3.17.24 "My Only Hope!" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Psalm 51

Psalm 51 … the cry of the soul for release and relief … 

The heartache of regret and sorrow …  

David’s Psalm of repentance … LORD have mercy! 

You know the story …

It begins when Samuel the Prophet is commissioned by God to find a successor to King Saul … 

King Saul’s in a state of collapse - the nation suffers under his leadership … 

God says to Samuel: Go visit Jesse and his sons … Jesse parades his sons before Samuel … all the boys, strong and healthy, fit for the job … but God says Nope!

It’s not the outside I notice, but what’s inside!

Samuel asks Jesse: Do you have any more sons?

Yes, replies Jesse, one more, the youngest; he’s keeping the sheep.

Send for him, says Samuel!

And when the boy returns from the field:

The LORD says: He’s the one; anoint him.

War comes to the land … the coastal-dwelling people, the Philistines, against the hill country people, the people of Israel … it’s a bitter war … Goliath, the great fighter challenges Israel’s army to send forth a champion, to fight on Israel’s behalf, a fight to the death, and to the victor, the victory - of the one army over the other.

No one steps forward, except a young boy … David.

David had gone to the battle front to bring supplies to his older brothers … he volunteers to combat the mighty Goliath …

King Saul welcomes him, and says, Here, take my armor”… but Saul’s armor proves too big, too heavy … David can’t move.

David says, I have all I need … my shepherd’s tools - I have a sling, and here are five smooth stones - this is all I need.

With that, David confronts Goliath, who taunts the boy, but it’s David who wins the day … 

With a shepherd’s skill, honed in the fields and forest defending the flock, David winds up and unleashes a stone speeding its way to Goliath, hitting him square in the forehead … and the mighty giant falls to the ground, dead.

A lot of pieces to the story … 

David becomes a court musician, to sooth the troubled King Saul … at one point, the King is so perturbed, jealous of David, Saul heaves a spear at David, nearly killing him.

David and Saul’s son, Jonathan, form a deep friendship … 

David achieves success in the army … Saul’s jealousy grows … in the end, Saul and Jonathan die in battle …  

David becomes king … 

Conquest and victory, defeat and loss, and victory again, David establishes the city of Jerusalem as the Capital City … 

David’s admired by many; feared by some … he’s a powerful man … his word unleashes war, his word builds a palace … he prays to God and writes the 23 Psalm, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

A young lady of considerable charm bathed on the nearby rooftop of her home … close enough for King David to see … 

David invites her to the palace … and the wheels of disaster are set in motion.

Bathsheba is with child … David’s child.

Now what?

She’s married to Uriah, one of David’s faithful soldiers.

David sends a message to his commander, and tells him to send Uriah home for some “R & R” … so it’ll appear that he’s the father.

But Uriah is so loyal, so dedicated … though he comes home, he refuses to be with his wife … he sleeps on the front porch of the palace, eager to return to his soldiers.

David’s frustrated, and finally orders one of his generals put Uriah into the front line of battle, and then call for a quick retreat … isolate him with the enemy … and it’s done, as David commands … Uriah is killed, Bathsheba is a widow … she becomes David’s wife … things go wrong … the child takes ill and dies … there is great sorrow.

Years ago, I told this story to an adult Sunday School class …as I told the tale, a lady suddenly slammed the palm of her hand down on the table, and screamed, “Where did you get that filthy story?”

It’s in the Bible, because the Bible tells the truth.

David is clearly a hero … but he’s also a human being.

He’s a man after God’s own heart, says the Bible, but he’s capable of crimes against heaven and earth.

David came face to face with the deadliest of all human realities: power … the power that says, You can do no wrong; you’re above the law; you’re immune.

Those who wrote the Bible made it clear: don’t be fooled by power … it only goes so far … and no further.

David pens the 51st Psalm: 

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions.

Honesty … confession … rebirth … 

Maybe even - kindness … humility … compassion …

That we’re all ok even when we’re not ok.

A hard road for David, I suspect … a hard road for any of us.

Several weeks ago I raised the question about sin, and asked, “Has the church made too much of sin?” 

I think it has … sin is “fun” to preach; flavor it with hellfire and brimstone, and we’ve got a show … I’ve been there … but if the church has made too much of sin, ignoring it doesn’t help either. 

We can’t pretend … any more than David could pretend.

We’re sunshine and warmth … we’re storm and lightening.

We’re the cherry on the ice cream … we’re the broken dish.

We’re the helping hand … and we couldn’t care less.

We’re saints, and we’re sinners.

We’re all children of God!

Sisters and brothers unto one another …

The magnitude of David’s sin makes our sin seem paltry, I  suppose … 

But sin is sin … huge and gruesome, or small and subtle … obvious to all, or known only but to ourselves …

The human condition …

David’s Psalm of Lament is part of our maturity … we need say no more than David said, nor should we say any less … Lord, have mercy!

Were you there when they crucified my LORD? asks the spiritual!

Yes, I was there … 

I was part of the crew that cut down the tree … I hauled the tree to the factory … I hewed the tree into the beams … 

Yes, I was there … I was a soldier doing my job … with a family to support, and bills to pay.

I was there … I laughed at the three bums on the cross … I laughed at their pain … “they deserve it” I thought … “let ‘em suffer” I said … and threw the dice for the clothing.

I was there … with the disciples who took off as fast as we could … and yes, I was there, as well, with the women who didn’t run away … I was the soldier who saw the majesty of God … I was one of the condemned who looked at Jesus dying next to me, and I asked for his love … I was all of them, and more … I was there, when they crucified my LORD.

LORD, have mercy!

