Called in From Off-stage
Sermon
WIND THROUGH The VALLEYS
Sermons for the First Third of the Pentecost Season
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." We read that from As You Like It (Act II, Scene 7). Maybe. Sometimes. The word that is bothersome is the word "merely." The world and God's plan for it are surely bigger than our small roles; but those who appear in the center-stage of the world are usually not considered "mere players." They hold themselves up to be, and the public holds them up to be, the great ones, the important ones, the heroic ones. Those who appear at center stage are usually outstanding in one way or another.
Some people seem born into the position. Such are the beautiful people, or those with high intelligence. Maybe such a place comes more easily to those who are from monied families, or those who dress well, or who keep themselves fit. A newscaster announced that a certain senator had lost at least ten pounds over a short period of time. His conclusion: that senator was going to run for the office of the presidency! We put before us those who present good specimens of humanity. Those with athletic abilities are catapulted forward by a sports-crazed public. We have reserved a place on the world's stage for those who meet certain conditions. Consciously or unconsciously we have qualifications that need to be met. What chance would a ruddy, short, sixteen-year-old boy, with tousled red hair and a tiny, wooden flute in his back pocket, have in the tryouts for a big play? But here was God's man! He was David!
David did not even try out for the part. He wasn't near the action on the stage of Hebrew history. Samuel was! Samuel was concerned about who would follow on the throne after the popular Saul was rejected by God. The prophet was concerned about walking across the line between Israel and Judah. But God said, "Go to Bethlehem. I have provided for myself a king. The Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." So, with a little vial of oil, and with a heifer, in order to deflect the real intent of the trip, Samuel goes to Bethlehem. Once he arrives there, he is too eager to do his job. First, Samuel didn't want to go on such a dangerous mission. Then, when he does, he is overhasty. He would anoint the six-foot Eliab, or Abinadab, or Shammah, or any of the six oldest sons of Jesse! But God's choice is not even there! He turns up missing at the climactic moment and must be brought in from off-stage, from out of the Judean wilderness where he was keeping sheep. From going up the hills and down the valleys, he was called home. In a private little ceremony, the meaning of which may not have been understood by the brothers, or David himself, David is thrust onto the center stage of the history of God's people!
That's the way God makes his selections. Saul, the towering and popular son of a powerful Benjamite nobleman, is replaced by God's choice of a ruddy shepherd boy from Judah. This account is part of the late source of material in the Book of Samuel. It is critical of the need for kings among God's people. It is critical of the standards popularly used to choose such a king. Customarily, among the Hebrews, it was the older son who was at the center of family life and responsibility. It was the older son who would be called upon to do the greater things. Here God does the unexpected, the unconventional, the un-Hebrew thing. The person in the family of Jesse who might most naturally live off-stage, unnoticed, is given a place at the spotlights!
Nor is this the only time that divine election worked that way. Earlier, it was Abel instead of Cain, Jacob instead of Esau, Joseph before his eight brothers, Moses over Aaron, and Gideon, the youngest of his family. Later, this principle of divine election was repeated again. Near the end of the Old Testament history, the Babylonian rulers took into captivity the best of the Jewish people, the leaders, the artisans. The weak people were left, and those who could not read or do well in business. In time, these remaining people came to be known as the "hoi polloi," the common people of the land. They were poor, uneducated, uncultured, unorganized, and even unreligious in a public sense. They were the people who had no place on the stage of life, but it was to these people that God sent his Son!
It was among off-stage people that one was born, whom the prophet Isaiah predicted would have no beauty that any should look at him or desire him. In fact, people would hide their faces from him (Isaiah 53:2, 3). It is this Jesus whom God jerked on to the center stage of life, when people were looking for someone different. It is this Jesus who changed the entire course of human history.
It is Jesus who teaches us that we are still living with imperfect standards in regard to human worth and importance. Take children, for example. The large number of reported child-abuse cases in the homes of Americans is alarming. It tells us that we have yet to understand the words of Jesus about the importance of children. Jesus put a child on center stage for the disciples, in order to tell the disciples of all time that he who receives a child, receives God (Mark 9:37)! We have not sufficiently learned that children are not commodities that can bear the brunt of our anger, hostility, and frustration. God has an important place for seemingly insignificant children.
It was the apostle Paul who reminded the early Christians of Corinth that they, also the insignificant ones of society, had been brought by God into the main act of his salvation history. "Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world." (1 Corinthians 1:26, 27)
There is something else God does when he calls people in from off-stage. He gives them the ability to play their role. He takes them from what appears to be an inferior position and gives them the wisdom and insight to do their task. David was anointed without and within. It was by his God-given prowess that he confronted a giant, Goliath. It was by his inner strength and wisdom that he brought together the two nations of Judah and Israel. He did it his way. He had to do it his way, the way that was fitting for him. For David, it was a slingshot; patience with King Saul; love for the King's son, Jonathan; and waiting for the right moment. Once anointed, David called out from within himself the latent powers that were his.
For many of us who feel inferior, whether among our friends or business acquaintances or classmates or among our brothers and sisters or even within the company of God's people, there is a strong message here. For those who sense a lack of courage and a lack of Christian faith there is the reminder that as God called in from off-stage a David and made him to be one who is still revered by millions of several world religions, so he can also surprise us by his call.
We all have our witness to make and our story to tell. Every Christian has a task to do and a story to share. Those tasks and those stories must be done and told not only in the church, but wherever we find ourselves in society. Our story becomes important as it relates to the story of Jesus. That is, after all, the major reason why the stories of David have been preserved. David is not only a forerunner of Christ, but even a type of Christ. The story of David would not be complete without the story of Jesus. Nor is ours. We have a part to play on the world's stage. It is more than a "mere" role. We have a part in bringing life, God's life, to this world.
