6.9.24 "1830 - a Year to Remember!" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

1 Samuel 8

The year, 1830. 

You and your friends were talking about it just this week, I’m sure … someone said to you, “1830, what a year that was!”

Simon Bolívar’s dream of a United South America was shattered … he himself died on his way into pensioned exile.  

In Tasmania, Governor Arthur swept a line of armed whites across the huge island in an effort to trap and eradicate the remaining aborigines.

The July Revolution in Paris overthrew the ruling family and installed Louis Philippe on the French throne. 

The Indian Removal Act, setting in motion the removal of 80,000 Indigenous Peoples to lands west of the Mississippi.

The rift between North and South deepened with the nullification issue and the Hayne-Webster debate in the Senate.

Hayne supports slavery … Webster an abolitionist … 30 years later, this debate literally explodes when Southern guns fire on Fort Sumter and the Civil War begins.

1830 … just another year in the human adventure …

This morning, 2024; the outward appearance is different … we have plans, trains and automobiles … computers and the internet … but the human questions remain pretty much the same.

Politics and religion … life and death, make a living, put bread on the table, care for loved ones, fall in love, fall out of love, vast dreams, broken hearts, make sense of life, and do the best we can.

We do well to ask how others faced the challenges of life … from them, we learn how to make our way through time, even as we create and shape our very own lives. 

It’s improper and unhealthy to let the past rule the present, but it’s equally improper and unhealthy to ignore the past … the past is always present … it’s better to know the past, learn from it, and correct some of its faults.

This morning, we step back in time … the 11th Century before Jesus … Samuel the Prophet.

God’s call to Samuel comes to him as young boy … three times in the early night, a voice calls out to him: Samuel, Samuel … the young boy gets up, goes to Eli the priest, believing it was Eli calling him.

Eli sends the boy back to bed … but on the third time, says, If you hear your name called again, say this ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’

Samuel grows up to play a pivotal role in Israel’s life … in war and peace, conflict and hope, Samuel travels back and forth every year, a judicial circuit, meeting with town elders and adjudicating issues … settling arguments, giving advice, encouraging faith, hope, and love . it’s a lotta work.

As Samuel grows older, he brings his sons on board. But the sons of Samuel, like the sons of Eli the Priest, are up to no good.

The Bible says, they turned aside after gain, they took bribes and perverted justice.

Israel’s leaders go to Samuel, You’re old, they say, and your sons aren’t worth a toot … we want a king to govern us, just like all the other nations.

It won’t work, says Samuel!

The king will take everything from you, and never give a dime of it back …  

And when you’re tired of it all, and cry out to the LORD, the LORD will pay no attention to you.

Give us a king, the people cry, a strong man … a man to lead us, guide us, tell us what to do. This is what we want.

God says to Samuel: Go ahead, give them what they want. Give ‘em a king.

For a thousand years thereafter, kings rule, kings fail, kings commit high crimes and misdemeanors, and go to useless wars … kings take everything, … there are good kings along the way, like King David, but even David sins mightily … David’s political and moral failures sow the seeds of tragedy … David’s son, Solomon, with all his wisdom, goes south in a hurry … the kingdom is split, warfare erupts.

In the year 721, before Jesus is born, the Northern Kingdom of Israel is defeated and destroyed by Assyria … before the birth of Jesus, in the year 586, the Southern Kingdom of Judah, is defeated and destroyed by Babylon … puppet kings are established …  

After Assyria, after Babylon … the Persians, Alexander the Great, Egypt, and finally the Roman Empire … 

Samuel was right … it all failed! It crashed to the ground. It didn’t work! Much of the Bible is writing in the light of all of this defeat and sorrow … which is why I trust the Bible … though it difficult to read. But in these pages, we find a profound story … and clues to wise living.

If we could ask Samuel for advice, what might Samuel say to us?

Samuel might well say what the angels have always said to the people: Fear not … the LORD is with you.

Samuel might well say to us: trust in the LORD, be patient … wait for the LORD; don’t go off half-cocked … think before you act; pray before you speak.

I don’t know about you, but I know about me: Waiting on the LORD is easy to say when the sun shines bright and clear, but ever so hard to do when the night of sorrow is upon us.

