Building Up in Love

Based on Ephesians 4:1-16

First delivered August 5, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            Today we begin a series of messages that are based on the letter to the Ephesians. These messages will focus on our life together as Christian community, especially how love is at the core of our identity as the body of Christ.

            We begin with the first sixteen verses of chapter four. This passage is loaded! Paul covers a lot of material with an economy of words. He mentions the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He talks about vocation, about how our community is like a body, about spiritual gifts, the virtues of humility, gentleness, and patience…there’s a lot here.

            As I read this passage, I find Paul focusing on two topics: unity and building up each other in love. I want to talk about that this morning.

            In verse 3, Paul says we are to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. What does he mean by unity? He doesn’t mean uniformity. It is impressive to see a military regiment lined up in rows and marching in lock step. It is mesmerizing to watch how each soldier moves in perfect unity with the rest. But that’s not the kind of unity Paul is talking about. Paul uses the image of the body. He doesn’t talk about how we are like eyes or ears, hands or feet. Instead he talks about the body of Christ, about how Jesus is the head, and how the whole body is joined together by ligaments. So we, as a community of believers, are united as a whole body is united as one, organic, growing, living, breathing body. By the way, what I mean by community of believers is not just our gathering here. I’m talking about the global community, the over one billion Christians spread all across the world. We are a big body! And that’s not even taking into consideration the billions of saints who have transitioned from this life to the next.

            What is the source of this unity that we enjoy as the body of Christ? Well, consider your own body. Did any of your body parts volunteer to be a part of your body? Of course not. Your body is one package, uniquely designed by our Creator. You didn’t assemble your body. The body you live in is given to you “as is.” In the same way, the unity that unites us as brothers and sisters in Christ is given to us by God. It is not something we assemble. Nor is it something we volunteer to be a part of. Paul is teaching us that the unity we have in Christ is a gift, given to us by God. Our unity in the body of Christ is a given.

            Now, you may be wondering, if our unity is a given, why are we as a body of believers so fractured? That is a real problem. It’s always been a problem, making actual the unity that is given to us by God. Paul wrote a lot about unity because the churches he was writing to often were becoming disunited, breaking up into factions. I’ll talk more about this, but I want to say here that the unity we have received, or as Paul puts it, “the unity of the Sprit in the bond of peace,” is something that we have to live in to and be committed to. Paul says we have to make every effort to maintain the unity of Spirit. The unity is given to us but we each have to do our part to maintain that unity, that bond of peace that we have received by being members of the body of Christ.

            Does Paul give us any guidance on how to do that? Indeed, he does. He tells us, no, he begs us to lead lives worthy of the calling to which we have been called. And that calling is membership in the body of Christ. If we are Christians, we must strive to live a life worthy of the identity of Christian. Paul highlights three virtues that mark a worthy Christian life: they are humility, gentleness and patience. Now here is where I could get sidetracked. Each of those virtues is a sermon in itself. Do you see how valuable these virtues are, especially when it comes to maintaining unity?

            Humility is awareness of your value, not thinking too highly or too little of yourself. Humility is acknowledging that you are worthy. You are not all that and a bag of chips. Nor are you just a fill in the blank. Humility is all about acknowledging how worthy you are among others who also are worthy. It’s this understanding of humility that helps maintain unity.

            Gentleness: how important when it comes to maintaining unity. To be gentle is to be sensitive to others, to try not to cause any kind of offense. It’s a key ingredient in getting along with others. And patience, oh how that is necessary to maintain unity. And for many of us so difficult! Misunderstandings, an ill-spoken word, a failure to follow through on a promise, are just some of the ways that we strain the bond of peace that holds us together. We all make mistakes. Patience, or bearing with each other, is critical to sticking together when tensions rise, threatening to pull us apart.

            I saw these virtues in action last Tuesday. Jadon had band camp last week. I chaperoned their trip to Newark to see an open rehearsal of the Bluecoats. They are a show band based out of Canton who travel all across the country. They are amazingly talented and pull off an incredible show. Watching them rehearse was fascinating. The director stopped them frequently. He would call out certain sections, and sometimes people by name, giving corrections, but also sometimes a nice dose of praise. He was gentle with his corrections, completely professional. The band members, confident in their value and ability, were able to humbly receive that correction. And the band demonstrated great patience as they stopped and started, reset, ran the section over again. No complaining. No dragging their feet. All business, but with a playful spirit. It was really cool to see. This is a band that is unified.

            What the Bluecoats do is impressive. In fact, it’s pretty awesome. But it’s also temporary and completely human created. The show directors come up with the music, the props, the choreography. The band members and flag corps learn the program and bring it to life with the best of their ability. But when the season is over by next weekend when they have the world championship in Indianapolis, they will all hug each other, say good bye, and then scatter to the winds, returning to college, their jobs, or whatever they do. Some won’t be back next season. That rendition of the Bluecoats will be over. They build up something special. But it isn’t lasting. There is an end point.

            This is not true for us. What we are building up is not of human origin. The body of Christ was not anyone’s idea. It is God’s idea. The director of this band is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And we will always be members of this band. We will never age out. We are not a part of the body of Christ for a season. Paul talks about how we are joined together by ligaments. As Christians we are connected to each other. We don’t scatter to the winds after a season. To be in the body of Christ, this is our mutual calling. And we will never be alumni but always active participants, even, dare I say, after we pass from this life to the next.

            What we are building up is also not a finished product. Next weekend, Bluecoats will perform one final time their program they have been working on and refining all summer. They will be judged against their peers and see where they place. Then, they’re done. But as Christians, building up the body of Christ, we are never done. It is a process that continues for as long as you and I have breath. Part of our calling is to never stop doing what we can to build each other up in love. That’s our never ending task. And it is a process. Our life together is always one challenge after another. Humility, gentleness and patience are always on hand as we strive to build each other up and not tear each other down. Paul talks about helping each other mature into the full stature of Christ. Can we agree that is aspirational? Certainly on this side of heaven to reach the level of maturity in which we all are like Christ is a work in progress. Every now and then we get it right. John Wesley talks about being made perfect in love, meaning that every thought and action is guided by love. We can become perfect in that sense. But the goal is to help us all get there. And stay there. And that takes effort.

            So this is our way of life, as Paul sees it. This is our calling, to maintain our unity in the bond of peace by building one another up in love, helping each other toward maturing, the full stature of Christ who is our head. And this ought to be our way of life, not just because it’s the right thing to do or because the Bible tells us so. This ought to be our way of life because this is life at its best, its most excellent, its most beautiful.

            At the open rehearsal, for an hour and a half, we watched the Bluecoats practice different segments of their program. But at the end, they ran through the whole show for us. It was fabulous. Every group was doing their own parts, the pit, the brass, the drum line, the flag corps. But they were all moving to the beat, in unison. It was art in motion. It was a glorious performance.

            But immensely greater is the “performance” of Christian community. When we all play our part, moving in unison to the beat of God’s heart, it is glorious. Of course, it’s not easy. Remember patience? Remember how we must forbear with one another? For this to work we have to each do our part and support and encourage each other, building up instead of tearing down. And it’s a process. Our performance isn’t always perfect. But those moments, when the diversity of the body of Christ is manifested in the world, it is a sight to behold. When we, as a community of faith, are our best selves, building up one another in love, it is nothing less than a taste of what heaven will be like. It is, indeed, heaven on earth, a sign of God’s reign.

            So for these reasons, let us strive, make every effort, to live lives worthy of our call, with humility, gentleness, and patience, maintaining the spirit of unity in the bond of peace, until we all reach maturity, the full stature of Christ, the one who is our head, our band leader, the one who keeps the beat of the heart of God.

