Proper 7
Devotional
Streams of Living Water
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle B
Object:
1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49
But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."
-- 1 Samuel 17:45
Sometimes a biblical story is so familiar that we miss the shocking challenge present in it. The cultural setting is different, but the challenge to our mind-set from this story is the same. The setting is that of an overwhelming military machine, in the form of Goliath, and the most threatening of weapons, in the form of a giant sword and spear and javelin. How can anyone confront such a military threat unless they have similar weapons of terror? "Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul's sword over the armor ..." (vv. 38-39). Presumably the king had the best armor and weapons of anyone. If you are going against the threat of the enemy, you go with the best. Yet sometimes we are weighed down by such conventional thinking. "Then David said to Saul, 'I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them' " (v. 39).
It was not that David chose to go against Goliath unarmed but that he chose the weapons that God had provided him. "Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand ..." (v. 40). We live in a world in which we have believed that the one who had the most fearsome weapon would prevail against the enemy. Recently, we have moved from the rattling of nuclear sabers, which cost an enormous amount to develop and deploy, to the threat of terrorists who are able to transform our technology and science against us at far less expense.
The challenge for believers is to determine what the five stones are that we have been given against such a threat. The traditional "stones" of the church have been worship, education, fellowship, service, and evangelism. They seem so ineffective against the threat of terrorism. Despite the fact that we possess the larger military and economic resources, it is as if the mysterious ranks of terrorism have become the modern day Goliath. "All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid" (v. 24). David's rebuttal to Goliath was that he would defeat Goliath so "that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand" (v. 47). Christians are challenged to consider again how that which God has provided us might be used to overcome the evil of the world.
Psalm 9:9-20
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
-- Psalm 9:12
It is significant to recall that the very first human communication to God that was not in response to God's initiative was a cry of blood. When Cain killed Abel, we are told, "Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!" (Genesis 4:10). The theme continues throughout the scriptures. In Exodus 3:7, God tells Moses, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings...." It is this same cry of the afflicted that God responds to when Jesus cries out from the cross, "My God, My God why ..." (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46).
When those who suffer in this world cry out, they are addressing God who "... is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble" (v. 9). The very nature of God who hears the cry of the afflicted is both a comfort to those who suffer and a challenge for those who overlook the suffering of others. It is particularly a challenge for nations who have within their capacity the ability to respond to the needy. In a similar manner to Matthew 25:31-46, the psalmist sees the fate of nations to be dependent on remembering the weak and the suffering.
The fate of the nations is dependent on their remembering who and whose they are. The failure to remember that they are human (v. 20) results in nations believing that their fate is more important than the people they govern. When the needs of the weakest in a nation are considered of secondary importance to the glory of the nation itself, then that nation begins to sink into the pit it has made for itself (v. 15). True patriotism may require us to urge our nation to be responsive to the most vulnerable because by their response they may be determining their destiny.
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.
-- 2 Corinthians 6:1
Paul has just declared, "that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us" (2 Corinthians 19). Now he proceeds to illustrate from his own life how the grace of God is to be lived out in ministry. As is true in most of Paul's letters, the key to ministry is seen in the fruits of the Spirit being lived out in times of distress. He reminds them of the multiple stresses that he has endured. "... But as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger ..." (vv. 4-5). Each of what would be considered negative experiences, Paul saw as an opportunity to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit.
Each of these experiences was met with "... purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness ..." (vv. 6-7). It may be that some Christians were complaining to Paul that the behavior of members of the Christian community was illustrating anything but the love of Christ as they fought among themselves, disrupted worship with their behavior, and turned the Lord's Supper into a time of gluttony and selfishness. The journey of any Christian within the church is a mixture of encouragement and frustration. It is easy for an individual to convince himself or herself that the faith would be better lived outside of the church. Paul sees the mixed experience in the church as a wilderness experience in which the believer learns to trust in the grace of God that initially invited the believer into the faith.
