John 20:19-29
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, and Jesus came and stood among them, and said, Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

“Reaching”
Village Church
April 6, 2008

  Thomas has gotten a bad rap over the years. We even refer to people who question something as “doubting Thomases” as if questioning were a bad thing, as if doubt were a bad thing to be avoided at all cost. However, I think Thomas has something to teach us. In fact we are in need of his truth. We are in need of his questioning because without questions we cannot know or experience anything for ourselves. Without questions we are just parroting a faith that is not our own, but has been handed to us like a beautiful knick-knack which we place on our shelves. It is very beautiful but it is not part of us.
  In some ways, I think Thomas gets the better deal. Jesus shows up while the disciples are hiding and assures them he is okay. But Thomas gets to actually touch him. He gets to actual place his hands on the wounds of Jesus. That must have been an incredibly healing moment for both of them. Here were the wounds of Jesus’ torture and death, and yet they were not the end of the story. They were not touched just in death in the burial of his body, but in new life in the resurrection.
  We are blessed for believing without seeing. And it is true that none of us has seen Jesus. But at the same time, we too have a need to place our hands in the wounds of Jesus. We need to understand the story viscerally. We need to test it out, again and again. To ask questions to try and understand. We cannot just let others think for us. We need to think for ourselves so that we may experience faith for our selves.
  There are many ways to see. Chances are Jesus is not going to appear before us. However we can look with our hearts. We can feel God’s presence in our prayers, in creation, in one another. We can ask God for answers to our questions. We can ask God for more questions. Jesus said we should love God with our heart, body, and mind. We feel God with our hearts. We deepen our love for God by loving others and by loving ourselves. We love God with our body by taking care of ourselves, by showing up in worship, by using our hands and feet and gut in service in the world. If we are going to love God with our minds, then we must use them. We must study. We must ask. We must consider and re-consider.
  Faith is a journey of doubt and questioning. That is what makes us stronger, wiser, and more deeply faithful. Where was Thomas? Why was he not in the room? Perhaps he was the only one other than the women of course who was not terrified for his life. Perhaps he was not in hiding with the disciples because he was out trying to find out whether the women’s stories about the resurrected Jesus were true or not. We don’t know. We do know that Jesus comes back specifically for him, just to give him the experience of knowing his resurrection for himself. God wants to answer our questions too and help us grow. God will come back for us if we ask for it.
  Paul tells us in I Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.” This is true for us, and this will be true until we see God face to face at the end of time. So it is important to remember that no matter what we do see, no matter how much we do know, feel, think and believe, we are still only seeing in a mirror dimly.
  Whatever we think we know, we may be wrong. It may only be part of the information. The way we understand it may be distorted because we are looking at it backward, upside down, through a mirror dimly.
  Faith is not about believing one idea throughout your life. Faith is a relationship of continual growth and change, questioning and examining and exploring. Sometimes we are afraid to explore. We are afraid to admit that we do not know. We think we have to know. We think it’s not okay to doubt. We convince ourselves that we know, and we punish anyone who questions. We tell them they are not a good Christian, not a good American, not a good person.
  Last week at Hampshire students wanted to educate the campus on how to be anti-racist. Yet they were so aggressive in their tactics that other students felt they were being attacked for not already knowing how to be anti-racist. They were afraid to go to the workshops on anti-racism, to admit that they did not know already.
  It is okay not to know. We must be willing to concede we do not know in order to learn. When we think we know we close ourselves off from deeper knowledge. We are so busy convincing ourselves and others of what we know that we miss the truth. The truth in fact goes far deeper than knowledge. The truth does not lie in what we know but rather it lies in the relationship that we have with one another. It lies in the relationship that we have with God.
  The truth of Jesus did not lie in his wounds or in his appearance even, but in Thomas’ reaching out. We must reach out to God in the same way that Thomas did. We must allow ourselves not to know, so that we can experience God. We must leave room for the possibility that we do not know, that there is more than we see now in the midst of this present darkness.
  If we return to the room where once Jesus was, Jesus will come again. That is our hope. That is our question. That is what we do when we gather together here and share communion. We reach out to touch him in the bread and the cup. We reach out to touch him as we bow our heads. We reach out to touch him as we grasp one another’s hand. We reach out in doubt that we might grow in faith a faith of our own.
Let us pray.

John 20:1-11a
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not now where they have laid him.” Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.”

Meditation in Movement: Ecclesiastes, Free My Heart

John 20:11b-18

“As Mary Magdalene wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.</p>

Meditation in Song: I Come to the Garden

Colossians 3:1-11

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you; fornication, impurity, attachment, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, salve, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.”