Not Just What, But How

Based on John 6:1-21

First delivered July 29, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            I’m sure you know that the four gospels have different stories told in different ways. Mark is the shortest gospel and is told in a hurry, often with the barest of details. Matthew relies heavily on Mark, taking most of his stories and expanding them. Luke has lots of the same stories but there are a few that are only found in Luke, including the story of the good Samaritan. John is full of stories that you only find in his gospel.

            All of them of course retell the story of Jesus’s passion, crucifixion and resurrection. There are different details. But the progression of the story is the same. You have the same cast of characters. It makes sense that these stories would be in all four of the gospels since this is at the heart of the gospel. Jesus died to defeat the power of death so that we have the promise of experiencing eternal life. It is in John’s gospel that we have that summary verse, the gospel in a nutshell, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”

            However, there is only one miracle story that all four gospels tell, and two of the gospels tell this story twice. It is the story of the miraculous feeding of the crowd. All four gospels have the feeding of the 5000. Mark and John also have a second telling of the same basic miracle in which 4000 are fed. So this miracle of taking a little food and multiplying it to feed a huge crowd is told six times in the gospels. I wonder why this particular miracle story is so important.

            Maybe because it suggests a prophecy in Isaiah 25:6, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.” It’s a vision of the future reign of God over the earth ushered in by the messiah. So when Jesus performed this miracle, he is demonstrating a foretaste of this promise, suggesting that he is the messiah who is bringing to reality the promise of God’s reign over the earth. This is why the people rush forward to make Jesus their king. The crowd is thinking, “It’s happening! Our deliverance from the oppression of Rome has come! God’s kingdom is being restored!” And as we read, the disciples apparently form a human chain to hold the crowd back as Jesus alone runs back up to the top of the mountain. No one will be crowned king today. The kingdom of God is not a political arrangement on par with the other nations of the earth. As Jesus says in his trial, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

            This could be one of the meanings of the miracle story but it doesn’t have to be the only one. The stories of Jesus we encounter in the gospels can have multiple meanings. John’s tellings in particular encourage multiple meanings. This is one reason why the Bible is precious. Not only do we believe that it is the Word of God, but that there are so many meanings in the biblical stories. We can read and meditate on these stories for years and still find new meanings that apply to our lives in different ways.

            I suggest that this story demonstrates how Jesus provides for just what is needed in the moment. Whether he was engaging one-on-one or with a large group, whatever their immediate need was, Jesus would respond to meet that need. This basic fact is one reason why crowds were drawn to Jesus. In this particular story we are told that the crowd was following Jesus “because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.” Sick people needed healing. They didn’t need a lecture, or a comedy routine to distract them from their pain, or platitudes about pie in the sky. The immediate need was healing from their sickness and Jesus did that.

            For anyone who is a business entrepreneur this makes perfect sense. If you are trying to start a new business, first you study a particular market area and identify a problem. Next, you come up with a solution. Next, you sell to the market your solution to their problem. That’s the pathway to success in business, offering a solution to a problem, meeting an immediate need of the customer. I am not saying Jesus was a business man. But he is addressing something fundamental to what it means to be human. We all have problems that need solved, needs that need addressed. And when we find someone who can meet our needs, we are drawn to them, we find them to be valuable to us. We might even consider them to be our saviors. Well, Jesus is that and more because over and over Jesus identified what people needed and provided it for them, except he did it free of charge. That made him very popular; that is until he started making demands on those who would be his disciples. John notes in 6:66, “because of this [the things Jesus was teaching] many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.” Jesus knew what it was like to be unpopular.

            As Jesus saw the crowd follow him and the disciples up the mountain, he asks Phillip where he and the disciples can go to buy bread to feed all these people. Why does Jesus assume they are hungry? Here’s a larger question: why were all these people out here? Didn’t they have somewhere to be? It’s true, all those people may have had the freedom to take a day or two off from their jobs to go follow Jesus out into the wilderness. But is it possible that all these people didn’t have a job? What if the majority of these people were jobless, landless, homeless? It’s just something to consider, how it is that this massive crowd of people had the opportunity to go follow Jesus around instead of working some job or having other responsibilities that kept them closer to home.

            Whatever is the backstory of this crowd, Jesus knew that their immediate need was food and Jesus was determined to feed them. But notice how Jesus goes about this. The feeding of the crowd was not going to be an assembly line approach where the people stand in line, file past the food table to pick up their tray, and then go find some place to sit. They won’t line up to be handed a sack lunch and then head for home. No, Jesus has the crowd sit down on the grass. The food will be brought to them. The crowd will be served as if they are at a banquet.

            What does this say about the dignity Jesus extended to this crowd? If we assume that this is a crowd who had the opportunity to follow Jesus out into the wilderness because they were poor, jobless, perhaps landless, to have the privilege of lounging on the ground and being waited on would be a real blessing. I am thinking of past experiences I have had feeding the homeless. I think every time I have done it, we bring the food in and set it up. The people walk through, telling us what they want on their tray, then they take their tray of food and go sit somewhere. But then there is this restaurant that was started by Jon Bon Jovi called Soul Kitchen. It is a nice restaurant with linen table cloths, a nice table setting, real forks and knives, you get the picture. And the homeless or those who are enduring grueling poverty order off a menu. You pay what you can. You also have the option of pitching in to pay off your meal. The whole idea is to extend a greater sense of dignity toward folk who are going through tough times. And that’s what Jesus is doing for this crowd. Not only will they be fed with as much food as they want, but they will be served. And there will be more than enough. If dessert would have been offered the people would have said, “Sorry, I’m stuffed.”

            Imagine you were one of them, that every time you saw a barley loaf you remembered this experience. Barley is an inferior grain for bread. I’ve never had barley bread, have you? It would have been a more common staple among the poor in those days who couldn’t afford wheat bread. But after what happened on that mountain that day, I wonder from then on, whenever you took a barley loaf, broke it and ate it, that memories of that day when you had a banquet in the open air, would come back to you. That simple loaf of barley bread became for you a symbol of a miracle.

            Imagine what your next meal was like, with the memories of that banquet fresh in your mind. I bet before you ate you offered a prayer of gratitude. You probably ate your meal with a joyful heart. Perhaps the simple food you were eating tasted just a little better.

            For the crowd gathered on the mountain, the menu was bread and fish. They were hungry, and Jesus met their immediate need. But this banquet would remain imprinted in their memory the rest of their days. The way Jesus orchestrated this miraculous banquet in the open air was a transformational experience for those blessed to participate in it that surely generated a feeling of gratitude, so much so that the crowd was prepared to make Jesus their king by force. The miraculous multiplication of the bread and fish aside, it was the way the people were fed that is so powerful. Not only were their bellies filled, their need for recognition, for respect, for dignity, Jesus met that need as well. Jesus didn’t meet needs in a patronizing way but with respect toward the one he was addressing. I wouldn’t be surprised that while the people were eating that Jesus was mingling, going from group to group, and having some great dinner conversations.

            Can something like this happen in the ordinary times of our lives? I know it’s extremely unlikely that any of us will experience a small amount of food multiplying to fill the bellies of five thousand people. But in a broader sense, can’t we also, like Jesus modeled for us, meet the immediate needs of others and do it in a way that honors and dignifies the recipient of our aid?

            Recently, a police officer was caught on camera doing a good deed. He was outside a carry-out giving a homeless man a shave with an electric razor. The backstory was that this man saw a McDonalds with a sign that they were hiring. So he went in to apply. The manager said that if he could get cleaned up, including shaving off his beard, that he would be hired. Well he was having trouble getting his razor to work. So he came up to this officer and asked him if he could help him out. So he did. He got him some fresh batteries and shaved him right there in the parking lot. They both then walked over to the McDonalds and the guy was hired. He’s still working there and getting himself set up so he can have his own place and no longer have to live on the streets. It was a simple act, one person helping another in a practical way, but it made a big difference in this man’s life.

