For Sycamore Congregational Church, UCC 

El Cerrito, California 

March 6, 2005 

By Rev. Sharon MacArthur, Senior Minister 

 

I Samuel 16:1-13 

The LORD said to Samuel, How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons. Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one 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? He said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.  

 

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, Surely the LORDS anointed is now before the LORD. 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 does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, Neither has the LORD chosen this one. Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has the LORD chosen this one. Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, The LORD has not chosen any of these. Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here. He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, Rise and anoint him; for this is the one. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.  

 

 

************** 

 

Todays reading talks about Samuel and the selection of David as the future King of Israel. It’s a story about how God sees and how sometimes it’s quite different from what we see. It’s a story about trusting what God sees, even if it means thinking outside the box, even if it means changing how we see... 

 

But I’m ahead of myself. Yesterday at the retreat we had some very special experiences.  

 

I am thinking about the names crossword puzzle and the stories we shared. Each participant wrote his or her name attaching it to a letter of an existing name on the crossword puzzle on a sheet of paper on the wall. 

 

As we did that, we told stories about our names. Maybe the story was about how we got the names or why we got those names or about some experience linked to that name. After everyone had a turn - we had a rather large sprawling crossword puzzle. But we all knew much more about each other than just our names. We had heard stories about who we are and we were able to see that we were all linked together. 

 

I can’t help but be affected by that experience. The written word is so much richer knowing the stories behind them...knowing the context...knowing what led up to those words. 

 

Todays passage is a great example. It starts off with God saying to Samuel How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.  

 

Whats going on? What is Samuels story? What happened to Samuel and Saul and God that this conversation is taking place? 

 

Remember Samuel? 

He was the boy that was brought to Eli to be raised at the temple. 

His mother was Hannah, one of two wives of Elkanah. Hannah was the one who was childless. The other wife had many sons and daughters, but Hannah was childless. 

 

Hannah poured out her troubles about being childless to God and promised that if God would give her a male child, she would offer him as a nazirite - one consecrated - to be raised in a temple. 

 

God did give her a male child; she named him Samuel and she kept her promise. 

As soon as the child was weaned, Hannah brought him to Eli and reminded him that she was the woman who had prayed some years back for a child and that this Samuel was Gods blessing. She had come with him to keep her end of the bargainÉthat Samuel would stay there with Eli to serve God. 

 

The years pass. Samuel grew up under the tutelage of Eli. 

Samuel was the one who when he hears God calling in the night doesn’t know whats happening and goes to Eli because he thinks it’s Elis doing the calling... 

After this calling in the night wakes Samuel who wakes Eli a few times, Eli figures out whats happening and instructs his pupil to say, speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. And it is Samuels words that we sing in one of our favorite songs... 

 

Here I am, Lord, is it I, Lord, calling in the night... 

 

And so Samuel became a prophet of the Lord. 

The years pass... 

The Philistines defeated Israel. 

Many people were slaughtered. 

More years pass...Samuel judged Israel for all of his life,  

ministering justice and traveling all over Israel... 

Fast forward more years... Samuel is getting old - 

his sons didn’t follow in his ways and the elders gathered and met with Samuel.... 

Youre old and your sons don’t follow in your ways, they say, appoint a king for us to rule over us. 

And Samuel did - with divine help he chose Saul 

and Saul became king 

but Saul didn’t carry out Gods commandments,  

he instead listened to the people and heeded their advice. 

and God said to Samuel, I regret that I made Saul king 

 

They had words - Samuel and Saul - and after that Samuel saw him no more. 

And this is where we pick up the story... 

when the Lord, in essence, is saying to Samuel -  

Are you still crying over Saul? I told you - I have rejected him from being king over Israel...now get yourself ready to anoint someone else - one of Jesses sons will be the king. Jesse of Bethlehem...a most unlikely place to find a king... 

 

What strikes me is that it is an unlikely place - 

not a place that one would normally think of as a training ground for a great leader - it wasn’t a large temple where young men were taught and educated the way of the Lord, or a battleground where leaders have a chance to prove themselves.  

 

So Samuel seeks out Jesse and his sons. 

Eliab comes in - hes tall and so kingly looking that Samuel thinks - 

This must be the Lords anointed one... 