Lent is never intended to be easy … but the important things of life are rarely easy … mostly hard … but not impossible … a challenge, an invitation - to tell the truth about ourselves, to apologize to heaven and to earth for the harm we’ve done, or the good we didn’t do … and to receive from the very heart of God, a rebirth of life and the renewing of our dreams.

Hallelujah and Amen!

3.19.23 From Here to WHERE?" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 1 Samuel 16.1-13; Ephesians 5.8-11

King Saul was not a mighty king … far from it.

He was a decent man, with promise, but in the end, it all fell apart … as things often do … 

No one knew what to do … including Saul … who fumed and fussed, got angry and made everyone afraid.

In the midst of it all, a man called Samuel … a great judge, a prophet, of man with a story.

His story is, as they say, one for the books.

His mother, Hannah, has no children.

She’s frustrated, hurt, and very sad. … she goes to Shiloh to pray, a holy place … again, and again, and again … 

In the course of time, the LORD grants her desire … she gives birth to her son, Samuel … which means God did it, or I borrowed him from the LORD. 

We’re not quite sure what his name means, but whatever it means, Samuel was a gift from God.

Hannah dedicates her son to God … she pledges him to be a Nazarite, sort of like a monk, a holy man.

He wouldn’t touch alcohol, he’d let his grow long, and never, ever, touch a corpse. 

As a young boy, he worked in the holy place of Shiloh, for the priest, Eli … one afternoon, or early evening, when Eli was napping, like older people do, Samuel laid down for some rest.

And then a voice, Samuel, Samuel.

Samuel exclaims, Here I am, and runs to Eli … 

But I didn’t call you, says Eli, go lay down again.

Three times, Samuel, Samuel … finally Eli says, The LORD may be calling you … if the call comes again, say this, Speak LORD, for your servant is listening.

The call came again, and Samuel listened.

The LORD lays out before this boy an immense project that will require of Samuel everything he is, everything he has, and then some … 

The Bible says: Samuel grew in stature, in favor with the LORD, and with the people … Samuel grows up to become one of the great Judges of Israel … and then in his old age, he appoints his sons as judges, to follow in his footsteps.

But his sons did not follow in his ways, they turned aside …; they took bribes and perverted justice. 

The elders of Israel came to Samuel, You’re old, Samuel, your sons aren’t worth a toot … we need a king, just like the other nations; a king to lead us. 

Samuel was unhappy … he said - you’ll go from the frying pan to the fire … 

A king has some value, but kings all behave pretty much the same way, said Samuel … it’ll be the same for you … the strong man, the king, the head honcho, will brag about it and be mean … he’ll demand everything from you, and you won’t like it, and you’ll complain to the LORD, you’ll regret your decision, and the LORD will ignore you.

The people turned a deaf ear to Samuel … they wanted a king, and no one, not even Samuel, was going to talk ‘em out of it.

Samuel talks to God, and God, Well all right, let’s do it!

As the story unfolds, God leads Samuel to a holy place, and there, Samuel meets Saul … a fine young man, handsome and strong … after some eating and drinking, Samuel takes out a flask of oil, and anoints Saul, King of Israel. Just like that.

It’s a troubled story from the start … no one is pleased; no one is satisfied … Saul tries his best, but in the end, he can’t manage it … Samuel turns on him … so does God … in the end … it’s a real mess. God directs Samuel to anoint a successor.

What? Say that again? What do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go?

Saul will find me out, and kill me.

Take it easy, says God.

God suggests a little slight of hand … take a heifer with you, tell folks your going to make a sacrifice to the LORD. And when you’re there, ask to see the sons of Jesse …

One-by-one, Jesse brings his sons to Samuel - they’re all fit to be king, strong and handsome, but the LORD doesn’t approve, so Samuel asks, Are all your sons here?

There was one more, a boy - he’s keeping the sheep, his name is David.

When David is brought to Samuel, the LORD says, He’s the one; anoint him now … and the Spirit of the LORD came upon the boy.

And now you know the rest of the story … 

From here to WHERE?

If you dare nothing, when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.”

God asks big things of each of us, actually … to be faithful to Christ, embrace his call for justice and peace, 

Centered in Christ: his courage in crossing boundaries, his determination to break the rules, when the rules no longer serve any real purpose … to heal the broken, defend the House of God, free the captives, clothe the naked, feed the hungry.

There is never an easy way to bring about the peace of God, the healing of the nations, justice for the oppressed … the rules needed to protect the people from the powerful.

That train derailment in Ohio? 

An accident waiting to happen … 

The railroads fought like mad to do away with regulations, inspections, and maintenance … in order to increase profits, please the shareholders, keep Wall Street happy. It was all about money.

The failure of Silicon Valley bank? 

Because the banks fought like mad to do away with regulations, inspections, and safe banking practices, in order to gain more wealth, more power.

A replay of what we saw in 1929, with a wild and wooly stock market … banks, hell-bent for leather.

It’s was all about money. And the love of money is the root of all evil.

Few of us will ever be called upon as Samuel was called … but all of us are called - to be mindful, to pay attention, know what’s going on … be informed, concerned, and available … 

Take up the mantle of responsibility, go the extra mile … pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again, as needed. 

It takes work.

It takes effort.

It takes diligence and determination.

We all have a roll to play … we’re all on the road from here to WHERE? 

To the kingdom of God.

Things to do, only we can do.

People to love, who belong to our sphere of influence.

Gardens to plant.

Children to rear.

A poem to write.

A song to sing.

Laughter to give.

Tears to be shared.

A book to read.

A life to be lived … 

Forever and a day.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day, our daily bread.

Hallelujah and Amen!