            When Jesus asked Phillip where to buy enough bread, Phillip basically said, “Nowhere.” Andrew pointed to the boy with the bread and fish and said, “This boy has some food, but what good is it among so many people?” The disciples were making a logical observation. Observing this huge crowd of hungry people and considering their own resources, the need was overwhelming. What could they do with so little resources? And as we consider the needs of people who live all around us in our community and consider our own resources individually and as a church, the need is overwhelming. What can we do with so little? We can easily relate with Phillip and Andrew.

            But the lesson here is to start with what you have to meet the immediate need of one person: even if it’s as simple as buying them a tank of gas, getting them a sandwich, or giving them some of your time and a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on. Following Jesus as our model, start by meeting the need of another, treating them with dignity and respect. And then see what happens next. Who knows? That person you helped may remember that moment when you were there for them. It might be a turning point in their life. You may never see that person again, but for the rest of their days they will never forget that moment. They may even offer up a quick prayer of thanks for you, the way you treated them and helped them. And God will smile.

Gathering Around Jesus

Based on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

First delivered July 22, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            It’s a fishing trip I will never forget. Our family owned a timeshare on Padre Island, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. One summer, when we were down there, we took a fishing charter to go out into the gulf to fish for red snapper. It was a particularly choppy day, causing the boat to go up and down the whole time. Well, for the whole time we were out there I fished for all of 15 minutes. The rest of the time I was either throwing up or trying not to. It was not a fun experience. I did manage to catch a snapper. But it was not exactly the fishing experience I had hoped for. Needless to say I was relieved when we finally got off that boat and was on solid ground, even though for a good two hours it felt even the land was rocking back and forth. If you asked me then, I would have told you that was my last time to take a fishing charter boat. And, in fact, I haven’t gone out again.

            I’m sure the disciples were glad to be on solid ground with the boat moored after their night time journey across the stormy sea. It was a frightful storm, even for these seasoned fisher men. But the choppy seas were not the only thing that frightened them that night. They saw Jesus walking out to them on the water! They thought it was a ghost. But Jesus climbed into the boat and instantly the wind ceased and the sea grew calm. They were utterly astounded. And now, having experienced a night on the sea they would never forget, they were safe and secure on solid ground.

            Have any of you been on a boat when the surf is rough and the boat is rocking back and forth? It’s not fun. It generates anxiety. It sometimes even makes you physically sick. Sometimes life is like that. Sometimes life hits us like a gale force wind and we find ourselves rocking back and forth from one crisis to the next. Just as we can’t control the wind, sometimes situations beyond our control come at us and knock us around. And sometimes our lives get so rocky and stressful that we can actually get physically sick from it. There are times we wish we could press pause on our life so we can get out of the storm and rest awhile on solid ground.

            And in a way that’s what we are doing right now. When we come to church on Sunday morning, it is sort of like mooring the boat that is daily life so that we can stand on solid ground. I’m talking about the solid ground that is the church, this living faith that is founded on the rock which is Jesus Christ. The church that we are gathered into today is an expression of a tradition that has stretched out for over 2000 years. Empires have risen and fallen but the church remains. And so when we gather here on Sunday morning we are able to step away from the restless sea that is our daily lives and rest on solid ground.

            It is good to be here in this place for a time of rest on this solid ground, this gathered community where we find safety and security. We need times to rest from the turbulent lives we live. But we need more than just a brief hour of rest. We have other needs that need met. What are those needs? What is available for us as we are gathered here on the solid ground that is the church of Jesus Christ?

            We heard in the scriptures this morning that the crowds rushed to Jesus. They didn’t wait for him to drop by their house. They went to where he was and gathered around him. And as they flocked to Jesus, Jesus was filled with compassion for them, looking upon them as sheep without a shepherd. They were a people in need of guidance, instruction, wisdom. And so, as the people gathered around Jesus, he taught them many things.

            In the same way, we gather together Sunday after Sunday. We gather as a people in need of guidance, instruction, wisdom. Importantly, you are not gathering around me. We are all gathering around Jesus who is the Word of God. The Word is opened to us in the reading of scripture, the reciting of a psalm, and the singing of hymns. It is my earnest hope that in these sermons I deliver that there is something in them that Jesus desires to impart to us and that anything I say that is not of God would drift away as chaff in the wind. The same goes for the Friendship Circle, where Susanne, Jean, and Melissa share insights from God’s Word.

            We also hear in the scriptures that the crowds rushed to Jesus, bringing those who were ill to him, so that they might touch him and be healed. The people needed more than just instruction. There were many sick people that needed healing. And it appears that it took more than Jesus offering up a pastoral prayer for healing. Neither a general prayer, nor a specific prayer request was sufficient. Those who were sick needed to be touched by Jesus. What was required for healing was a one-on-one direct encounter with the great healer. They begged to Jesus that they might be given permission only to touch the fringe of his cloak. And so we read that all who touched the fringe of his cloak were healed. Personal, direct contact was required for healing to take place.

            Is this not true for us? We gather together, not just to receive instruction from the word of God but also to be healed. We are all in need of healing. And this healing is not limited to physical healing. The healing we need includes emotional healing as well as spiritual healing. In the rough and tumble of life we get injured in a multitude of ways. Sometimes others hurt us by their words or their actions. Sometimes we hurt ourselves by our own self-talk and our own actions.

            And yes, prayer makes a difference. The pastoral prayer I give every Sunday is not a waste of time. Praying for the well-being of others, both in a general sense and with specificity, certainly doesn’t hurt. Prayer opens up the possibility for God to act, to work the healing that God desires for every person. Prayer is one way we co-operate with God’s healing work.

            But I submit to you that for healing to occur there is a need for a personal encounter with Jesus. Of course, I am talking in a spiritual sense. And because it is a personal, spiritual connection, it’s not something I can speak about with any sense of clarity or objectivity. To have that personal connection is a knowing that is subjective. It’s like when my sister asked me how I knew that Kim was the one I was meant to marry. All I could say was, “I just know.” It’s the same thing with a personal encounter with Jesus. When it happens, you know it within the depths of your soul. And that encounter has power that endures. It is an encounter that is imprinted on your very being. You carry that encounter with you for the rest of your days. And sometimes that encounter is renewed, and you feel the effects of that encounter. At least, that is my experience.

            There’s one thing I want to highlight for you that we heard in the scripture reading, specifically vv. 55 and 56, where we hear that the people brought the sick on mats to wherever Jesus was, laying the sick before Jesus so that he might touch them and be healed. They didn’t ask Jesus to come to the sick, they brought the sick to Jesus. These were people that for whatever reason were unable to get to Jesus. So they didn’t tell Jesus where to go, whose house to visit. No, they brought the sick to where Jesus was.

            So this gets me to thinking. I am trying to think of people I know who are in need of a personal encounter with Jesus, who are in need of healing, people that I need to take the initiative to bring to church, where Jesus is, so that they too might have that encounter and be healed from whatever ails them. Do you know of anyone? As you make a mental image of the people you know or associate with, is there anyone that you feel a prompting to bring with you to church some Sunday? This is something I invite you to keep in the back of your mind. If you ever find yourself in conversation with somebody who is expressing their need for healing, in addition to maybe saying, “I’ll pray for you,” also ask, “Are you free this Sunday? I would like to take you to my church. There are some great people there. It is a place where I find peace and encouragement. I think you might enjoy it.”

            And this leads me to the last thing I want to talk about. When Jesus looked at the crowd gathering around him, he had compassion for them. Compassion is not the same thing as pity. Pity is a feeling that comes from your heart. It’s a feeling that maybe makes you sad or weighs you down a little. Pity is like feeling bad for someone and maybe thinking to yourself, “But for the grace of God, that could be me.” But compassion is a feeling that comes from your gut, from the pit of your stomach. This is a feeling where you can relate in some way with what the person is going through. It hits home. And you are drawn to respond in some way. You can’t just shrug your shoulders and then move on. Compassion drives you to respond.

