Samuel was most assuredly not happy with his latest assignment, which we heard about in the Hebrew Bible reading this morning. He was undoubtedly caught between a rock and a hard place as the saying goes.
On the one hand he had Saul, the king of the Hebrew people watching his every move. Samuel was the chief priest—the head honcho in the Temple. And kings worry about such a person. On the other hand Samuel had God. And you don’t ignore God—especially if you’re the chief priest.
And God was asking Samuel to do a very hard thing. A dangerous thing. He was to anoint the new king. While the old king was still around.
Saul had been made king and was ruling over the kingdom of Israel. But then Saul displeased God and God withdrew God’s support of Saul’s kingship.
Now you can imagine that such a thing would not be pleasing to Saul; to have that all that power and then have it removed from you? No, Saul isn’t happy and isn’t going to be pleased with anyone who goes along with this new plan.
So Samuel has his instructions—go to Bethlehem and from among the sons of Jesse, one of the local bigwigs no doubt, he was to anoint a new king. Sounds simple except as Samuel says, if Saul hears of it, he’ll kill Samuel. Not what chief priests have in mind when they sign up for the job. But that’s often the job of religious figures isn’t it—to fly in the face of the politicians? But that’s probably another sermon.
So Saul goes to Bethlehem. He takes a heifer with him as a cover. If anyone asks, he’s going there to sacrifice to God—that’s all. And the townspeople are nervous to have this august person come to their tiny little village. The elders rush out to meet him and say “have you come peaceably?” He reassures them that he’s only there for a sacrifice to God.
It’s at the sacrifice that God is going to reveal to Samuel who among Jesse’s sons is to be anointed as the new king. So everyone is there for the big sacrifice and Samuel has Jesse parade his sons before him. Samuel is sure that he’s found the right one as soon as he sees Eliab. Eliab is undoubtedly the eldest. He was probably tall in stature, good looking and ready for whatever God threw at him. But Samuel was wrong. This is not the son of Jesse that God has chosen. Neither are Abinadab nor Shammah. In fact, 7 of Jesse’s sons pass before Samuel and God says, “Nope, not that one,” to each of the 7.
At this point Samuel must be wondering if God is playing some trick on him. All these young men, fine specimens of Hebrew manhood, come before him and each of them, in his turn, is rejected by God. Samuel must be thinking, “Come on, God—give me a break. You give me this impossible task and then don’t give me the support I need. Couldn’t you just pick one?!”
Probably out of desperation, he asks if all of Jesse’s sons are here. Jesse replies, probably somewhat embarrassedly that, well, yes, there is one more. He’s the youngest—the least important of all—but he’s out tending the sheep. He’s got one of the lowliest jobs around. That’s what youngest children often end up doing—the jobs no one else wants.
So they bring him in from the fields and of course, as we all know, this is the one that God has chosen. The author of 1 Samuel makes a point of telling us how good looking he is—he’s got a ruddy complexion and is handsome and has killer eyes. Of course this is David, the future king of Israel, against whom all future kings are measured. David is so important in fact that our Christian scriptures trace Jesus’ lineage back through him. And we’ll learn more about David’s story in the coming weeks through the lectionary readings. Right now I want to focus on David’s call to be king.
Remember last week, in the Hebrew Scriptures which we read? We heard about Isaiah’s call to be a prophet. In short, God asks whom God will send out to be a prophet among the Hebrew people and Isaiah responds “Here I am, send me.” Well, David’s call to kingship is completely the opposite. Not that he resisted but David, out there among the sheep, had no idea that he would make the transition from pasture to palace. God chose David as the next king.
This is clearly two forms of call—one in which the person who is called responds by filling a need. The other in which God chooses someone to do a job that’s completely unexpected. Either way, there is a job that needs doing and the need is filled.
I read a quote recently, I forget who said it, but it went something along these lines: “What if God calls everyone into ministry and makes do with those of us who say yes?” It’s an interesting thought. What if we are all called into ministry and only some of us respond?
Of course, we are all called into ministry—each one of us here is called to ministry. The ministries differ of course: Isaiah wasn’t called to be king and David wasn’t called to be a prophet. But each of us is called to ministry in some form. And most of us here today have already said yes to calls. We’re here today, that’s one good sign of call acceptance. We’ve responded, in no small way, to God’s call to be among a community of God’s people to worship God this Sunday morning.
But what about the larger calls? Are you listening carefully for where God might be calling you? Are you prepared, like Isaiah, to say here I am, send me? Or maybe you’re out in the sheep pasture, minding your own business, and there’s an urgent call for you to come into the sacrifice where you will, unexpectedly, be anointed.
Calls are funny things. Maybe our call isn’t to be prophet to an entire nation or leader of a country. Likely it isn’t. But we have calls each and every day from God that lead us into situations where God’s work is needed. Perhaps it’s to do the work of Interfaith Hospitality Network or tutoring with Homework Central. Perhaps it’s to be an officer in this congregation or with Peninsula Interfaith Action. Perhaps it’s to speak out on a local level about an issue that confronts your community.