Samuel would advise us: remember the basics of your faith: the LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want … no matter what, no matter where, I belong to the LORD.

As Christians, as followers of Christ,

Say the LORD’s Prayer  … 

don’t hurry … 

linger for awhile on a phrase that catches your attention …

thy kingdom come, thy will be done … 

give us this day our daily bread … 

Rely on the spiritual resources of tradition … 

sometimes the way forward begins 

with a step backward, 

to the treasures of our faith … 

The hymns of faith … A Mighty Fortress Is our God … Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee … Rock of Ages, Cleft for me, and don’t forget: When the Saints Marching In.

Look around this place … symbols of faith, hope, and love … here in the chancel, the sky is always blue … in the midst of the storm, amazing grace … all the way to the cross, our savior leads … in darkness, there is light … in sorrow, there is comfort … in death, there is life.

Samuel would tell us … 

“Ask good questions!”

Is it true? and how do I know?

Is it good? and how do I measure it?

Does it build up? 

Is it fair, is it just?

Who benefits?

Who profits by such things?

Who’s telling the truth, and who’s lying?

What do they want?

If this path is followed, 

will lives be saved?

will boundaries be crossed?

will the poor be fed?

will the homeless be housed?

will freedom be expanded?

will people be welcomed?

Whether it’s 1830 or 2024, or the 11th Century before Jesus, the tasks are the same:

trust God … 

wait upon the LORD … 

be mindful, be wise … 

Do your best, even when your best isn’t so hot … when you dribble chocolate ice cream on your white blouse, 

and ya’ wanna put your spouse in a Murphy Bed and close it up for three days.

1830 or 2024 … or the 11th Century before Jesus was born:

Don’t get lost in your mistakes, learn from them … 

Be kind to others, because they’re on the same journey.

Don’t look for the easy way, because the easy way doesn’t exist.

You may have faith, but you’re not a Super Hero.

Be humble, because we all meet the same end, the way of all flesh …

Stand on the promises of Christ!

Can it be done?

Can we embrace the good?

Can we endure life’s slings and arrows, and make it through?

Can we stand with Samuel, and walk with Christ?

Yes, we can … yes, we can … yes, for sure … to the glory of God, and the healing of the nations. 

Amen and Amen! 

July 1, 2012, "Make the Most of a Mess"

2 Samuel 1.16-19

Last Sunday … those who live by the sword … die by the sword.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the mob appears, led by Judas, to take Jesus away … a disciple draws a sword.

Jesus says: Put it away. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.

The young man who reported to David the news of Saul’s death  is an opportunist, a soldier of fortune, a mercenary - Have sword, will travel.

When the tide of battle turns against Saul and Jonathan, Saul is mortally wounded.

The young solider flees for his life, and comes upon the dying Saul; Saul begs him to end his life.

Without a moment’s thought, the young man dispatches Saul’s life … takes the crown from Saul’s head and a bracelet from  his arm.

The young man sees an opportunity to be a king-maker.

He flees to the south to find David.

When David hears the news, David rips his clothing - David’s soldiers do the same - Saul has been ripped from their life; their hearts ripped with grief … and Jonathan, Saul’s son, David’s beloved friend, is dead, too.

There is grief in the palace!

Saul reigned 42 years … a long time … very few could have remembered a time before Saul … Saul was Israel, and Israel was Saul.

In spite of his many missteps.

Saul stumbles over his own feet … miscalculates and chooses the wrong course.

Yet God grants him 42 years on the throne.

Is God patient?

God is very patient!

As is David … for David is a man after God’s own heart!

Early on, David comes into Saul’s palace as a musician … it doesn’t take long for David to realize that Saul is unbalanced … fits of anger explode without reason … jealousy warps Saul’s mind and heart … Saul has no better friend than David, but Saul imagines David to be an enemy.

David flees from Saul’s palace.

But that’s not enough for Saul.

Saul’s jealousy takes root and grows: resentment, anger … as long as David is alive, David poses a threat.

Saul goes after David … the chase is on … and, then, two remarkable moments - when David has Saul in his hands … two times, when David could have killed Saul.