Meditation in Word: To Live Again?
Village Church
March 23, 2008

Matthew 21:1-11
“When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethpage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

“Who is this?”
Village Church
March 16, 2008

  Who has seen those commercials on television for Comcast Digital Voice? A guy is standing in his apartment on the phone with tiger stripes tattooed all over his body. He calls up the tattoo artist who says to him, “I told you tattoos are permanent!” “I know you said that before,” the guy answers, “but now I’m calling you from my new Comcast Digital Voice service.”
  In another one, a guy calls his brother. “You know,” he says, “how we always have really awkward conversations? Well, now, I’m calling you on my new Comcast Digital Voice service. So everything will be different. It won’t be awkward anymore.”
  Of course, with a new phone service, even with brand new digital technology, tattoos are permanent and awkward conversations stay awkward. Bad decisions cannot be magically waved away, and difficult relationships cannot be magically made easier by changing the mode of conversation. The phone was not the cause of the bad decisions and painful relationships, so it cannot solve them either.
  It is a tempting fantasy though. That one thing that if we just find it or buy it, all our problems will be solved without us really having to do anything. Who has not indulged in that fantasy? That is where the crowd in Jerusalem is at. Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Now everything that is wrong in our lives will be put to right. Now all the oppression and poverty and personal hardships will vanish. As if it was his absence that caused everything to go wrong in the first place.
  Everybody in the crowd had a different idea, their own personal vision, of what things would look like now that Jesus had come to Jerusalem. Jesus had been traveling all over the countryside, from village to village healing and teaching. But this was the big moment. He was finally in the capital city, the seat of everything important that happened, the seat of local power. So many were expecting a political coup. He was crucified with the words, King of the Jews, over his head, a political if ironic statement. They were expecting him to claim his heritage, his royal line, to overthrow Herod and kick Rome out of Israel.
  But that is not what happened. Jesus just went on being Jesus. Challenging the powerful by healing the poor, spending time with sinners, and teaching that God loves everyone no matter who they are or what they’ve done, that there are no barriers between us and God, that there should be no barrier between us and each other.
  It was confusing really. How can the world be changed through healing, through an offering of love? And the same people who marched along waving palms and shouting turned to each other and said, “Who is this?” It makes me laugh. There they are, having a great time in the big parade, and they’re not even sure whom they are celebrating or what the celebration is for. It’s so human. We all want to know what’s going on. We all want to be a part of what is happening, whether or not we understand it. When there is an accident by the side of the road traffic backs up for miles because everybody slows down as they drive by to look. Today is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Holyoke. I remember the first year I lived in Holyoke, not really knowing what was going on, but wandering up the street from my house to see what all the fuss was about.
  That is what this crowd is like, wandering up to see what all the fuss is about, cheering Jesus although they have no real understanding of his message, and when they found out that his message does not involve a magical solution to their political and economic problems, they turn on him. Only five days later, they stand in the streets before Pontius Pilate’s palace crying, “Crucify Him!” They are confused. They are angry and disillusioned. What do you mean God is not going to step in and magically make everything better? How dare you tell us that God loves us, and then not solve all of our problems? Crucify him.
  So what was Jesus trying to convey when he rode into the city on the foal of donkey? What promise was God demonstrating by having him fulfill the scriptures? Why do we celebrate with waving Palms when we know that in just five days Jesus will be hanging on a cross?
  The political powers knew that Jesus was not going to make all things better. He was one guy with a rag-tag bunch of illiterate fishermen, tax collectors, widows, sick people, and prostitutes following him around. They had an army of soldiers behind them. And yet, Jesus was a danger to them. He was preaching freedom to the people. He was preaching an allegiance only to God, not to family or country or church even. He was preaching a different kind of social, economic, and political order. The powers of the age were afraid, not of him, but afraid of the people that he would motivate; afraid that he would empower people to make their own lives better, empower people to make change happen. It is those changes, that social unrest, which would eventually, finally, in time, crumble the Roman Empire.
  Jesus came to Jerusalem regardless of the risk because he wanted people to know that no matter what their life was, no matter what bad decisions and terrible relationships, God is there, God loves them, and God will empower them to make all things new. This is the promise of the Palm procession. Into whatever depth of danger, terror, despair, war, pain, violence, tragedy, regardless of the circumstances or the consequences, God comes. And that is something to celebrate.
  God does not come to undo what we have done, or to make right the wrongs of a flawed humanity. God comes to transform us. God comes to empower us in our hearts and in our souls to walk the path of the Holy One. God comes so that as we move in this world that can be broken, we have the strength to find God’s love and live it. As we walk in lives that can be heart-breakingly challenging, Jesus walks with us to celebrate the joy of each day, regardless of the circumstances or the consequence. We are here. God is with us. No matter where we are or what is going on in our lives or in the world, God is with us. And that is something to celebrate.
Let us pray.