            I recently heard a great story about this guy who owns a bar in North Carolina who demonstrates for me what compassion is all about. It all started when a patron told him that her wallet had been stolen and inside the wallet was not just money but her wedding band. The bartender said he would do what he could. He personally reviewed hours of security video tape until he spotted her wallet sitting on the bench outside his establishment. He then watched a young man take the wallet. He later found the man, just a 17 year old kid. The boy confessed to taking the wallet. He was homeless, estranged from his family, and was trying to make it on his own. He took the money and then threw the wallet into a lake. The bartender then hired a diving crew to go search for the wallet. They found the wallet and inside of it was the woman’s wedding band. But the story doesn’t end there. The bartender took the boy into his own home. He also hired him to work at the bar. The boy can’t thank him enough for going the extra mile to help him get back on the right track. This bar owner embodies compassion. I would love to know his backstory, what experiences he had in his life that made it possible for him to be moved to action in such an abundant way to respond to the needs of others.

            We can be inspired by this man to have the same compassion for others. But I want to leave you with this thought. We would like to aspire to be the ones acting out of compassion, but do we ever think about how we are the ones in need of a compassionate response? We would much rather be givers of compassion than receivers of it. Most of the time we don’t want to consider ourselves in need of anyone’s care, much less pity. We strive to be self-sufficient. Maybe sometimes we don’t think we are deserving of anyone’s care, much less anyone’s compassion. We would rather suffer alone than be the recipient of someone’s loving care. Why is that? Why are we afraid to acknowledge our own vulnerability, our own hurts and loss, our own need for care? I just want you to know that when Jesus looked out over the crowd and was moved with compassion, that Jesus was looking at you and me. He knows what we need, even if we aren’t so clear ourselves of what we need. And Jesus does not pity us. He has compassion for us. He is moved to action, to respond to our needs. So be grateful that when Jesus looks at you, he sees you with eyes of compassion. And he will do whatever is possible to meet your deepest needs, so that you may be free from everything that prevents you from living an abundant life, so that you might be healed.

Telling the Truth with Love in Your Heart

Based on Mark 6:14-29

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            The gospel of Mark is a story that’s told in a hurry. In chapter one alone we are introduced to John the Baptist, and then at verse 9 we read of Jesus being baptized by John. Jesus’ time in the wilderness is dealt with in two verses. Then we read of him calling his first disciples, healing several people, preaching all through Galilee, all of this in 31 more verses. The haste of the telling throughout the gospel is enhanced by the liberal use of the word “immediately.” Mark is the shortest gospel. It is told with an economy of words and with sparse detail. It’s almost like this gospel is an outline version that the teller has to then elaborate to fill in the detail.

            But today we hear a story that is full of detail. This story is almost 1/3 as long as the first chapter. There are a number of characters that interact with each other. But Jesus is somewhat behind the scenes. His shadow is cast over the story even though he is not one of the people involved.

            The story begins by reporting on who people thought Jesus was. People were saying Jesus was like John, or like Elijah, or like one of the prophets of old. But Herod was convinced Jesus was like John, like a reincarnated John. Specifically, he says that Jesus is John raised from the dead. We then hear about what Herod and John’s relationship was like, and how Herod ended up executing John. In this story we learn of Herod’s wife Herodias, who had been married to Herod’s brother, Phillip. Apparently Phillip divorced Herodias and Herod then married her, his former sister-in-law. We have Herodias’ daughter from her relationship with Phillip, which makes her Herod’s niece, now step-daughter, dancing at his birthday party. Although it is not explicitly stated, it is assumed that she danced in a provocative manner, which is gross to have your niece dance that way. But that’s how messed up this whole situation is. All this is taking place in the presence of Herod’s court and a bunch of other aristocrats and powerful people. This story portrays the debauched and vicious immorality of the elites, of which John the Baptist is the exact opposite, being by Herod’s own admission a righteous and holy man, a man who had the courage to tell Herod to his face that his marriage to Herodias was a scandal.

            What do you think Mark was up to by including this story? He barely said anything about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness and said nothing about Jesus’ birth, yet presents this extended and highly detailed story about John and his execution. Why was this story so important to Mark?  I see this story doing a few things for Mark, a story that serves a number of purposes.

            First, it serves as a foreshadowing of what will happen to Jesus. Herodias wanted John killed because of the things he was saying about her, that he was calling out her wickedness, but she couldn’t do it. The religious leaders wanted to put Jesus to death because of the things he said about them, how he called out their sin, but they did not have the means to do it. Herod protected John, knowing that he was a righteous man. He enjoyed hearing what he had to say even though what he said often left him perplexed. Pontius Pilate protected Jesus, knowing that he had done nothing deserving of death. He was perplexed by the things Jesus said, or didn’t say in his silence. Because of the vow he had made before his court, Herod felt compelled to execute John, even though he didn’t want to do it. Because of the crowd and the pressure applied by the religious leaders, Pilate had Jesus executed even though he really didn’t want to do it. So you see how this account of John’s execution has a number of parallels with Jesus’ execution.

            This story also serves as a contrast to what Jesus and John were up to. John and Jesus are holy and righteous men while Herod and Herodias are unholy and unrighteous. Herod’s birthday feast turned into a macabre display as John’s head is brought in on a platter. Meanwhile, Jesus is feeding the five thousand. His last supper with his disciples initiates a new covenant that brings about life. Two very different banquets. And that’s the biggest contrast. The scene of Herod’s birthday party depicts debauchery and death. But Jesus’ banquet with his disciples is all about his sacrifice that brings about forgiveness and new life. Herod and Herodias are all about debauchery and death. But John and Jesus are all about repentance, holiness, healing, and life.

            And this is what I want us to focus on today. I want us to pay attention to what John was doing and why it got him into trouble. Of all that Mark was doing with this story, I think he takes the time to tell us what John did so that John can be a model, a source of inspiration, for the followers of Jesus. It would do us well to pay attention to what John is doing and wonder if this is something we can do.

            What we see in John is that he was a truth teller in spite of the risk to his own person. Whether he was intimidated or not, John would not give King Herod a pass for his wickedness. If Herod was doing something immoral or beneath his dignity, John would call him out on it. It didn’t matter if Herod was president, I mean king. John spoke out and called out immoral behavior, no matter who you were or how much power or status you had. No one was untouchable for John’s righteous indignation. And he would not stop. He made a pest of himself. He would not be silenced. And as a consequence, Herodias took the opportunity given to her to have John’s head cut off so she no longer had to hear his condemning voice, a voice that spoke the truth. For John, telling the truth about things was worth risking your life. And as history shows us, to be a truth teller is a risky proposition.

            But John wasn’t a truth teller because he had a big ego. He wasn’t an obnoxious know-it-all who gleefully pontificated about everyone else’s moral failures. John was no bully, knocking people down so that he could feel superior. John was also not a moralist. He was not holier-than-thou, or some kind of puritan prude. Again, John was not about presenting himself as morally superior to all other people. Nor was he a hypocrite. Herod himself acknowledged that he was righteous and holy. John not only called out bad behavior, he lived a righteous life. His hypocrisy was minimal. The way he lived his life gave him the authority to call out those who were in need of repentance. In other words, John was a credible truth teller because he lived by the truth that he proclaimed. His life matched his words. He was a person of integrity.

