Seeing with God's Eyes - 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon for Sunday, March 22, 2020

Based on 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and Ephesians 5:8-14

We are now in the center of the strangest Lenten season of my life. One by one, our plans have fallen by the wayside. This is a season of fasting, a season of giving things up, and focusing on Jesus. This week, I saw a Christian teacher named Andy Crouch reflect, “honestly hadn’t planned on giving up quite this much for Lent.” How many of us planned on giving up gathering together? But of course, we are following the advice and counsel of the experts, and trying to serve our neighbors, by keeping ourselves from spreading this disease.

Looking into the season as it had been practiced throughout church history, I was surprised to learn that this, the Fourth Sunday in Lent, is actually a special Sunday. It is called Laetare Sunday, which is a word I have no idea how to pronounce. But it is a day for setting aside the mourning which so characterizes the Lenten season, and instead to take an opportunity to laugh and remember what God is doing in our lives. Since we live between the cross and resurrection and the Second Coming, we take this opportunity to remember the riches God has promised us.

And so today we come to a peculiar story in the life of Israel. It is called the anointing of David, because Samuel sets aside David to be the new king, but no one tells the old king! We will have to wait a while in the story to see the promise that God makes here become a reality. It takes 15 chapters for King David to become King of Israel. Today, we sit in our homes and try to worship in whatever way we can muster and we try to remember that in a world of isolation, loneliness, disease, and fear, God has made us promises that we will have to wait to see. I do not think it’s an accident that we have this text in front of us. God has bigger things in store, but it begins today with our faithful proclamation that God is breaking into our world!

In this story, Samuel is taken with appearances. When David’s oldest brother Eliab comes forward, Samuel thinks he looks like a King. How often do we decide between things solely based on appearance? I am told that when businessmen meet each other, the first thing they notice are each other’s shoes. Forrest Gump said, “you can tell a lot about somebody by their shoes: where they come from, where they go.” But often we are more taken by how shiny or expensive they are. I know brands are constantly trying to play the appearance game, simultaneously trying to keep a modern appearance and also ensure us that though they might have a new look, they feature the product we have come to love and trust. We base so much on outward appearance, whether we are looking at products or people. I can’t vote for someone who looks like that. I can’t bring myself to trust him, he looks shifty. But uncovering the truth takes a bit more time than looking at appearances and going with our gut. Thankfully, Samuel went into the king selection process with an attitude of prayer. Immediately after he thinks “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord,” he hears a voice from God saying “the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” As God’s people, we have access to God’s vision.

We do not know what caused the Lord to reject Eliab. Maybe he was too ambitious. Maybe he was prone to corruption or to lies. Maybe he was not very bright. Maybe he was not a capable leader. Maybe it was just that David was better. But for whatever reason, God said “no” to Eliab, and Samuel called the next son in, one by one, until it was finally David’s turn. Discerning God’s purpose takes patience. Patience is in short supply and the only way to gain it is by waiting. I see we have plenty of opportunity for waiting today.

God’s selection of David is surprising, in a way. Although in the Ancient Near East “shepherd” was a common metaphor or image used for a king, no one ever really expected dirty, smelly, roughneck shepherds to become kings. It was more of a way to bring the kings’ image down to earth, to give them a human quality. It was like our politicians emphasizing their down-home, of-the-people roots, when we know that they may have worked in the factory, but it was in management. You don’t expect the guy working on the floor to be president some day. And so Jesse doesn’t even call David in at first. After all, he’s the youngest, and he smells like a sheep. But Samuel says, “let’s see him.” And God says “he’s the one.” Now what’s interesting is that when Samuel sees David, he sees that he’s handsome after all! So it’s not that a good appearance is disqualifying, it’s just that God is interested in deeper truths when it comes to the anointed one.

Of course David, though ruddy and handsome, and “the right man for the job,” isn’t perfect. He will disappoint God and come under God’s judgment. He will have this happen many times. But God keeps coming back to David, throughout his life, and David doesn’t sink to the depths of Saul in crossing God’s boundaries. David’s story is a story about grace and humility in the midst of human sins and failings. We all could use this story from time to time.

The beginning of David’s anointed life is a good reminder for us today. Samuel has to learn to look beyond the outwardly available facts to find the person whom God has chosen. David, the chosen one, has to wait in his chosen-ness for God to make real the promises he has given. We are in the middle of a dark and confusing time. But we know what God has promised us. In the middle of this uncertain Lent, we know that Easter is coming with the hope of resurrection and the resurrection of our hope. On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, may we look forward to Easter, and find a reason to laugh with joy in spite of the present reality we see and as we wait for God’s promises to become reality.