John 11:1-44

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, sot that the Song of God may be glorified by means of it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed tow days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, they were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about tow miles off, and many had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that my brother will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When those who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and those who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So they said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I know that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

“Love that makes you Weep”
Village Church
March 9, 2008

  Last week at Hampshire a student killed herself. Hundreds of staff, students, and faculty gathered sharing how much she meant to them, how she had inspired them, how she had made them feel more dedicated, more musical, more embodied, how she lit up the room when she came in, made everyone and everything seem more alive. I wondered if she ever knew how anyone felt. I wondered if anyone had told her how they felt about her; if she had ever known the affect she had on people and how much she meant to them. She was so well loved, and I wonder if she knew it.
  Jesus loves the family in this story. They are his friends. He stays with them whenever he is in town. They are disciples outside the infamous twelve but just as important to him, and in fact seem at times to understand him more deeply at least in the case of the women. Jesus loves Mary, Martha, and Lazarus so much that he is willing to risk being killed in order to be with them in their loss. Things are getting pretty hot for Jesus at this time. He’s demonstrated too much power. He’s said too many things that have challenged both the Jewish and the Roman authorities. He knows that there are people in Jerusalem plotting his life. But he goes anyway. I wonder if they understood how much he loved them.
  Jesus is deeply moved in spirit and troubled when he experiences their grief. He is caught up in his own grief and weeps. Jesus is entirely in the moment. It does not matter that he is planning to pray to resurrect Lazarus later because right now he feels the loss and separation of Lazarus’ death. In this action, Jesus authenticates our grief. Even though we believe that we will be reunited with those we love who have been lost to us, it does not end our grief now. We are spirit and body. When we lose the body, we still have access to the spirit. We can talk to and connect to those who have died, just as we pray to God. And yet we are physical beings living the experience of a physical world, and we miss the body. We miss the fact that we can no longer touch and feel that person next to us. Mourning is part of loving, and it is an important part. We must weep for those we have lost.
  You have to appreciate the intimacy of the relationship that Mary and Martha have with Jesus. The first thing both of them do when they see him is yell at him. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” There is no fear there. They don’t hesitate to tell him exactly what they think. They are upset with him. He could have prevented this. They don’t say, “Gee, thanks for risking your life to come and be with us in our darkest hour.” They say, “How come you didn’t get here sooner?”
  Jesus tries to tell Martha it’s going to be all right, asking her if she believes in the resurrection and in his power. Martha says yes, but this has no connection to her grief. It does not matter that Lazarus is going to be raised some day. It is just an empty platitude for her like “it all happens for a reason.” Does a reason change the fact that someone has died?
  Jesus moves past trying to make things better through logic when he sees Mary’s grief displayed so openly. Mary helps him move past his mind and into his body which is human and will die like Lazarus. Mary helps Jesus move past his mind and into his heart, which hurts along with everyone else. Grief can teach us how to be human, how to connect to each other and ourselves.
  Martha is an imminently practical person. She is clearly the older sister. She does what has to be done. She is greeting the guests, making funeral arrangements, and taking care of sister. “We can’t roll away the stone,” she explains to Jesus. “It’s going to smell.” It makes me laugh. Not, why in the world would we roll away this gigantic heavy stone when he’s already dead, but rather, it’s going to smell. Martha is distracted by the practical details of life. Even though she, unlike anyone since the woman at the well at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, recognizes Jesus is the Messiah and names him as such, she is still focused on the mundane details. Her focus on the mundane makes her miss the miracle that is coming.
  We often miss the miraculous going on in our midst. We get so caught up in the living of our lives that we miss why we are living it. We get so caught up in the living of our lives that we miss the miraculous in each other. We are so busy. Going to work, going to school, getting our errands done, taking care of the house, the car, our responsibilities. Even our free time becomes laden with all the details we have to take care of, the television shows we have to watch, the books we have to read, the workshops we have to go to. When was the last time we took time to just delight in one another?
  Take a moment and look around at the circle of people here. We will not always be together. We will not always have this time together. Take a moment and consider the people you love that are not here. You will not always have them with you. Go home and tell them you love them. Call them up; write them a letter or an email. Tell them how much they mean to you. This is how you will see God, in the face of the people around you. But you must be conscious of it. You must shine the light of your conscious awareness on it, or you will miss the miracle. You will miss each other. You will miss God.
Let us pray.

I Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him over being king over Israel?” Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me him whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thoughts, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees, man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shemah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all of your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”

Looking with the Eyes of the Lord
Village Church
March 2, 2008

 God is impatient with Samuel. God wants to get a move on with things. God has God’s eye on the larger picture, while Samuel is still enmeshed in the smaller one. It is understandable though. After all, Samuel is the one who anointed Saul king over Israel in the first place. Samuel found him and anointed him, their first ever king. And for a time he did really well, and everyone loved him, including God.
  Unfortunately being King began to corrupt Saul. He started to descend into fear and paranoia. He stopped being able to hear God’s guidance. So God changed his mind. God decided that it was time for someone else to be in charge. Samuel is not ready to let go yet. He has accepted the idea but he is still grieving.
  I relate to Samuel very much in this. I know that I should make a different decision, but I have a hard time letting go. I spend forever grieving the loss of how I thought things would be, how they used to be, how I imagined they might be in the future. In the meantime, life is passing by. I am so caught up in my sadness over the loss of how I wished it would be that I am missing the goodness of how it is right now.
  “Fill your horn with oil!” Get a move on. It is time to act. The time for grieving is passed. The time for joy and celebration is at hand!
  Samuel, reluctantly lets go of his grief, and moves right into fear. Despite the fact that God is on his side, he is worried about his life. Which again, is understandable. After all, he is about to commit treason. This is a monarchy, not a democracy. Rule passes through heredity, not election. But Samuel is off to crown someone king anyway and he is worried about getting killed. God is even less understanding about this than his grief. In fact, God does not even respond to Samuel’s question, just continues with instructions. “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ God knows this is a dangerous task, and that Samuel is reasonable to be afraid, but God also knows that it will not help to dwell on his fear. It will not change what must be done and it will not prepare him to do it better. He just has to suck it up and move forward.
  Everyone in the story seems to know something is up. It is a violent time. Clearly Saul’s rule is both feared and not quite stable because the elders’ first reaction upon seeing Samuel is fear. Why is he here? Has he come to declare war on us? We forget sometimes that people did not welcome strangers out of protection in a time when there were no police, no central authority, or wider court. Yet God insists that welcoming strangers is a priority. God is always pushing us out of our comfort zone, out of our zone of protection, aware of the risks and yet pushing us anyway.
  Samuel would not be a stranger though. He was well known, the preeminent prophet, the one who anointed and advised the king. When Samuel found Saul, it was easier. The people were clamoring for a king. Even though God insisted they didn’t need one, they wanted one so God gave in. Samuel looked out over the courtyard and Saul stood head and shoulders above the rest. Saul was the very image of what a king should be, strong and tall and powerful.
  David is just the opposite of this. His choosing is very much like an ancient fairy tale. All the other brothers are examined first. They are older and stronger, but each one is passed by until there are none left. Except, oh wait, the youngest that is so unimpressive that we forgot about him. He is out tending the sheep since we didn’t assume that he would be needed for anything important. On top of that he is all soft. He has that ruddy complexion and those beautiful eyes. They might as well just say he looks like a girl.
  The first brother, Eliab, is most like Saul. He is a man’s man. He looks like a leader. But God already tried that and it didn’t turn out so well. So God chooses the other extreme. David, the musician, the boy who spent his time writing songs to God while he was watching the sheep. He is an artist, sensitive in both his demeanor and his looks. He becomes a warrior, as every king must, but even in his warring tactics, he depends on weapons that are too small and odds that are never in his favor. Yet he figures if it is what God wants of him, than he must do it, regardless of the consequences.
  And that is in fact the major difference between David and Saul. Their difference in appearance and stature is just the most obvious outer distinction. Their true difference lies in the fact that regardless of how the circumstances appear David follows God’s guidance.
  Samuel has trouble with this. You would think it would be easier, great prophet and all, hearing the voice of God. You would think it would be easier to understand what God was asking. Yet Samuel is always arguing. “Surely you mean this young man, not that one…” Even the prophets do not see with the eyes of the Lord, for “man looks on the outward appearance; the Lord looks on the heart.” We cannot help it. We are always thinking that the outer appearance reflects the inner. And there are those who are beautiful on the outside and beautiful on the inside. But this is not about beauty. This is about how we judge others. This is about depth.
  We look with our eyes. We look on the outside. We use our senses, our mind. We ignore our heart. We ignore that voice deep within us. We argue it down, relying instead on the “facts” before us. Yet we too have the ability to see into the heart. We too have the ability to hear the words of the Lord shouting within us to look past what is on the outside, look past what the circumstances are, look past our fears and our grief and our reasonable precautions and conclusions, look past the practical. God lies in the impractical, the irrational, the unreasonable, the unusual, the unlikely. The heart of the matter lies in the person we would not choose, the place we would rather not go, the choice which only makes sense to God, which only makes sense to us when we delve deep into our hearts and look with the eyes of the Lord.
Let us pray.