            But not only did John have integrity, I think that John was driven to speak the truth because he knew that right living was the best kind of life. He knew that living a life consistent with moral precepts leads to a better quality of life. Not that life won’t have challenges, pain, and tragedy. But it will be better, fuller, more vibrant. I mean, look what we have here. Herod is married to his former sister-in-law while her ex-husband Phillip, Herod’s brother, is still alive. How humiliating this must have been for Phillip. How disrespectful Herod was and shameful Herodias was. It’s a messed up relationship that generates a bad vibe. It’s weird for Herodias’ daughter, whose uncle is now her step-dad. And she goes out there dancing for his pleasure. Doesn’t the whole scene make you recoil? This is Jerry Springer territory. And this is the aristocracy, the ones who are supposed to be the guardians of the tradition and all that is good and honorable.

            What I’m trying to say is, John called Herod out, not to prove a point, not to stroke his ego or be a trouble maker, not out of any sense of animosity or disrespect, but because John loved Herod. He knew that Herod’s life would be so much better if he got out of this relationship, repented, made things right with his brother. He knew that if Herod would repent, that is life would be so much better. This is what drove John to call people out and to call them into repentance and living a holy life. It was love that drove John to be a truth teller. Not animosity. Not hate. Not ego or a need to feel superior. It was love, knowing that a right living life is the best life. John knew that facing up to your moral failure, repenting, and committing to living a holy life is the pathway toward healing.

            So who are you in this story? Maybe you resonate with Herod. He knew he wasn’t living right. He respects the man who tells the truth about his life. But he’s not willing to repent and when push comes to shove is willing to shut John up permanently. Do you resonate with Herodias? You have no use for people that are calling you out for the way you are living. Free to judge others you are quick to shut down anyone who dares to judge you.

            Honestly, we generally don’t like being told the truth about ourselves. We don’t like to have our stuff called out. We don’t go to the extent of cutting people’s heads off. But we do cut people off in other ways. We stop talking to them or hanging out with them. We change the subject and keep our conversations on the surface instead of talking about things that matter. We “unfriend” people on Facebook. We can cut off truth tellers in a variety of ways.

            Who do you need to be? I think we all wish we were a bit more like John. We want to be truth tellers, calling people out for their wrong doing and calling them in to repentance and living a better way, and to do that truth telling not from a place of arrogance, or self-righteousness, or as the morality police, but out of a place of love, convinced that a life lived right is the best kind of life, knowing that repentance is a key step toward healing. At least, that’s who I want to be more like. I want to become less like Herod and more like John. I hope you do too.

            Herod thought he had shut John up by having his head cut off. But here comes Jesus, who is John raised from the dead. Another holy man, speaking truth, and calling for people to repent. John may be dead, but the message of John continues. Herod can’t stop the truth being spoken. He can’t stop the call to repentance from happening. The healing work of God, to turn the world around, bringing forth new life, it can’t be stopped.

            The story prior to this one about John is the account of Jesus sending his disciples out two by two, scattering them to all the towns around with the same message Jesus was giving and with the authority to cast out demons and to bring healing to those who are sick. Not only is John’s message of repentance continued by Jesus, it is multiplied. And it’s not just a call to repentance, it is acts that bring about real healing. People are being redeemed and made whole, experiencing new life.

            Throughout the centuries and all around the world, truth tellers and healing workers keep coming. God’s work of redemption will not be stopped. Whatever obstacles are thrown in the way of God’s healing work, whether it be the execution of John, the crucifixion of Jesus, or the long train of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the gospel, nothing can prevent God’s redeeming, healing, life giving work to continue through the lives and actions of real people, people like you and me.

            This is where we find hope. Repentance is always available for us. Each day, each hour, each moment, we can choose to live the right way. And we are always able to join in on God’s healing work, speaking truth, calling for repentance, demonstrating what a life of love looks like. We are always able to continue the healing work of Jesus through our own actions and way of living.

            In U2’s recent album, they have a song that Bono wrote to be a source of encouragement. Like many other people who are concerned about the state of politics in the United States and all that is happening in the world, it sometimes feels overwhelming. So Bono wrote this song partly to serve as a source of encouragement for himself when he is feeling discouraged by the state of the world. The title is “Love is bigger than anything in its way.” That’s one of my takeaways from this story from Mark we have been reflecting on today. This is a truth that can carry us through, a truth that guides us in how to live and grounds us in our living. Love is greater than anything in its way. Out of a place of love, repent from what you need to repent from…speak truth…challenge others to be their better selves…demonstrate what the healing power of love looks like. In the spirit of John, the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of God, live a truth telling life, a life that tells the truth of God’s unlimited love.

Broken, But Not Dead

Based on Mark 5:21-43

First Delivered July 1, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            What was your life like 12 years ago? It was 2006. In that year, there was an earthquake in Indonesia that killed 6,600 people; Julian Assange started WikiLeaks; North Korea conducted its first nuclear test; and NASA revealed photographs that suggested liquid water on Mars. It was half way through George Bush’s second term. My boys were not yet teenagers. I was beginning my appointment at a church in Cincinnati. Where were you? What was your family like? Your life?

            Think about all that has happened since 2006. We went through the Obama years. We endured the Great Recession and have come through on the other side for the most part. Twitter has become a primary means of communication, from pop stars to presidents. My boys are all teenagers now, with one out of high school. How has your family changed? What are some of the big events you have experienced since 2006?

            I know that the length of time doesn’t change. Time doesn’t speed up or slow down. Still, it seems to me that the older I get the faster time moves. That said, 2006, 12 years ago, may seem like a long time ago for you. Then again, maybe it doesn’t seem that long ago at all. I guess it depends on your perspective.

            For the woman with a hemorrhage, 12 years must have felt like a long time. Can you women even fathom having a menstrual discharge for 12 straight years? Imagine 2006 being the year this began for you, all the way up to this very day. All that lost blood. This woman must have been anemic and alarmingly underweight. Surely her bodily organs were compromised. We don’t know how old she is, but we can guess that because of her illness she has not been able to bear children. It wouldn’t be surprising if her husband has left her. But not just that, because of her condition, she would be considered ritually unclean, and thus unable to enter the Temple for worship. Any person that touched her would be ritually unclean. Anywhere she sits would be unclean. This would have been for her not only 12 years of bodily discomfort and suffering, but also a period marked by abandonment. And to top it all off, she had spent all her money on physicians who were ineffective. In fact she was worse off than when she started going to doctors. Twelve long years of misery.

            But for Jairus and his daughter, 12 years wasn’t long at all. Here was his baby girl, having just made it to the critical stage in her life when she would experience her bat mitvah and become a daughter of the commandment, entering into young womanhood, and she is lying on her death bed. It is way too soon to lose your child. No parent should have to bury their own children, and especially a young child. And it’s one thing to lose your child when she is a baby, or even a toddler. But 12 years is enough time to have lots of memories, to build a close relationship, to see your child grow and develop and become a young woman. To only have 12 years with your daughter and then to have her taken from you, that’s not enough time. It’s too soon.

            Whether 12 years seemed a long time or a short time, both the woman and Jairus found themselves in a similar condition and had a few things in common: they were desperate, they believed Jesus could heal, and they would not be denied.

            They were desperate. The woman with her chronic condition had tried all that medical science could provide and nothing worked. The hemorrhage had taken such a toll on her body. Her social isolation must have been unbearable. Surely she can’t take this much longer. She is desperate to be healed. Jairus, about to lose his daughter to death, is desperate. He doesn’t want to lose his daughter. But he is running out of time. It may already be too late. He needed his daughter healed right now.

            They believed that Jesus could heal. The woman had heard about Jesus, about his healing power. She had tried everything else and nothing worked. Maybe Jesus could heal her. She had to make her way to Jesus, to put herself in his path and hope that she can get her healing. Jairus had also heard about Jesus’ power to heal. Sure, he taught some things that got him in trouble with some of his fellow religious leaders. He sometimes rubbed his colleagues the wrong way. But he also could heal. Raise someone from the dead? Doubtful. But maybe he could get to his daughter in time before she perished. Jesus was his only hope.