Two times, David’s soldiers tell him, Kill Saul … get on with it … be done with it … our lives are in jeopardy … he’ll kill us if has the chance; don’t take any more chances, kill Saul!

Two times, David could have taken up the sword.

Two times, David refuses.

Remember, David is a man of the sword … a skilled tactician … a man who knows how to fight … even as a young shepherd boy, he knows how to kill predators and defend the flock … when it comes to Goliath, David knows how to sling a stone with lethal force, and if that isn’t enough, David sever’s Goliath’s head, and brings Goliath’s head to Saul, a trophy of war … enemy defeated … battle won.

David is a man of the sword!

But when it comes to Saul, there will be no sword.

But David is clever. 

In each instance, David secures proof of the moment.

You remember the stories:

When Saul is in the cave to “relieve himself” - David and his men are far back in the very same cave; David creeps to where Saul has laid aside his robes, and with a swift cut of the knife, David cuts off a piece of the garment.

After Saul leaves the cave, David steps to the mouth of the caves and calls out to him; holds up the piece of Saul’s robe … Saul is overcome with remorse … Saul relents and goes home.

A second time, Saul and his army are sleeping soundly in camp, weary from battle … the LORD’S hand helps them sleep well.

David and a companion sneak into the camp - the companion says, Let me take Saul’s spear and pin him to the ground.

But David stays the man’s hand … No one can lift a hand against the LORD’S anointed and go unpunished.

Yet again refuses the way of the sword, but David is smart enough to prove his presence - David takes Saul’s spear and Saul’s water jug, and only after leaving camp, and climbing a bluff high above the camp, David calls out, awakens Saul’s encampment … everyone can see how close Saul came to death … David returns the spear and the water jug.

Saul is remorseful and apologizes to David … David goes on his way, and Saul returns home. 

It’s the last time Saul and David will see each other.

David bides his time!

I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to wait.

To wait upon the LORD.

David himself writes in Psalm 37:

Be still before the LORD and wait for him.

Don’t get upset when someone gets ahead - someone who invents evil schemes.

David will never make himself king.

Only God can make David king.

The Amalekite mercenary expected David to rejoice at the news.

How stunned the young man must have been … no jubilation, no dancing, no celebration … only tears and sorrow, mourning and grief.

David asks the young messenger a few more questions.

David learns the young man is a mercenary, an Amalekite.

How ironic.

While Saul was up north fighting the Philistines, David, deep in the south, wages war against the Amalekites.

No love lost here.

What is David it do? The palace watches and waits!

David refuses the trophies of war offered to him by the young man.

How easy for David to grab the crown and the bracelet … would anyone have cared? 

But David will not make himself king, or be made king by the fortunes of war!

There can be no self-serving in the kingdom of God … a thousand years later, Jesus says, I come, not to be served, but to serve … to give myself … to lay down my life.

Jesus echoes David’s sentiments: I’ll not make myself king; only my Father can do that.

For David to receive the kingship by the power of the sword would have been a failure of faith … a betrayal of his own values … David has waited this long for God to make him king; to turn now would have made all the years of danger and prayer a waste of time … it would been a bad beginning  … and things will be bad enough for David … but here and now, David refuses the easy way, as did our LORD when tempted by the Devil in the wilderness … no easy way for the servants of God.

David makes a hard decision … 

This young man who finished off King Saul, in the hopes of a quick profit, gains nothing, and loses everything … in a world of quick profits, big corporations sacrifice thousands of employees for the sake of Wall Street … the powerful tell the weak to take a hike … the successful condemn the poor and make life harder for millions - it would be well for all of us to remember that quick profits profit us nothing … a thousand years later, Jesus would say, What good does it do for a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?

David could have the crown, the crown and the glory … but he would lose his soul in that moment. 

Everyone would tell stories about the young mercenary who won the day for David, and brought home the spoils of war.

David knows it would be a bad bargain.

David commands one of his servants to strike the young man down … a hard decision in hard times.

Those who live by the sword … die by the sword.

David remains loyal … loyal to Saul and Jonathan, and loyal to the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel.

David doesn’t grab the crown; he waits for the LORD.

David is a man - after God’s own heart.

Amen and Amen!