One Little Word

Anointed by God

Lessons:
     1st Samuel 16:1-13
     Psalm 23
     Ephesians 5:8-14
     St. John 9:1-41

Prayer of the Day:
     Bend your ear to our prayers, Lord Christ, and come among us. By your gracious life and death for us, bring light into the darkness of our hearts, and anoint us with your Spirit, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

^16.1 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.” ^2 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.’ ^3 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.” ^4 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?” ^5 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.

^6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” ^7 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.” ^8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ^9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ^10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ^11 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.” ^12 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.” ^13 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.

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1st Samuel 16:1-13, New Revised Standard Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

In 1980 I enrolled as a student at Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. That Fall, I took a class in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. One Monday morning, after a particularly difficult assignment was due the previous Friday, the professor entered the classroom with a handful of papers. He looked out at the class, shook his head, and muttered, “Sometimes I wonder about the people God calls to ministry.” We took that to mean he wasn’t terribly impressed with our work. (We quickly found out he wasn’t impressed at all…)

I thought of him as I studied the lessons for this coming Sunday. The truth is: God doesn’t call people to ministry based on their qualifications – at least not based on the kinds of qualifications that the logic of this world usually values.

This week’s lesson from the Hebrew Bible tells the story of the anointing of King David. We think of him as ancient Israel’s greatest king. He is remembered as a mighty warrior, a stirring poet, an inspiring leader, a flawed yet faithful servant of God, an impressive man. But that is not how his story starts out.

Samuel (prophet of God who had anointed King Saul to be Israel’s first king) was sent by God to Bethlehem where David and his family lived. Saul had been unfaithful, and God was ready to appoint a new king to be his successor. God already know who that king would be – it was one of Jesse’s sons. And so a bit reluctant (fearing that King Saul might find out what he was up to and be less than pleased), Samuel makes his way to Bethlehem, where Jesse rolls out his sons one by one. Eliab. Abinadab. Shammah. Nethanel. Raddai. Ozem. Elihu. Samuel looked over these seven sons of Jesse, and each time he told Jesse, “No – this isn’t the one God has chosen.”

Finally, Samuel asks, “Are all your sons here?” Almost reluctantly, Jesse admits that there is one more son. But he is just a kid – the runt of the litter. He isn’t strong or learned or skilled like these older, more impressive sons. Jesse hasn’t even bothered to have his youngest son nearby. He is out in the fields, tending the sheep, while his father and older brothers are meeting with the prophet from Jerusalem. Samuel abruptly tells Jesse that he’ll wait. Have him brought here.

And so David is brought back to Bethlehem. The moment Samuel sets eyes on him, God says, “This is the one.” Samuel anoints him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord fills David. From here on, it is only a matter of time.

This story reminds us that God doesn’t choose only the strongest, the smartest, the most skilled, or the most impressive to be involved in ministry. It is not what we bring to the table that determines our effectiveness as instruments of God’s kingdom. It is the blessing of God upon us. It is the Spirit of God within us. It is the willingness of God to work through us to make extraordinary things happen, despite our shortcomings.

David would become the greatest King of Israel. Not because of who he was (perhaps despite who he was!), but because of who God is. And you and I – we too will become instrumental on God’s behalf… because of who God is. Amen.

David J. Risendal, Pastor (February 26, 2008)

 Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. Why did God choose David to be the second king of Israel?
2. Why did God not choose any of David’s older brothers?
3. What other examples are present in the Bible, when God chooses someone we wouldn’t expect?

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. What weaknesses and flaws do I have that make me a less-than-stellar candidate for ministry?
2. How might God transform me to be an effective servant of the Gospel?
3. What ministry do I suspect God might want me to consider?

Messengers with Good News

Lessons:
     Exodus 17:1-7
     Psalm 95
     Romans 5:1-11
     St. John 4:5-42

Prayer of the Day:
     Merciful God, the fountain of living water, you quench our thirst and wash away our sin. Give us this water always. Bring us to drink from the well that flows with the beauty of your truth through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

^4.5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸ (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹² Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” ¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” ¹⁷ The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” ¹⁹ The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

²⁷ Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹ “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” ³⁰ They left the city and were on their way to him.