            They would not be denied. Jesus and his disciples were surrounded by a crowd and they were in a tight space. Everyone was pushing and shoving as they were making their way. But the crowd parted a little bit as Jairus himself approached Jesus and fell at his feet. He would not send one of his people to get Jesus’ attention. No, Jairus had to go himself. He would use the full weight of his prestige in a public display to plead for Jesus to come heal his daughter. He got Jesus’ attention and Jesus agreed to go with him. So the crowd begins to make its way toward Jairus’ house, moving along as fast as possible because they knew that time was not on their side. The girl could die any minute. They had to hurry.

            Jairus used his privilege as a religious leader to get the crowd to part a little so he could get in front of Jesus and let him know about his emergency. But the woman with the hemorrhage had no such privilege. If she was going to get to Jesus, she would have to push her way through a crowd that was moving away from her. But she would not be denied. She pushed and shoved her way toward the back of Jesus, making each person she touched ritually impure without them knowing it probably. Her relentless pursuit gets her close enough that she can reach out her hand to touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak. And that was enough. Healing energy flowed from Jesus into the woman’s body and she could feel from her inside that she was healed. Jesus didn’t even know she was pursuing her. He only knew something powerful had happened because he felt it, not the tug of his cloak, for he was being pushed about in the crowd. It was the energy that went out of him. He knew he had healed someone without knowing who he healed. Jesus had to hold everything, in spite of the clock ticking on the life of Jairus’ daughter, to find out who he had healed. Falling on her knees before Jesus, the woman had the floor, proclaiming before everyone what Jesus had done for her. Her public witness ended her 12 years of suffering and social isolation. She was not only healed of her blood flow, but also able to reclaim her place in the community she had lost all those years ago.

            Now, admittedly, these two healing miracles are just that: miracles. They were uniquely possible because of the physical presence of Jesus. There are many people in the world today who have just as much faith as this woman and Jairus who in similar circumstances do not receive a dramatic and instant healing or have their daughter brought back to life. I do not say that miracles such as these never happen. I believe miracles do happen and anything is possible. But miracles can’t be counted on, nor can miracles be the foundation of our faith and hope. We must not be naïve and sentimental about how healing works with Jesus. Not everyone with faith experiences physical healing. Tragedy is something that people of faith can experience. Not every story has a happy ending. And, of course, we will all die no matter how much faith we have in Jesus to heal. These stories of healing we hear about this morning are not so much about the faith of the woman and of Jairus, although that is part of it. They both had faith Jesus could heal and were desperate enough to have that faith because they saw no other option. But these healing miracles are more about revealing who Jesus is as the Son of God. They testify to his power. It’s just naïve to think that all you have to do is have faith that Jesus can heal you and that’s that. Not everyone with faith gets healed. Young people die, no matter how much faith in Jesus their parents might have.

            Still, there is something we can take from these miracles that can serve us through times of suffering and death, either the death of someone we love, the deaths of strangers in newsrooms or high school campuses, or any other tragedies we experience. When Jairus was told that his daughter had died, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” There’s power in that. Jairus was given factual information. His daughter was dead. But the subtext of that statement, the narrative behind it, was “Jesus can’t help you now. It’s hopeless.” It’s that narrative that Jesus came into this world to refute. See, in this life, no matter how bad things get, Jesus can always help us. Because of Jesus we always have hope. If we would but believe that to be so. It is belief, trust, faith that Jesus is our help in time of need, that in Jesus there is an abundant hope, it is this belief that gets us through the tough times. It is this belief that even can help us heal from the hurts and cuts that life brings us.

            I suspect for each one of us, in the years since 2006, some things have happened in your life that you need healed from. Maybe it is a chronic physical condition. Maybe it is a strained or broken relationship. Maybe your heart continues to hurt after the passing away of someone you dearly love. Surely over a 12 year period, something has happened to you that needs healing. I think that as we bring to mind even those points of hurt, injury, illness, brokenness, that Jesus would say to you and me, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” No quick fix. No instant healing. And maybe the healing never fully realizes in this life. But faith in Jesus does make it possible for you and me to keep moving forward, moving toward our own healing, if we not be afraid and believe in Jesus.

            Twelve years from now will be 2030. We will be at the beginning of the third decade of the 21^st century. Imagine how much healing and hope will be needed for the next 12 years: not just in your own life, or that of your family, but of this nation, and of this world. As we open our eyes wider and look around us, and particularly on the body that is the United States, we find countless wounds. And we hear the cries, from street corners, detention centers, prison cells, drug houses, and sweat shops. We live in a time perhaps closing in on desperation, a time that demands of us not to be afraid, and to only believe in the power of Jesus to heal. This kind of faith will be required of us for the next 12 years and beyond. Friends, now is the time to believe that Jesus can heal. And then, like the woman and like Jairus, it is time to pursue Jesus, to push through the crowd and noise, the distractions, the provocateurs perpetuating hate and division and the false hopes of discredited ideology, and pursue Jesus, reach out to Jesus, touch Jesus, the one who is found among the least of these, the one who is found among the discarded and dismissed, the one who is found in the halls of power and privilege. Jesus is everywhere and is ready to bring about healing, if we but reach out and point others to his healing presence. No one is without Jesus. No one is without hope. There is so much healing work that we all need to be about doing. And I don’t see it letting up any time soon.

            Even as we turn to Jesus and reach out to be healed from our past, let us be encouraged that Jesus our healer will be with us in the years ahead. As long as we are alive there is hope. And even when we reach life’s end on this earth, faith, hope and love endure. So we must press forward with our faith in Jesus, our hope in God, and the spirit of love working her way through all we think and do. Now is the time to persevere. I read of someone meeting her Lyft driver to go somewhere and he asked her how she was doing. She said “fine” and asked how he was doing. He said, “Broken, but not dead. Broken, but not dead.” Isn’t that true for all of us? We are all broken, and we live in a broken church, located in a broken city, in a broken nation on a broken world. But we are not dead. And so we live, and move, and do healing work, with hope.

Getting Through Transitions

Based on 1 Samuel 17:32-49

First delivered June 24, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            Israel found themselves in a stalemate. They were squared up against the army of the Philistines on land that had a high level of economic and strategic importance. It was land that Israel really needed to secure. But nobody wanted to fight. Both the Philistines and Israel held steady. It was as if everyone was waiting for the other side to blink, or to accidentally shoot an arrow to trigger the battle. But no one was budging. They just all stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do.

            This stalemate on the battlefield revealed the frustration that everyone in Israel must have felt during this time of transition. What I mean is, there was no leadership. Saul was still technically their king. He should have been out there, leading the charge. But he was nowhere to be seen. He was abdicating his responsibility. Yet one more sign of his failure as a king. And because he was not assuming his position of leadership everything was at a standstill. Israel was stuck. In times of transition, including transitions of leadership, there is great potential to get stuck in place. With nobody calling the shots, nobody knows what to do or whether they should make a move. Being stuck like this, with no leadership and no direction, is very frustrating.

            There is something else with transition that this deadlock reveals and that is fear. It appears that the Israelites were afraid of this well-organized and solid Philistine army. And they were certainly afraid of their champion Goliath. Israel’s future did not look good. They feared for their lives. Everyone was afraid to fight Goliath one-on-one, knowing for sure they would be killed. They feared becoming an enslaved people again. They were afraid of losing all that they had gained. Leaderless and with no good options. That’s a good recipe for fear.

            Well, if David has any fear, it does not block him from responding. He is by no means frozen in place. Maybe it was his youthful exuberance. Maybe he was naïve about the predicament that Israel found themselves in. Or maybe it was because he already knew that he was a king in waiting, anointed, filled with the Spirit, and confident of his future as well as the future of Israel. Whatever it was, David was not intimidated by Goliath or the Philistine army. Instead, in this context of frustration and fear, David was full of confidence. He had a serious amount of intestinal fortitude.