And God replies - 

Don’t look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not see as mortals see - they look at the outwrd appearance...but the Lord looks on the heart. 

 

Now theres a caution for us - we have reminders of that caution all around... 

We sometimes hear, Don’t judge a book by its cover don’t we? 

Just because a woman has blonde hair and blue eyes doesn’t mean shes a dumb blonde, right? - look at Martha Stewart or Ivana Trump? They are heads of dynasties! 

 

Just because a man looks like a bigger-than-life athlete doesn’t mean hes not tender...I’ve met a number of a male nurses who treated their patients with amazing tenderness! 

 

And conversely, just because one looks petite and gentle doesn’t mean that person isn’t strong or resilient. 

 

Anyway - you get the idea - Samuel is being challenged by God to look differently, see these candidates in a different way - see the world in a new way. 

 

So seven of Jesses sons pass by Samuel - and each time Samuel says, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. 

Finally, Samuel says, The Lord has not chosen any these - are all of your sons here? 

 

Jesses reply - Theres still the youngest, but hes watching the sheep...... 

So David is sent for and when he arrives, the Lord says, Rise and anoint him, for this is the one. 

This is the one! the youngest one, the one that the father didn’t even consider could be a potential king! Davids own father sees a young shepherd boy - the baby! God sees a king! 

 

And we know what follows, don’t we? 

David goes on to become the King of Israel during its Golden Age...this is the David who is an ancestor of Jesus. 

 

This is the king that God sees...what God sees transcends time. What God sees transcends who we are. What God sees is who we can become! 

 

So, for us, how do we trust what God sees? How do we trust what we don’t know? 

 

Perhaps yesterdays retreat is an illustration... 

The comments I heard before the retreat were questions about what to expect...a whole day? what are we going to do?  

And the answers perhaps were not satisfying... 

getting to know each other 

building community 

getting to know each other better 

getting to know our community...and who we are 

 

And yet people came - 

people came to this retreat not knowing what to expect 

they came to spend the day or part of the day 

and trusted that Gods light was in this 

 

And I guess it boils down to knowing God - Gods hopes, Gods visions, Gods dreams for us and for Gods world and all who dwell in it. 

And that that vision, that hope includes peace, justice, and wholeness. 

 

So, maybe we do know this in our heart of hearts... 

but taking the leap of faith that takes us out of our comfort zone, 

that challenges us to look at each other differently 

and to see the world differently - 

taking THAT leap of faith isn’t easy. 

 

So, we come together each week and support each other 

we gather as people of faith to encourage and nurture our trust in God and what God sees. 

 

We come together to be filled with Gods love and spirit and to be strengthened by our connections with each other to take that leap of faith as often as we can.... 

 

I just read a story by Greg Ebie that might speak to you....... 

In the middle of the 19th century there was a famous French tight-rope walker and acrobat named Blondin. His greatest fame came in 1859 when he accomplished one of his greatest feats. 

 

He walked an 1100 foot tight-rope suspended 160 feet above the waters of Niagra Falls. He went on to walk across the falls several times each with a different theatrical flare.  

 

On one of these high-wire walks, Blondin crossed over the falls pushing a wheelbarrow. When he reached the other side he asked the spectators if they believed he could do it again. Everyone cheered. He asked if they believed he could again cross the tight-rope with someone in the wheelbarrow. Everyone cheered believing that he could do it - they wanted to see this incredible stunt.  

So, Blondin then asked for a volunteer to ride in the wheelbarrow. No one stepped forward.  

 

It was one thing to believe Blondin could do what they had all seen him do, and quite another to entrust your life in his hands by letting him push you across the falls on the high wire.  

 

As people of faith, as children of God, we have that decision before us so often - I know I do - 

do I take the time to wash this glass jar and place it in the recycle bin or do I take the easy way and throw the whole jar and sticky dregs into the garbage? 

do I walk up and speak to that person I’m angry at, or do I cross the street and hope he doesn’t see me? 

do I buy that fish on sale for the big family reunion dinner that will save me a ton of money or do I buy the other more expensive fish next to it that is not on the endangered species list? 

Do we trust what God sees enough to get into that wheelbarrow? 

Whatever we decide, we know that God is ever by our Side. 

Amen.