Each time another believer causes you discomfort or even suffering, it is an opportunity for you to respond with a fruit of the Spirit that demonstrates the power of Christ working within you for the purpose of reconciliation. To do otherwise would be to "accept the grace of God in vain" (v. 1).
Mark 4:35-41
Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?
-- Mark 4:38b
The experience of the disciples on the wind-tossed lake may have a more familiar ring to it than we first recognize. The disciples had made their commitment to Jesus and were doing their best to follow him. But now their very life was being threatened by something they could not control. When they looked to the very one who was their Savior, they discovered that he was fast asleep. What could they possibly think other than that he was either ignorant of or unconcerned with their predicament? We think we are living a relatively faithful life. Then suddenly a windstorm arrives and begins to beat upon our boat. We begin to sink under the weight of all the threats to our life. Where is Jesus when our life is being swamped by the storm? Where is Jesus when life is falling apart and returning to chaos?
According to the gospel, Jesus has not disappeared. Rather Jesus is asleep as if nothing is wrong. Do we not want to join the disciples and with righteous anger rouse Jesus from his sleep to make him aware of our situation? Is this not what our loud prayers are all about? Just in case Jesus does not fully understand, do we not want to lecture him on what appears to be irresponsibility on his part? Don't we want to cry out, "Don't you care?" What type of Christ is worth following and what type of God is worth believing in that does not help us when life's storms come along? The story has a distinct echo of the beginning of the story of Jonah. When Jonah was fleeing from God, his ship was also caught in a storm. The other sailors were struggling to survive, and when they went to find Jonah, he was in the hold fast asleep. The sailors awakened him and said, "What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your God" (Jonah 1:6).
Such a story may cause us to reflect on whether the storms arise in our lives precisely because we are going away from God. Jesus' response to the disciples when they awakened him was, "why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" Does Jesus sleep because we have been lulled into complacency? Is the chaos in our lives only restrained when we hear God speak a word as Jesus did? There is comfort in the fact that despite the disciples' lack of faith, Jesus said to the storm, "Peace! Be still!" (v. 39).
But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."
-- 1 Samuel 17:45
Sometimes a biblical story is so familiar that we miss the shocking challenge present in it. The cultural setting is different, but the challenge to our mind-set from this story is the same. The setting is that of an overwhelming military machine, in the form of Goliath, and the most threatening of weapons, in the form of a giant sword and spear and javelin. How can anyone confront such a military threat unless they have similar weapons of terror? "Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul's sword over the armor ..." (vv. 38-39). Presumably the king had the best armor and weapons of anyone. If you are going against the threat of the enemy, you go with the best. Yet sometimes we are weighed down by such conventional thinking. "Then David said to Saul, 'I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them' " (v. 39).
It was not that David chose to go against Goliath unarmed but that he chose the weapons that God had provided him. "Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand ..." (v. 40). We live in a world in which we have believed that the one who had the most fearsome weapon would prevail against the enemy. Recently, we have moved from the rattling of nuclear sabers, which cost an enormous amount to develop and deploy, to the threat of terrorists who are able to transform our technology and science against us at far less expense.
The challenge for believers is to determine what the five stones are that we have been given against such a threat. The traditional "stones" of the church have been worship, education, fellowship, service, and evangelism. They seem so ineffective against the threat of terrorism. Despite the fact that we possess the larger military and economic resources, it is as if the mysterious ranks of terrorism have become the modern day Goliath. "All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid" (v. 24). David's rebuttal to Goliath was that he would defeat Goliath so "that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand" (v. 47). Christians are challenged to consider again how that which God has provided us might be used to overcome the evil of the world.
Psalm 9:9-20
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
-- Psalm 9:12
It is significant to recall that the very first human communication to God that was not in response to God's initiative was a cry of blood. When Cain killed Abel, we are told, "Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!" (Genesis 4:10). The theme continues throughout the scriptures. In Exodus 3:7, God tells Moses, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings...." It is this same cry of the afflicted that God responds to when Jesus cries out from the cross, "My God, My God why ..." (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46).
