Face Your Philistine!

Text:  1 SAMUEL 17:(1A, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49

Theme:  “Meet Your Philistine!”

4^th Sunday after Pentecost

Father’s Day

July 20, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

The little Israelite shepherd boy David takes down the mighty Philistine warrior Goliath with a smooth stone hurled from, essentially, a slingshot. 

The two opposing forces were gathered on two hills separated by a valley called Elah.  A massive rush down the hills to battle would likely be a disaster for both sides.  Perhaps sensing this, the Philistine army blinks first and offers up another option – called “single combat” – that was a common practice in the ancient world.  Basically, the sides in the conflict would try to avoid heavy casualties and loss of life by choosing one warrior to represent them in what we’d basically call one-on-one, hand-to-hand combat.

The mighty Goliath, chosen warrior of the Philistines and equipped with all the armament and weapons appropriate to this engagement, expected to be met by his counterpart from Israel.  However, as the story goes, his expectation didn’t meet with the reality “on the ground,” as they say.

So when you face the “Philistines” – or even the “Goliath”s – in your life, keep in mind that expectations don’t always match up with reality.  When forces in life seek to bring you down, they may be expecting you to follow their rules of engagement, their fundamentals.  Taking your cue from little David, you don’t have to let their expectations set your agenda.  Saul was certainly ready to play by the rules of single combat engagement.  He had little David fitted with all the “appropriate” weapons, armament, and gear.  Little David could hardly move with all of that stuff clinging to his body.  He sets all that aside, grabs his little sack, pulls five smooth stones from the wadi (or “river”) and sets out to meet the Philistine for the battle royale!  Spoiler alert!  It wasn’t much of a battle royale at all!

“Three cheers for the underdog,” we might reply.  “Underdog”?  Malcolm Gladwell, author of a book titled David and Goliath, isn’t quite so sure.

The battle is won miraculously by an underdog who, by all expectations, should not have won at all.  This is the way we have told one another the story over the many centuries since.  It is how the phrase “David and Goliath” has come to be embedded in our language – as a metaphor for improbable victory.  And the problem with that version of events is that almost everything about it is wrong.

He goes on to tell of the three kinds of warriors in the ancient world:  cavalry (armed soldiers with horses or chariots), infantry (foot soldiers with armor, swords, and shields) and projectile warriors (artillery).  Today, we might even call them snipers. 

Now Goliath was infantry.  What about David?  He was a shepherd, but he went into this exchange as artillery. He was a sniper.  That sling and those rocks were his weapons, and, through much practice, he had learned how to take out all those lions and bears that sought to destroy the sheep he shepherded. 

Mighty Goliath, weighed down, with all the proud armament of war and who struck fear into the Israelite army, was easy pickings for this shepherd boy. 

Goliath is quite amused at the little urchin.  He shouts:  “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?”  Here’s another takeaway to keep in mind when facing your Philistine:  let their estimation of you work in YOUR favor – especially when they underestimate you. 

On the Israelite hill overlooking the valley of Elah, they saw a powerful giant armed to the teeth.  But, in good Paul Harvey form, we know “the rest of the story” – and power and strength aren’t always what they seem to be.  You may be discouraged at the power and strength that your own Philistines and Goliaths seem to hold over you.  Remember, again:  power and strength aren’t always what they seem to be.  Historian Robert Dohrenwend writes:  “Goliath had as much change against David as any Bronze Age warrior with a sword would have had against an opponent armed with a .45 automatic pistol.”

Yes, Goliath had his weapons.  David even mentioned that:  “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.”  There was no mention of the sling and the smooth stones.  There is declaration, however, of where his confidence lay – not in himself, not in his speed or agility, not in his sack of rocks.  His confidence was in God.  At the heart of confidence is fidei or faith.  So, when you confront your Philistine/Goliath, do so, first and foremost, with that confidence borne of faith. 

