrity. When we witness governmental indifference or corporate cruelty, we see Goliath. And then there are the close-to-home Goliaths. These can be things we battle or struggle with - like cancer or unemployment or an abusive spouse or an addiction. Goliath can also be things we fear - like speaking in public or being alone or - countless other things. I don’t think any of us have to look too far to identify something that, for us, seems big and life-threatening. We know how those Hebrews felt as they faced the power of the Philistine strong man. And, we too know what it means to long for a David.
In fact, in some ways, we are obsessed with David. Witness the countless movies that have been made following this theme. They aren’t called The Story of David and Goliath but that is what they are about. Check it out on Netflix or go into any video rental store and take a look. Most recently, you find something like Slumdog Millionaire where the young man from the slums of India wins the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, triumphing over the dishonest game show host and countless other forces in his life that aimed to keep him down. Or - remember an oldie - Norma Rae - where the young worker played by Sally Field battled unjust working conditions and fought to establish a labor union - and won! One of my favorites is Amazing Grace and Chuck. It is found in the children’s section. In that film, a young boy quits playing little league baseball after he visited a missile silo in Montana. He became aware of the awesome destructive power of nuclear weapons and didn’t believe anyone should have them. He told his coach that sometimes you have to give up your "best thing" to do the right thing. A movement starts all over the world - peopled by professional athletes and children - and world leaders are forced to face the problem. The film ends with the Soviet premier (this was made before the breakup of the Soviet Union) and the US president attending a little league baseball game together in Livingston, Montana - having just agreed to rid the world of all nuclear weapons. There’s The Karate Kid, and Silkwood, and Erin Brokovich, and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, to some extent, Star Trek. David-and-Goliath stories, all. I wonder if we don’t put this story in our movies so often because, while we love the idea, we’re not all that sure it really can happen that way. At least not most of the time. So we watch and imagine. In fact, Amazing Grace and Chuck ends with a simple line across the screen. Anticipating the comment yea, but it’d never happen that way. Presidents and Premiers don’t listen to children - we read . . . but wouldn’t it be nice? Indeed, wouldn’t it be nice if there were a David to help us with our Goliaths? We need a David who can assess our situation and save the day. Armed with divine power, that David faced the big guy and won. Wouldn’t it be nice today? If only we had a David - a David for the world and a personal David.
Here’s the deal. We do! Just as Goliath is real in our day, so is David. Just look around you - you’re looking at David. We all have a choice - to conquer the giant or to be like David’s brothers who told him to "mind his own business and stay out of it." And we all must make that decision, usually many times in our lives. In a real sense, the story of David and Goliath is a coming-of-age story. It is common in church circles to talk about being children of God. We are to learn our dependence on God’s love and mercy. That is an important lesson. The story of David and Goliath, though, teaches us how to be adults of God - which is an equally important lesson. We learn how it is we must grow up and battle the Goliaths that are part of every life.
So what must we struggling Davids do? Well, what David did, of course. It would seem that the first thing he did was identify the problem. Admit the problem. Notice the standoff in the story - the Philistines held the Israelites at bay by sheer might. They were bullies. And the Hebrews were paralyzed with fear though they didn’t really admit that. David was sent by his father Jesse to the battle site to bring lunch and he heard Goliath’s threats and he asked the $10,000 question - what’s up? What is that guy doing? He quickly assessed the situation. In order to get where God wants us to be, we need to get past the big guy. One person must do it. Everyone else is scared so I’ll do it - and may God be with me. The first step in becoming adults of God who can face Goliath is to admit the problem - to name it, face it, confront the fear - and pray for help. And the prayer can be a simple one - help me help me help me works well. So can taking a moment of quiet, coming to worship, confiding in a friend. The very act of admitting our need for help is itself a prayer and it is never a bad place to start.
Then an interesting thing happened in the story. Notice what Saul did when he decided to take David up on his offer to fight Goliath. He dressed him in armor - a coat of mail, a helmet and a sword. Mind you, none of that stuff had worked so far - and it absolutely paralyzed David (he couldn’t move) - but Saul didn’t even notice. He just piled it on. Let’s be honest - we do that too. We just do what we’ve always done even though it doesn’t work. Isn’t that one definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results? That is the next lesson we must learn about being adults of God. We need to admit we don’t know everything. No matter how big we are, there is a weak spot. No matter how righteous our anger, it alone will not get us anywhere. And, in the end, righteous anger is no match for well placed forgiveness or sober humility. No matter how much we know, we have something to learn. It is just plain childish to think we can do everything ourselves, that everything depends on us. But, just as important, we must never think - even in the face of great wrong - that we are powerless. Being an adult of God is walking that fine line between arrogant self assurance and deprecating self effacement.
Being an adult of God is doing what David did - reaching into our pocket, into our hearts and offering what we have. For Chuck, it was giving up his "best thing." I don’t know what giant you face but whatever it is, never believe that it is bigger than you are. David chose five smooth stones to take with him. He shook off the armor and relied on what he knew. Being an adult of God is not pretending to be bigger or better than we are - nor pretending to be less than we are. David faced the giant with the "tools of his trade" or, even better, with the whole package of what he had learned in his life so far. He had dealt with lions and bears and he had been successful - but he knew he hadn’t done it on his own. He knew God had helped him then and would continue to be there. Folks, that’s humility. Humility is offering what we have trusting that God’s power will do the rest. Humility is not saying we are nothing - it is remembering that we aren’t everything. David won the battle not because of what he did but because of what he offered. Identify the problem, pray for help, be open to something new but use what you have and what you’ve learned. Adults of God do all of that.
And they do one more thing. David’s victory was rather swift but you and I know it usually isn’t quite that simple. Too often Goliath seems to win. There are times our efforts seem futile. There are times we are tired. Watch any of the David and Goliath films and you will see how endless a battle with Goliath can be. What’s an adult of God to do? Quite simply, everything we can - and then stay the course. A friend once told me, when I was facing some unfair and untrue accusations that truth and time go hand in hand. When faced with a David, Goliath will always lose though it may take longer than we’d like. Real greatness is measured by our ability to identify the giant, to use the gifts and graces God has given us and then face the giant relying on the power of God. Are there giants taunting you? In your struggle to live as a faithful adult of God, who and what are the giants belittling you? What are you doing that isn’t working? And what are the weapons or gifts God has given you? Remember this - giants tell lies. They try to make us think that might makes right, that we have little to offer, that we can’t win, that we are losers. Don’t believe a word of it. Reach deep inside and pull out your five smooth stones - character, integrity, forgiveness, love and courage - and call the bluff of every boasting giant. Then stay the course.
To be an adult of God is to cooperate with God in doing the good that needs doing. To be an adult of God is to know that we have power - just not all of it. And the giants have power - just not enough of it. The question posed by today’s text is quite simple: do we act like the Philistines - bullying our way through life? Or like the Hebrews - paralyzed in fear and stuck in old ways of doing things? Or do we act like David - staying the course, confidently using our gifts and graces in cooperation with this God of ours who is with us in all things. Are we willing to be adults of God?