There are so many ways that God calls each and every one of us. It is our job to be attentive and to listen carefully. And then of course, to come in from the sheepfold and actually get to work on doing whatever it is God calls you to.
Trinity Sunday Sermon, 11 June 2006
When we were in Tuscany just a few weeks ago, we saw at least a couple of paintings and frescoes which attempted to portray the trinity. Typically these showed an older, gray-bearded man in the back, who was, of course, God the Father. In front would be Jesus on the cross, representing the redemptive 2nd person of the trinity. And somewhere in between would be a dove, showing the Spirit.
This is Trinity Sunday—the day when we are supposed to concentrate on the three-in-oneness of our God. If I had played my cards right, Kacey would have been preaching on this day too, but I blew it! So here I am, dealing with the sometimes difficult-to-grasp doctrine of the trinity.
The difficulty is that there is no specific reference to the trinity in the scriptures. This is a doctrine the early church came up with. It’s something new as far as religions go. It’s still monotheism and it’s definitely not the polytheism of the Greeks and Romans. It’s proclaiming the oneness of God yet recognizing the different ways that God appears to us.
My problem with the Trinity is that I see God in far vaster ways than just a trinity. I see God as a multi-faceted, ever-turning gem who shows different faces at different times, always amazing and astounding us. I suppose that would make me something of a heretic, but who’s surprised at that?
There is one thing to be clear of when speaking about the trinity. Traditionally, we have spoken about the three persons of the trinity. The word “persons” makes it difficult sometimes to understand. But if you realize that the word “person” comes from the Latin word “persona” it makes it a little easier. For the “persona” referred to the mask worn by Greek and Roman actors. The mask was the persona, which they wore to indicate different characters. So the three persons of God can be thought of as the masks God wears when dealing with humanity.
But here on Trinity Sunday, the lectionary attempts to make it all clear by cobbling together verses that give us a glimpse of some of these facets of God. The trinity as it were. The three aspects of God that have historically been a part of our Christian beliefs. So let’s take a look at these verses to see what we can discover about God. Let’s start with Isaiah.
This is one of my favorite verses. It’s the story of Isaiah’s call to prophesy to the Israelites. It’s a clear acceptance of God’s call but with it we get a glimpse into the magnitude of God’s greatness according to Isaiah.
Isaiah begins by right off telling us that the hem of God’s robe fills the temple. The temple in Jerusalem at this point would have been the biggest building around. And it can contain only the hem of God’s robe. That’s how amazingly big God is. It’s unimaginable.
God is continually being praised by the angels—the cherubim & seraphim—who surround the throne. They sing out “holy, holy, holy.” In Hebrew, to express the superlative, you repeat the word three times. Thus when they sing out “holy, holy, holy,” they are saying that God is the holiest of all.
God also has the power to forgive, as evidenced by the coal which touches Isaiah’s lips and frees him from guilt. God is always ready to do this for us—forgive us of our sins and send us forth guiltless. Isaiah himself declared his lips unclean and immediately he was made clean.
Finally, from this Isaiah passage, we learn that God calls us into God’s service. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” God cries out to Isaiah as, indeed, God cries out to us. God is continually in need of those who will respond to the call with “Here am I; send me!” It’s funny to think of God in need but indeed that’s where we find God in this scripture—needing those who will act on God’s part in this world.
In Romans we learn about the Spirit of God which makes us children of God. It is through the adoptive nature of the Spirit that we become God’s children.
The Spirit moves and dances among us. It is the very being of God in our midst always and ever-present. And according to the verses we heard earlier from John, it is this very Spirit that births us into Christian life. We are to be “born from above,” John writes. The Holy Spirit then is the initiator of our lives of faith—adopted in yet born into the life of faith.
The Spirit is the one who sustains us through the difficult times of our lives—who lifts us up when we are perilously close to falling, who propels us forth when we respond with a “yes” to God’s call. The Spirit comes to surround us with loving protection and a nurturing presence in times of trial.
And what can we say about the third person of the trinity—Jesus? Jesus shows up in our gospel reading as a teacher—a well-known and respected teacher. He brings signs from God, according to Nicodemus. As Christians this aspect of God is central. We claim the divinity of Christ as central to our faith. In fact, the age-old Disciples claim of “no creed but Christ” is a clear part of the centrality of Christ in our beliefs.
Jesus is the man who walked the earth—it is Christ who represents us and intercedes for us. Jesus, as a brother to all of us, is often seen as our friend—our compatriot in the struggles our faith can lead us to. Jesus, as God’s son, as the gospel proclaimed this morning, is seen, in traditional Christian doctrine, as fully human, fully divine.
This person of the trinity knows completely what it is to be human. Jesus felt pain and suffering and joy and sorrow and was moved by the emotions of others. He walked the face of the earth and knew real pain—including the pain of a tortuous death.
As John tells us, Jesus came not for condemnation but for saving. Jesus is one who saves us—from the evils that can be found in this world, from the depths to which we can sink, from ourselves.