Centuries later, we learn that the acorn didn’t fall too far from the ancestral tree.   Faced with the “Goliath” of the cross, knowing full well that it was on his radar screen, Jesus – that great “Son of David” -- didn’t run and hide.  We are told that he “resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem.” 

The forces marshaled against Jesus and His people used all the weapons available to them:  religion, government, and all the power that belonged to them both.  What of Jesus, the Son of David? Was He cavalry, infantry, or artillery? He didn’t even have a sling and five smooth stones.  He had only His Word and commitment to suffering love.  In His suffering, death, and resurrection, He – armed with only His Word and His suffering love – snookered and out-maneuvered the greatest of all Goliaths. 

On this Father’s Day, let us remember:  Father Jesse sent His Son to the front line.  Father God sent His Son to the front line as well.   So there you have it:  the good news of the gospel and a few solid suggestions on facing your own Philistine from this story.  All in all, I hope that adds up to blessing and a good day for each of you – and, especially, for our fathers.

Amen.

Looking for Signs of Progress

Text:  2 Corinthians 5:6-17 & Mark 4:26-34

Theme:  “Looking for Signs of Progress”

3^rd Sunday after Pentecost

June 14, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

+ + +

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Here it is:  your garden-variety legal pad!  I became very much acquainted with legal pads in high school.  I participated in debate and even lettered in debate competition; legal pads were required accessories. Debates featured two-person teams.  One team was called the “affirmative” (arguing FOR a resolution) and the other was the “negative” (arguing AGAINST a resolution). 

In debate, the legal pad was helpful when held sideways.  You’d draw columns.  In the first column, you’d list the main points of your affirmative argument.  When the negative team responded to your opening salvo, you’d listen and take notes  If they commented on one of your contentions from the left hand column, you’d draw and arrow to the next column and take note of the response. 

Of course, there is another – and easier! – way to use the legal pad  Lets say you have a big decision to make.  You turn the pad right side up, draw a line right down the middle, and then list (on the left) the “cons” (the reasons you shouldn’t make such and such decision) and (on the right) the “pros” (the reasons you should make such and such a decision).  You may have gone over pros and cons in your head countless times, but there’s something about getting it all down on paper which lets you see things in black and white – or, in the case of the legal pad, black and yellow!

Nowadays, when I look for signs of progress in people, in the local congregation, the denomination, and Christianity in general, I don’t see many encouraging signs.  Despite the massive advancements we’ve made, human nature appears, well, stuck – just plain stuck.  And I’m beginning to question my own sanity about this.  Am I just blind?  Have I become cynical?  Have I lost my spiritual fervor?  To certain degrees, I answer yes to all those questions. 

Yet, even if I were at the overflowing point with regard to faith in God, love toward the neighbor, and overall satisfaction with my Christian walk, I could still – with open-minded honesty – identify matters to list on the left/negative side of the legal pad.  It wouldn’t be that difficult at all.

The challenge would be to engage heart and brain to get going with items for the right column.  What are the signs of progress – in Christian faith, love, and life – that we can identify. 

But hold on, if I really want to get this right wouldn’t it be important to identify, from God’s Word, what positive signs would look like?  Of course!  It would add some oomph, some strength to the list of signs that we are progressing.

A quick look at our New Testament Reading from 2 Corinthians starts us off.  Herewith, the first sign of progress on the list:  You have individuals and churches that are confident, faithful, and seeking to please the Lord.  “We are confident”; we are “faithful”; we “make it our aim to please God”, said Paul to the Corinthian Christians. 

Secondly, you have individuals and churches that persuade people.  How do they do that?  It’s not by arguing them into the faith; it’s certainly not by getting them to join some religious club of the like-minded.  Jesus said that it is “by their fruits that ye shall know them.”  It’s not because they won debate tournaments.  We don’t persuade people by trying to win arguments.  We persuade them when spiritual growth happens in our lives; it’s when the fruits of the spirit are ripe for the plucking!  People see that, appreciate that, and want it!  That’s progress!