That's God's goal. He is never without a resource. If a Saul fails, he finds a David. God has a whole host of people offstage, standing unnoticed and unknown, but ready to be called onto the stage of life. Is this the time for you to step up?
Some people seem born into the position. Such are the beautiful people, or those with high intelligence. Maybe such a place comes more easily to those who are from monied families, or those who dress well, or who keep themselves fit. A newscaster announced that a certain senator had lost at least ten pounds over a short period of time. His conclusion: that senator was going to run for the office of the presidency! We put before us those who present good specimens of humanity. Those with athletic abilities are catapulted forward by a sports-crazed public. We have reserved a place on the world's stage for those who meet certain conditions. Consciously or unconsciously we have qualifications that need to be met. What chance would a ruddy, short, sixteen-year-old boy, with tousled red hair and a tiny, wooden flute in his back pocket, have in the tryouts for a big play? But here was God's man! He was David!
David did not even try out for the part. He wasn't near the action on the stage of Hebrew history. Samuel was! Samuel was concerned about who would follow on the throne after the popular Saul was rejected by God. The prophet was concerned about walking across the line between Israel and Judah. But God said, "Go to Bethlehem. I have provided for myself a king. The Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." So, with a little vial of oil, and with a heifer, in order to deflect the real intent of the trip, Samuel goes to Bethlehem. Once he arrives there, he is too eager to do his job. First, Samuel didn't want to go on such a dangerous mission. Then, when he does, he is overhasty. He would anoint the six-foot Eliab, or Abinadab, or Shammah, or any of the six oldest sons of Jesse! But God's choice is not even there! He turns up missing at the climactic moment and must be brought in from off-stage, from out of the Judean wilderness where he was keeping sheep. From going up the hills and down the valleys, he was called home. In a private little ceremony, the meaning of which may not have been understood by the brothers, or David himself, David is thrust onto the center stage of the history of God's people!
That's the way God makes his selections. Saul, the towering and popular son of a powerful Benjamite nobleman, is replaced by God's choice of a ruddy shepherd boy from Judah. This account is part of the late source of material in the Book of Samuel. It is critical of the need for kings among God's people. It is critical of the standards popularly used to choose such a king. Customarily, among the Hebrews, it was the older son who was at the center of family life and responsibility. It was the older son who would be called upon to do the greater things. Here God does the unexpected, the unconventional, the un-Hebrew thing. The person in the family of Jesse who might most naturally live off-stage, unnoticed, is given a place at the spotlights!
Nor is this the only time that divine election worked that way. Earlier, it was Abel instead of Cain, Jacob instead of Esau, Joseph before his eight brothers, Moses over Aaron, and Gideon, the youngest of his family. Later, this principle of divine election was repeated again. Near the end of the Old Testament history, the Babylonian rulers took into captivity the best of the Jewish people, the leaders, the artisans. The weak people were left, and those who could not read or do well in business. In time, these remaining people came to be known as the "hoi polloi," the common people of the land. They were poor, uneducated, uncultured, unorganized, and even unreligious in a public sense. They were the people who had no place on the stage of life, but it was to these people that God sent his Son!
It was among off-stage people that one was born, whom the prophet Isaiah predicted would have no beauty that any should look at him or desire him. In fact, people would hide their faces from him (Isaiah 53:2, 3). It is this Jesus whom God jerked on to the center stage of life, when people were looking for someone different. It is this Jesus who changed the entire course of human history.
It is Jesus who teaches us that we are still living with imperfect standards in regard to human worth and importance. Take children, for example. The large number of reported child-abuse cases in the homes of Americans is alarming. It tells us that we have yet to understand the words of Jesus about the importance of children. Jesus put a child on center stage for the disciples, in order to tell the disciples of all time that he who receives a child, receives God (Mark 9:37)! We have not sufficiently learned that children are not commodities that can bear the brunt of our anger, hostility, and frustration. God has an important place for seemingly insignificant children.
It was the apostle Paul who reminded the early Christians of Corinth that they, also the insignificant ones of society, had been brought by God into the main act of his salvation history. "Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world." (1 Corinthians 1:26, 27)
There is something else God does when he calls people in from off-stage. He gives them the ability to play their role. He takes them from what appears to be an inferior position and gives them the wisdom and insight to do their task. David was anointed without and within. It was by his God-given prowess that he confronted a giant, Goliath. It was by his inner strength and wisdom that he brought together the two nations of Judah and Israel. He did it his way. He had to do it his way, the way that was fitting for him. For David, it was a slingshot; patience with King Saul; love for the King's son, Jonathan; and waiting for the right moment. Once anointed, David called out from within himself the latent powers that were his.
For many of us who feel inferior, whether among our friends or business acquaintances or classmates or among our brothers and sisters or even within the company of God's people, there is a strong message here. For those who sense a lack of courage and a lack of Christian faith there is the reminder that as God called in from off-stage a David and made him to be one who is still revered by millions of several world religions, so he can also surprise us by his call.
We all have our witness to make and our story to tell. Every Christian has a task to do and a story to share. Those tasks and those stories must be done and told not only in the church, but wherever we find ourselves in society. Our story becomes important as it relates to the story of Jesus. That is, after all, the major reason why the stories of David have been preserved. David is not only a forerunner of Christ, but even a type of Christ. The story of David would not be complete without the story of Jesus. Nor is ours. We have a part to play on the world's stage. It is more than a "mere" role. We have a part in bringing life, God's life, to this world.
That's God's goal. He is never without a resource. If a Saul fails, he finds a David. God has a whole host of people offstage, standing unnoticed and unknown, but ready to be called onto the stage of life. Is this the time for you to step up?