When those who suffer in this world cry out, they are addressing God who "... is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble" (v. 9). The very nature of God who hears the cry of the afflicted is both a comfort to those who suffer and a challenge for those who overlook the suffering of others. It is particularly a challenge for nations who have within their capacity the ability to respond to the needy. In a similar manner to Matthew 25:31-46, the psalmist sees the fate of nations to be dependent on remembering the weak and the suffering.
The fate of the nations is dependent on their remembering who and whose they are. The failure to remember that they are human (v. 20) results in nations believing that their fate is more important than the people they govern. When the needs of the weakest in a nation are considered of secondary importance to the glory of the nation itself, then that nation begins to sink into the pit it has made for itself (v. 15). True patriotism may require us to urge our nation to be responsive to the most vulnerable because by their response they may be determining their destiny.
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.
-- 2 Corinthians 6:1
Paul has just declared, "that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us" (2 Corinthians 19). Now he proceeds to illustrate from his own life how the grace of God is to be lived out in ministry. As is true in most of Paul's letters, the key to ministry is seen in the fruits of the Spirit being lived out in times of distress. He reminds them of the multiple stresses that he has endured. "... But as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger ..." (vv. 4-5). Each of what would be considered negative experiences, Paul saw as an opportunity to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit.
Each of these experiences was met with "... purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness ..." (vv. 6-7). It may be that some Christians were complaining to Paul that the behavior of members of the Christian community was illustrating anything but the love of Christ as they fought among themselves, disrupted worship with their behavior, and turned the Lord's Supper into a time of gluttony and selfishness. The journey of any Christian within the church is a mixture of encouragement and frustration. It is easy for an individual to convince himself or herself that the faith would be better lived outside of the church. Paul sees the mixed experience in the church as a wilderness experience in which the believer learns to trust in the grace of God that initially invited the believer into the faith.
Each time another believer causes you discomfort or even suffering, it is an opportunity for you to respond with a fruit of the Spirit that demonstrates the power of Christ working within you for the purpose of reconciliation. To do otherwise would be to "accept the grace of God in vain" (v. 1).
Mark 4:35-41
Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?
-- Mark 4:38b
The experience of the disciples on the wind-tossed lake may have a more familiar ring to it than we first recognize. The disciples had made their commitment to Jesus and were doing their best to follow him. But now their very life was being threatened by something they could not control. When they looked to the very one who was their Savior, they discovered that he was fast asleep. What could they possibly think other than that he was either ignorant of or unconcerned with their predicament? We think we are living a relatively faithful life. Then suddenly a windstorm arrives and begins to beat upon our boat. We begin to sink under the weight of all the threats to our life. Where is Jesus when our life is being swamped by the storm? Where is Jesus when life is falling apart and returning to chaos?
According to the gospel, Jesus has not disappeared. Rather Jesus is asleep as if nothing is wrong. Do we not want to join the disciples and with righteous anger rouse Jesus from his sleep to make him aware of our situation? Is this not what our loud prayers are all about? Just in case Jesus does not fully understand, do we not want to lecture him on what appears to be irresponsibility on his part? Don't we want to cry out, "Don't you care?" What type of Christ is worth following and what type of God is worth believing in that does not help us when life's storms come along? The story has a distinct echo of the beginning of the story of Jonah. When Jonah was fleeing from God, his ship was also caught in a storm. The other sailors were struggling to survive, and when they went to find Jonah, he was in the hold fast asleep. The sailors awakened him and said, "What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your God" (Jonah 1:6).
Such a story may cause us to reflect on whether the storms arise in our lives precisely because we are going away from God. Jesus' response to the disciples when they awakened him was, "why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" Does Jesus sleep because we have been lulled into complacency? Is the chaos in our lives only restrained when we hear God speak a word as Jesus did? There is comfort in the fact that despite the disciples' lack of faith, Jesus said to the storm, "Peace! Be still!" (v. 39).