Third, in 2 Corinthians 5:16ff.  we read:  “From now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.”  If you regard any human being the way the world does, you might as well list that on the left side of the legal pad.  It’s not an asset; it’s certainly not a sign of progress.  It’s a problem. 

How do people look at others from a worldly point of view?  They identify others by gender, race, sexual identity, political affiliation, age, and income bracket, what books they read and what magazines they subscribe to, and what social media outlets they employ. Obviously, more could be added to the list of how we regard people from a worldly point of view. 

So the third sign of progress, quite simply, is when we stop doing that.  Instead, we look at every single human being, first and foremost, as a person for whom God, in Christ was willing to come into this world, and to suffer, and to die, and to rise again from the grave so that the individual in question can be a new creation.  If anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation.  The old has gone; the new has come. 

Now, here’s a fourth sign of progress for the right side of the pad.  It’s drawn from the story – or parable – that Jesus shared in today’s Gospel.  The sign of progress is that individuals and churches scatter the seed.  “What seed?”  you ask.  “The seed of the Gospel,” I reply.  You scatter the seed; you share the Gospel of the grace and love of God in word and in deed, by what you say and how you live. Bragging or boasting about how many people you “have led to Christ” is not part of this mix at all.  The Gospel is not a tool we’ve been given to re-program people.  The Gospel is a gift, and we simply share it – or scatter it, if you will – as best we can.

It works, dear friends.  It works for a reason, and the reason is the fifth sign of progress.  It’s a sign of progress when individuals and churches are content to scatter the seed and leave the growth to God.  Jesus says:  “Night and day, whether the sower of the seed sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”  We don’t know how either.  It’s not ours to know how.  It IS ours to scatter the seed! 

A sixth sign of progress for Christian individuals and congregations is this:  they remember the mustard seed – the tiniest seed of them all. They work hard to remember the mustard seed. 

Yes, they are only too aware of the items on the left column of the legal pad.  They know the negatives.  They discern what holds people and churches in check and pushes them back:  the “seeds” and, therefore, the “weeds” of unbelief, pride, fear, individual and collective dysfunction, attitude, temperament, apathy, indifference, strife, resentment – and on it goes. 

Yet, by God’s grace, one little mustard seed trumps it all.  Will you remember the mustard seed?  Will you keep it on the right hand column of your head and heart?

Jesus says:

What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.  Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.

You have that mustard seed in your life, and it’s a sure sign that you are making progress and experiencing spiritual growth.  Your church is too – because you and your mustard seed are in it!

Amen.

Who Would Be King?

Text:  1 Samuel 8:4-20

Theme:  “Who Would Be King?”

2^nd Sunday after Pentecost

June 7, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead[a] us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle[b] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

True confession time:  I’ve never read the Bible through from cover to cover – that is, straight through from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.  Have I read each individual book?  Yes.  Have I taken courses on certain books of the Bible and biblical themes?  Of course!  I just haven’t done the cover to cover thing. 

Interestingly, there are congregations – including some in the PCUSA – who are doing that right now as churches.  They are reading the Bible through in a year!  More power to them, I say!  I’ve tried that a few times, but I always seem to get bogged down in Leviticus.  If I could just hang in there until I get to 1 Samuel, that would be wonderful!  Yes, that’s the book that my 5 second attention span might appreciate.  1 Samuel is action-packed. 

A word of caution:  you will find some political matters contained in it.  That could immediately turn a few of us off.  But the political skirmishes here and there are set within a broader, sweeping historical narrative that one can’t help but being caught up in.  I’m rather shocked that Hollywood hasn’t come up with a screenplay or teleplay on 1 Samuel!

To be sure, religion and politics are touchy, dicey subjects today.  Back in the 60s and 70s, certain congregations and denominations – of a more liberal or progressive persuasion – got on board with the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.  The main themes were peace, justice, an anti-war stance, and whittling away at the economic inequalities in the world.  The Gospel and Sacraments of our Lord were good insofar as they inspired people to advocate for these causes. 