            Where does his confidence come from? Surely his confidence was not placed in Saul. And he may not have had a lot of confidence in Israel’s army. He seemed to have a bit of confidence in himself. At least that’s what he is projecting to Saul when he expresses doubt that David has the capacity to face down and defeat Goliath. David said that there were times when he had to face down lions and bears as a shepherd. If one of those beasts took one of his sheep he would smash it in the mouth and take that sheep out of their jaws. And if they confronted him he could kill that lion or bear with his bare hands. Really? That sounds a bit preposterous. But I don’t think David’s confidence only was in his fighting abilities against wild beasts.

            No, his confidence was rooted in God. He knew that the God that had led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, who had worked all kinds of powerful signs and wonders, who had led Israel to this point of possessing the land of promise, that surely God would somehow make a way out of no way to deliver Israel from this Philistine army and their champion Goliath. It didn’t matter how dire the situation looked. God was greater than the Philistines and their gods. So that is why David was so confident that he could beat Goliath. He knew that the battle belongs to the Lord.

            However, David also knew that this battle that the Lord would win had to be fought by Israel. God wasn’t going to bring a big hand down from the sky and fling the Philistines aside like they were a bunch of toy soldiers. No, Israel would have to engage the Philistines in battle. Or, more specifically, someone was going to have to confront Goliath. God would take out Goliath. But it would be through the effort of David, since no one else was stepping up.

            When we go through times of transition, either as an individual, a family, or even as a church, David demonstrates for us the value of having confidence in God. No matter how frustrating or fearful a time of transition is, God is sufficient. God is able to make a way out of no way. Not by magic. Not by coercion. God gets us through times of transition by working through the efforts of those who place their confidence in God. That’s so important in the uncertain times of transition: to put your confidence in God and then act. Find a place where help is needed, where you can contribute, and dig in. It is those who have confidence in God who have to step up.

            So with confidence in God, David steps up to do what needs done, which is to face down and kill Goliath. David doesn’t just run out there on his own, however. He knows the protocol. He needs Saul’s permission since he is still the king after all, even though he isn’t acting very king-like. Saul tries to talk David out of it but probably not too hard. I doubt if Saul wants to be shown up by some kid. Saul knew this was a fool’s errand, no matter what David said about the battle belonging to the Lord or his supposed ability to kill lions and bears with his own hands. It’s probably for the best. David the shepherd boy would be the sacrificial lamb. Israel would be enslaved by the Philistines. Hopefully Saul will be able to work out some deal to at least stay alive. They would all muddle through somehow. So Saul has David try on his armor and strap on his sword. It may give the boy some protection. And, who knows. This may work out for Saul. See, if David goes out there wearing Saul’s armor, including having the visor down on the helmet so no one can see his face, Israel may think that is Saul out there facing down Goliath. But when “Saul” gets killed and everyone is in a panic, Saul could run away and hide somewhere to bide his time. Maybe someday he will be able to put together a mercenary army who could then go in there and wipe out the Philistines when they least expect it. Then he would deliver the people from slavery and be a great hero.

            But, that’s not going to happen. David tries Saul’s stuff on but it’s not a good fit. It weighs him down. It doesn’t feel right. And David isn’t a swordsman so that won’t do him any good. No, David decides to let Saul keep his things. David will confront Goliath with his own clothing and his own gear. He’s no warrior. He doesn’t need to pretend he is someone else. David has the wisdom to know he just needs to be himself. David knew he didn’t need to be someone else. He knew that God could use him to win this battle just as he was. So whatever ruse Saul might have been planning doesn’t pan out. David was confident that God could use him just as he was to win this battle.

            But, you know, it was a smart move for David to stick with who he is because it gave David an advantage over Goliath. For one thing, not being weighed down with all that armor, David could move quickly. It would be easier for him to dodge Goliath’s blows with his great sword. But, the chance of Goliath even getting that close would be avoided because David’s weapon of choice was not something that he would need to be close to Goliath to use. No, David’s slingshot was basically a missile launcher. He would be able to hit Goliath far away from his swing. David would be able to take down Goliath before Goliath could ever get in range to do any damage to him. Goliath, of course, helped David out by not lowering the visor on his helmet, leaving his big forehead vulnerable for a well-placed river stone. And with one shot, Goliath goes down. I would say God might have had a little hand in nudging that stone along.

            But now look. After this great victory, of David taking down the mighty Goliath, the people don’t grab a throne and a crown and put David on it. No, he still is a king in waiting. Saul, their “leader” who was hanging out in his tent while all this was going on remains their king. The time of transition continues in spite of this great triumph of David’s. Transitions can take a lot longer than we wish. People in positions of power and authority don’t drift away quickly or easily. And now that David has accomplished this great feat of valor, he now has Saul’s attention in a big way. Let’s just say Saul isn’t as enthusiastic as everyone else. David has proved himself to be a threat. And for quite some time after this victory on the battle field, Saul will seek out ways to get rid of David. So, yes, one victory wasn’t enough to end this time of transition for the people Israel. Transitions can be frustrating. They can be scary. And they can stretch out for a long while.

            So, whenever we find ourselves in times of transition, whether that be a change in employment, or a change of bosses, or a change in relationship status, say from married to widowhood, able bodied to disabled in some way, whatever that change is, what can we learn from David?

            The first thing we learn is to trust in God. No matter what transition you are having to move through, no matter how frustrating or scary, believe that God is able. Believe that God always desires what is the very best for you. Believe that God is on your side, fighting alongside you, always at work trying to make a way forward that will be a great blessing for you. It’s important to put your trust in other people who care about you. It’s important to trust your own instincts and abilities. But most important of all, trust in God, who is our deliverer, our rock, our anchor in the storms of transition.

            Second, do not be afraid. Or, if that’s not realistic, try not to let your fears freeze you into inaction or to panic. Courage is the capacity to act in spite of fear. Fear has its benefits. It prevents us from doing stupid stuff. It is an alarm bell signifying that there is danger. Fear is a built in warning system for us. But that doesn’t mean that when the fear alarm goes off we need to curl into a ball, close and lock the doors of our life and hide until the fear goes away. Times of transition are scary because we are moving into the unknown. It’s prudent to be careful when you venture into the unknown. But not venturing in is not an option. Transitions happen to us and we have to make our way through them the best we can. Fear reminds us that we are in a dangerous space. But we have to find the intestinal fortitude, helped along by our trust in God, to move forward in spite of our fear. That’s what courage is.

            Trust in God. Do not be afraid. And third, be yourself. Do what you can to move forward in times of transition. David knew he didn’t need to be a mighty warrior to take out Goliath. He was convinced that God could use him for that purpose just as he was, a shepherd boy. If you have some courage and are true to yourself, God can work with that. But you do have to do something. Don’t be like the Israelite army and just stand around. Look around and see what is a positive productive thing you can do in whatever transition you find yourself and do that. God is right there with you to help you as you respond the best way you know how. And don’t say things like, “But, I’m not (fill in the blank)” or “but I can’t (fill in the blank).” If you trust God and act with courage, then you are making yourself available for what God wants to accomplish through you. God can work with you just as you are. You don’t have to be anyone other than yourself.