The three persons of the Trinity have been known historically as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Feminist theology has recast the three persons as Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, referring more to the actions of God. However you refer to God, however you view the trinity, however God comes to you and acts in your life, know that God—the almighty one, the Spirit who makes us part of the family and Jesus the Christ who saves us—is ready to call you forth and sustain you in your efforts on God’s behalf.
This is Trinity Sunday—the day when we are supposed to concentrate on the three-in-oneness of our God. If I had played my cards right, Kacey would have been preaching on this day too, but I blew it! So here I am, dealing with the sometimes difficult-to-grasp doctrine of the trinity.
The difficulty is that there is no specific reference to the trinity in the scriptures. This is a doctrine the early church came up with. It’s something new as far as religions go. It’s still monotheism and it’s definitely not the polytheism of the Greeks and Romans. It’s proclaiming the oneness of God yet recognizing the different ways that God appears to us.
My problem with the Trinity is that I see God in far vaster ways than just a trinity. I see God as a multi-faceted, ever-turning gem who shows different faces at different times, always amazing and astounding us. I suppose that would make me something of a heretic, but who’s surprised at that?
There is one thing to be clear of when speaking about the trinity. Traditionally, we have spoken about the three persons of the trinity. The word “persons” makes it difficult sometimes to understand. But if you realize that the word “person” comes from the Latin word “persona” it makes it a little easier. For the “persona” referred to the mask worn by Greek and Roman actors. The mask was the persona, which they wore to indicate different characters. So the three persons of God can be thought of as the masks God wears when dealing with humanity.
But here on Trinity Sunday, the lectionary attempts to make it all clear by cobbling together verses that give us a glimpse of some of these facets of God. The trinity as it were. The three aspects of God that have historically been a part of our Christian beliefs. So let’s take a look at these verses to see what we can discover about God. Let’s start with Isaiah.
This is one of my favorite verses. It’s the story of Isaiah’s call to prophesy to the Israelites. It’s a clear acceptance of God’s call but with it we get a glimpse into the magnitude of God’s greatness according to Isaiah.
Isaiah begins by right off telling us that the hem of God’s robe fills the temple. The temple in Jerusalem at this point would have been the biggest building around. And it can contain only the hem of God’s robe. That’s how amazingly big God is. It’s unimaginable.
God is continually being praised by the angels—the cherubim & seraphim—who surround the throne. They sing out “holy, holy, holy.” In Hebrew, to express the superlative, you repeat the word three times. Thus when they sing out “holy, holy, holy,” they are saying that God is the holiest of all.
God also has the power to forgive, as evidenced by the coal which touches Isaiah’s lips and frees him from guilt. God is always ready to do this for us—forgive us of our sins and send us forth guiltless. Isaiah himself declared his lips unclean and immediately he was made clean.
Finally, from this Isaiah passage, we learn that God calls us into God’s service. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” God cries out to Isaiah as, indeed, God cries out to us. God is continually in need of those who will respond to the call with “Here am I; send me!” It’s funny to think of God in need but indeed that’s where we find God in this scripture—needing those who will act on God’s part in this world.
In Romans we learn about the Spirit of God which makes us children of God. It is through the adoptive nature of the Spirit that we become God’s children.
The Spirit moves and dances among us. It is the very being of God in our midst always and ever-present. And according to the verses we heard earlier from John, it is this very Spirit that births us into Christian life. We are to be “born from above,” John writes. The Holy Spirit then is the initiator of our lives of faith—adopted in yet born into the life of faith.
The Spirit is the one who sustains us through the difficult times of our lives—who lifts us up when we are perilously close to falling, who propels us forth when we respond with a “yes” to God’s call. The Spirit comes to surround us with loving protection and a nurturing presence in times of trial.
And what can we say about the third person of the trinity—Jesus? Jesus shows up in our gospel reading as a teacher—a well-known and respected teacher. He brings signs from God, according to Nicodemus. As Christians this aspect of God is central. We claim the divinity of Christ as central to our faith. In fact, the age-old Disciples claim of “no creed but Christ” is a clear part of the centrality of Christ in our beliefs.
Jesus is the man who walked the earth—it is Christ who represents us and intercedes for us. Jesus, as a brother to all of us, is often seen as our friend—our compatriot in the struggles our faith can lead us to. Jesus, as God’s son, as the gospel proclaimed this morning, is seen, in traditional Christian doctrine, as fully human, fully divine.
This person of the trinity knows completely what it is to be human. Jesus felt pain and suffering and joy and sorrow and was moved by the emotions of others. He walked the face of the earth and knew real pain—including the pain of a tortuous death.
As John tells us, Jesus came not for condemnation but for saving. Jesus is one who saves us—from the evils that can be found in this world, from the depths to which we can sink, from ourselves.
The three persons of the Trinity have been known historically as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Feminist theology has recast the three persons as Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, referring more to the actions of God. However you refer to God, however you view the trinity, however God comes to you and acts in your life, know that God—the almighty one, the Spirit who makes us part of the family and Jesus the Christ who saves us—is ready to call you forth and sustain you in your efforts on God’s behalf.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
