June 17th:
June 17, 2012 (Fathers Day; HS Graduation; Children's Day) Call and Text: 1 Samuel 15: 1-3, 10-23, 16:13 What Part of "NO"? Is there anyone here who actually likes the scripture with which we were called to worship? I don't. When I read or hear it I want to complain - and complain rather loudly - that God is being unfair I want to make it clear that God is being inconsistent With what I understand of our relationship As I have come to understand it through Jesus Christ. I get upset with this story. I even get somewhat embarrassed by this story For each week I stand up here and talk about how good God is And then we hear this story And it makes me seem like a fool. How good can God be When God punishes Saul for sparing the king And some of the animals? That doesn't sound like the God we are talking about In that liturgical exchange in which the worship leader says "God is good" And the congregation responds "All the time" Often followed by switching the statements With the leader saying, "All the time" And the congregation responding, "God is good." We are taught not only that God is good, but also that God is love And that God expects us to show love. We are taught that God is merciful And that God expects us to show mercy. And then we hear or read this story. We shake our heads. God sends Saul, the first king of Israel, to destroy the Amalekites And tells him not to spare man or woman, child or infant ox, sheep, camel, or donkey Saul wins a great victory over the Amalekites. He utterly destroys those people But he spares their king Agag And he spares the best of the sheep, cattle, etc So God tells Samuel "I regret that I made Saul King For he has turned back from following me And has not carried out my commands." As Samuel relays this to Saul, he adds "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king." The Lord had rejected Saul and as our scripture closes we see God, through Samuel, anointing Saul's successor: "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him [David] in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." For me - and I suspect for you - this scripture begins with what we see as God's awful command "Punish the Amalekites for their behavior Do so by killing all men, women, and children And all their animals as well." Saul kills all men, women, and children - with one exception. Saul kills all the animals - except the best ones Which he takes to sacrifice to God. And God gets angry and, in essence says to Samuel, I told Saul to spare NO man, NO woman, and NO child. I told Saul to spare NO sheep, NO cattle, and NO goats. But he has spared King Agag and the best of the animals. Samuel, ask Saul whom I made king "What part of NO don't you understand?" [pause] How do we Christians reconcile this story With the life, death, and teachings of Jesus Christ? First, we have to understand that this story is about obedience Not about killing and punishment. And so we have to identify what it is that Saul did wrong. What he did wrong was turn back from following God By substituting his own judgment for God's. By rejecting God's words and commandments By choosing instead to do what he wanted to do. That behavior is what is inconsistent with what Christ taught. The lesson here is taught in the negative to give it greater impact. It tells to not do something rather than to do something And what it is that we are told not to do Seems in human thinking To be something that would be appropriate for us to do. Making our reaction one of arguing with and even criticizing God Thus making the story more memorable And the lesson that much more powerful. Like our reaction to so many of Christ's parables What you and I need to take from this scripture is To do as God directs Rather than to think we know better than God does. Christ says, Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength Love your neighbor as yourself And when we don't, God can respond "I said, all your heart, all your soul and all your strength" "I said all your neighbors." "What part of 'all' don't you understand?" Christ says, "Be my witnesses and make disciples for me" And when we don't, God can respond "What part of 'be' and 'make' don't you understand?" This upsetting and anger inducing scripture offers us a basic lesson: "We can't substitute our judgment for God's commands." We do need to worship regularly We do need to pray unceasingly We do need to give generously. We do need to love extensively We do need to make disciples and to witness constantly. When you and I are tempted to not do those things We are Saul People who substitute their own judgment for God's When we find ourselves doing that Let's remember this story Let's ask ourselves "What part of God's commands don't we understand?"