            And finally, remember that times of transition can last longer than you would like. Most of us crave order and certainty. We have our routines. We have our relationships that mean so much to us. We have our skills and abilities that we count on to function. And when we lose any of this and we enter into a time of transition, it throws our lives out of whack. No one wants to live in a time of chaos and uncertainty for long. But, guess what. Transitions are going to take as long as they need to take and we have little say on how long that is. And if you think about it our lives are just one long transition from one phase of life to the next, until our life ends and we enter into the transition into the life to come. So maybe we shouldn’t think that if we just hold on and muddle through somehow everything will sort itself out and life will be well ordered and certain. I kind of think such a life doesn’t last long. No, I think we all need to settle in to the reality that our whole life is one big transition. So to make it through, let’s take the lessons from David: trust God, do not be afraid, be yourself and do what you can do. And settle in for the lifelong adventure of transitions.

A King in Waiting

Based on 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            Things didn’t work out for Saul, the man whom God had appointed to be the first king of Israel. He offered up an unlawful sacrifice to God. He made rash oaths. He rebelled against what God instructed him to do. He was stubborn and greedy. He lacked the character of a king. And the people suffered for it. Saul is an example of wasted potential. Because of how Saul had performed as a king, the time was approaching toward crisis. These were challenging times for the people.

            As Samuel the elder looked upon the state of the people, and the failures of the man he anointed to be king, he was struck with grief. It was so sad and disappointing how things had gone. Sitting alone at his house, Samuel wept, hurting for his people. But Samuel wasn’t the only one who was grieving. God also was grieving over how things were turning out. In fact, we read in scripture that God regretted selecting Saul to be the king. How could God be regretful? Didn’t the all-knowing God have prior knowledge that things would turn out this way? Regret presumes that things don’t go as planned. So we learn something about God here. God selected Saul because God knew the potential Saul had to be a great and faithful king. That was the plan. But free will means that God’s expectations don’t always pan out. Even God can realize that in hindsight God would have done something different. It’s not that God made a mistake. It’s just that Saul failed to be who God knew he could be. And so, God grieved over Saul and regretted having him anointed.

            But God did not stew in God’s grief for long. Even though things didn’t work out, God wasn’t giving up. God was already at work, planning the next move, for the sake of God’s people. God remains engaged, even though nothing is working out as God originally intended. You might remember that God never intended that the people have a king. God was their king. They didn’t need a human king. But the people wanted to be like all the other peoples, so they demanded a king of their own. Even though this went against God’s purposes, God responded to the pleas of the people and selected someone for Samuel to anoint as king. It reminds me of where Paul describes the characteristics of love, saying that love does not insist on its own way.

            Now that things have gone badly, God didn’t petulantly say, “See, I told you so!” Until the people said to God that they no longer wanted a king, God knew that there would be need for another king to take Saul’s place when he dies. So God went to work, to find someone to take Saul’s place. That’s another thing we learn about God. God works with what is, not with how God wishes things were. God deals with reality and works with the situation as it is to make things the best they can be. God is always at work trying to make the best of every situation. This demonstrates the grace and faithfulness of God. When Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden because of their rebellion, God provided clothing for them. When Moses shattered the stone tablets upon which were etched the Ten Commandments in his rage against the people who had made the golden calf, God later provided another set. And when the first king God provided failed to live up to what a king should be, God provided another. God never walks away. God keeps on doing what God can do to provide a future with hope.

            Now while Samuel was still at home grieving, God was already prepared to move forward. That includes giving Samuel an assignment. God says to Samuel, “Why are you still grieving over Saul? I have rejected him as king. Fill your horn with oil and get yourself to Bethlehem.” Was God irritated with Samuel? I don’t think so. When God asked Samuel that question about why he is still grieving over Saul, I imagine God said that out of a place of empathy. After all, God had been grieving too. And I bet God was still grieving, even as God was preparing to move forward. Everyone grieves differently. And there is a need to be still and sit in our grief. But we can’t sit in our grief forever. Even though grief lingers, we have to move forward with our lives. We have to keep on living. So I believe it is with gentleness that God asks the question of Samuel and gives him something to do that is helpful. God’s assignment for Samuel is to take part in the next faithful step toward a better future for God’s people. I can imagine that both God and now Samuel start taking the steps necessary to change things for the better even though the heaviness of grief remains on their hearts.

            And move forward they did. God had seen enough. Saul was rejected by God as the king. Someone had to take Saul’s place. A transition of leadership needed to occur. But God wasn’t going to wait until Saul was dead to make the move. You remember earlier I said that God is always engaged, trying to make any situation better. What I mean is that God is constantly engaged and responding. It doesn’t seem to be God’s character to sit around and wait things out. Of course, God decided not to arrange for Saul’s assassination either. Instead, God decided to go ahead and select Saul’s replacement and have him anointed the king, even while Saul was still on the throne. God was getting things set up so that when Saul died, the transition to the next king would be as smooth as possible.

            So Samuel goes to Bethlehem with a heifer for sacrifice as a means to get Jesse and his sons together. And as Jesse’s first born son comes before Samuel, he pulls out his horn of oil, sure that this must be the one God has chosen. It makes perfect sense. Not only is Eliab the oldest son, but he looks like a king. He was tall, dark and handsome, so to speak. But he is not the one God has chosen. We find one of the best known passages of scripture, where God says, “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” God knows what is most important about you and me, and that is what kind of person we are on the inside. And the good news here is that there is little we can do with our physical appearance, aside various body modifications. But there is a lot about what we can do on our inside. We can make our hearts grow larger and softer. We can engage in a process of maturity that makes us more and more beautiful and noble on the inside.

            But there is something else I want to highlight. Like I said a minute ago, God didn’t wait for Saul to die before taking action. God has David anointed king but David doesn’t go straight to the throne. He becomes a king in waiting. And it will not be an easy path for David. In fact, he is about to enter into a time of great danger. He will face down Goliath. He will be engaged in battle. He will have to watch his back as Saul attempts to take his life. And through all the struggle that he will endure, he knows that he has been anointed to be king. He knows who he is destined to be even as he patiently waits for his destiny to manifest.

            There’s one more thing I want to highlight about David. We read that when he was anointed by Samuel, that the Spirit came upon him and continued to pour out on him from that day forward. That does not typically happen in those days. Saul received an outpouring of the Spirit, but only on a couple occasions. For David it is non-stop. The Spirit will continue to come upon David day by day, an ever fresh outpouring of the Spirit of life. It is as if God is going all out to make sure that David has what he needs to be successful so that he doesn’t turn out like Saul did. And, as it turns out, David becomes the gold standard when it comes to being king, in spite of his deep flaws. David was far from perfect. But with God’s help, and that continuous outpouring of the Spirit, David was the best king Israel ever had.

            And this is where I want to bring you and me into this story. If you think about it, our situation has some points of contact with David’s. First of all, just as David is a king, you and I are royalty as well. You remember I talked about this a few weeks ago. Peter identifies us as a royal priesthood. Paul said that we are co-heirs with Christ, who is our king. We have a royal identity.

            Second, just as the Spirit was poured continually onto David, so we are continuously receiving an outpouring of the Spirit. When the church came online that Pentecost, and the Spirit came down upon all who were gathered in that room, Peter declared that the Spirit is now being poured out on all people. The Spirit of God has been set loose in the world. That same Spirit is filling us, day by day. Oh we can squash the Spirit that is within us by our own willfulness or inattentiveness. But we are vessels of the Holy Spirit. Clay vessels to be sure. But the Spirit of God is being poured into us continuously, as God has determined to do. God does everything God knows to do to help us be all God desires us to be.

            And last, just as David was a king in waiting, having to go through a time of struggle and danger during the time of transition until he became king, so we are royals in waiting. One day we will reign with Christ. But now we have to live out our lives in struggle and danger. We know who we are. We are children of God. We are destined to share in the coming reign of God. Until then, we have to face our Goliaths. We have to fight some battles. We have to contend with the occasional betrayal. Sometimes some of us have to watch our backs. But as we live out our lives through this time of transition, from this life to the life to come, we can live it with confidence because we too have the Spirit of God to guide and strengthen us all along the way.