Enter the 80s and the Reagan administration.  “Evangelical” conservatism – or conservative “Evangelicalism”, if you will – was resurgent.  It was especially strong during the lead up to the two-term presidency of George W. Bush.  Karl Rove, a political operative known as the “Architect” in the Bush campaigns, took the lead in currying the favor of American evangelicals.  Now it’s all but a rule for GOP presidential candidates to either announce their intentions and aspirations and/or give a speech at Liberty University or the Heritage Foundation.  The Gospel and Sacraments are good insofar as they inspire people to advocate for huge tax cuts, economic libertarianism, a hawkish national defense, anti-abortion, and traditional marriage. 

With all this politicking going on, is it any wonder that many of our children – wearied by the extremism and fevered debate on the left and the right – are opting out from church altogether.

My declaration to you this day is that the Gospel and Sacraments are good not “insofar as” they advocate for this, that, or anything.  The Gospel and Sacraments are not ammunition to beef up and bolster our cherished points of view.  The Gospel and the Sacraments are good because they are good!  They come from God and they are here to bless us with the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. 

But, human nature being what it is, people are always itching for more.  Our Old Testament Reading is this morning’s “exhibit A”.   The people were itching for a king.  That was the political situation. 

By the way, the word politics, in its native meaning, is actually quite simple.  The root word is from the Greek polis that means “city”.  Thus, politics is a conversation about how best to order the city and to protect it and prosper it for the benefit of all. 

The Israelites were not politically divided at this point.  They were of one mind when it came to what they were itching for.  They were itching for a king!  Such a king would protect them and prosper their polis, their nation, their city, their lives.  And besides, all the other nations had a king so why not Israel?  The leaders say to the Lord’s man, Samuel, the prophet:  You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. 

Meanwhile, Samuel is none too pleased with that request.  So, as the old hymn says, he “takes it to the Lord in prayer.” 

The reply comes back in short order.  God says:  Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a classic, precious, priceless example of that old adage:  “Be careful what you wish for (or prayer for).  You may get it.”

You want a king to reign over you?  Alright, here’s the deal:  your children are going into the military; some will work the land and others will make weapons.  (If that sounds like the ancient version of the so-called “military/industrial complex”, you heard right!)  And while we’re at it, know that the king is going to confiscate large chunks of your land. He will take 10% of your grain and 10% of your livestock.  (If that sounds like taxation, you heard right!)  Over time, you will discover that you are working for that king and his attendants.  Politics will become your livelihood. Not only that, you become the king’s slaves, the slaves of politics.  Eventually, you’ll cry out to that king for relief; you’ll seek political answers because politics has become god.   But, says God, I “won’t answer you.”

Samuel doesn’t omit this or that or gloss over anything.   He’s all about full disclosure, and he simply tells them exactly what God said.  This is what will happen if you have an earthly king.  They are not encouraging possibilities.  They sound much more like disincentives as opposed to incentives.

Still, the Israelites clamor for a king.  They get one.  And then they get another, and another, and another.  Some of those kings were faithful to God.  Far more, as the Bible says, “did what was displeasing” in God’s sight.  The track record of earthly politics among the Israelite people was really pretty bad.

Fast-forward to the time of Jesus.  All of those prophecies had come true.  The kingship in Israel was in shambles.  The Israelites were ruled by the Roman Caesar. 

Then, one day, out from Galilee and into the Jordan valley, came an obscure, itinerant preacher and rabbi named Jesus of Nazareth.  He said:  “Change your mind.  Do a complete, mental 180!   The Kingdom of God is at hand.  It’s here, but it’s not of this world.  It’s within you.” 

This King – even Jesus Christ our Lord – will not conscript you, draft you, confiscate your land, impose a tax.  But, through His Spirit, He will make you a citizen of  God’s kingdom.  Your sins are forgiven.  You are and can become a new creation.  Amid the strife of earthly politics, your spirit can be at peace always because the King and Prince of Peace is with your spirit.  Glorify God and enjoy His reign!

Amen.