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. ³⁶ The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷ For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹ Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of his word. ⁴² They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

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 St. John 4:5-42, New Revised Standard Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Someone asked me this question recently: “What does it mean to be evangelical?” It is a word that is thrown about indiscriminately these days. In the political arena we have heard considerable speculation about how much power the evangelical right has – or had. In the social arena, we hear that those who don’t believe in Christ are often wary of anyone who is described as “evangelical” – assuming that they will attempt to proselytize them. In the religious arena, we most often associate the word evangelical with the desire to respond to the Great Commission (the last words of Jesus in St. Matthew 28:18-20), which calls us to “make disciples of all nations.”

Here at Saint Peter, we are members of the Evangelical  Lutheran Church in America, and so I suppose it is fair game that someone should think to ask a Lutheran Pastor what it means to be evangelical. My answer to that question is always to try and tease out the meaning of the Greek word a bit. It is an interesting word, made up of the Greek roots for good (eu) and angel (angellos). If you take the meaning of angellos to be “a messenger” (the most common Greek meaning), an evangelical is a messenger with good news. I like that for a description of our calling as followers of Jesus Christ. We are messengers with good news – the Good News of Jesus Christ.

That, of course, raises a few questions. First of all, we might ask, What is good, about the news we’ve received about Jesus? How is it that our faith in Jesus makes a positive difference in our lives? Which brings up a related question: What is good about being members of a Christian church? How is it that being members of Saint Peter (or, for those of you who aren’t members of Saint Peter, your own church) makes a positive difference in our lives? And then, the most important question: once we’ve answered these questions, how is it that we discover ways to communicate our answers to those who don’t yet share our faith?

That’s what the Samaritan woman in this weekend’s Gospel lesson did. She had the extraordinary privilege of a long conversation with Jesus (the longest conversation Jesus has with anyone, in all of the four Gospels). She was touched very deeply by this conversation, and immediately left to tell the people of her town about him. John tells us that many people came to believe in Jesus because of her words. And once they came to him, and persuaded him to spend a couple days in their town, many more of them came to believe because of his words.

I’m quite sure that this Samaritan woman didn’t make a theological case for believing Jesus was the Messiah. She didn’t offer an iron-clad argument as to why someone should be drawn to Jesus instead of the local Samaritan gods, or the Buddha, or the power of positive thinking, or any other theological or philosophical framework for living. She simply described to them her experience with Jesus, and invited them to come and see for themselves. And they did.

That’s evangelism! Simply describing how it is that Jesus has made a difference for us, and inviting others to experience it too. It may be that those others find something entirely different to appreciate about Jesus than we’ve found. Our job is not to control their experience – but simply to share ours, and pray that it inspires them. So… how is it that your faith has made a difference for you? That’s the question this week.

David J. Risendal, Pastor  (February 19, 2008)

 Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. What is good, about the news we’ve received about Jesus?
2. How is it that our faith in Jesus makes a positive difference in our lives?
3. What is good, about being members of a Christian church?

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. Who has shared their faith with me in a way that has become a compelling witness?
2. What am I willing to do to share my faith with others?
3. Who do I know that does not share my faith? How might I encourage them towards Jesus?

Nicodemus

Lessons:
     Genesis 12:1-4a
     Psalm 121
     Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
     St. John 3:1-17

Prayer of the Day:
     O God, our leader and guide, in the waters of baptism you bring us to new birth to live as your children. Strengthen our faith in your promises, that by your Spirit we may lift up your life to all the world through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

^3.1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶ What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹ Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹ “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ¹⁷ Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

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St. John 3:1-17, New Revised Standard Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Have you heard about the man? He comes from some small little place up north. Everybody is talking about him. He’s stirred up the whole city. Wherever he goes, there are dozens of people following him. They say that you could hardly get through the crowd that was listening to him in the Temple the other day.

I hear that he is an amazing teacher. He has squared off with the best of the teachers in town, and is so smart that he makes them sound like children. He knows more about the Bible than anyone. Some have tried to trap him in his words, but they’ve failed. He teaches differently than most teachers. He doesn’t say, “Rabbi Ben Eleazar says this.” or “Rabbi Joseph says this.” He just tells it like he sees it. I suppose that is why the crowds are so attracted to him. I wonder if he really is that good.

But that’s not the half of it. They say that he has this ability; a kind of magic ability. They say he can perform miracles. There was this wedding up in Cana, near where he grew up, and the wine ran out. He was able to turn three huge jugs of water into the finest wine anyone had ever tasted. Then there was this fisherman whose mother was very ill. He actually healed her – made her better right then and there. She got out of her sick bed, and started partying with them. I wonder if it what they say about him is really true. I wonder if he really can do miraculous things like that.

I’d love to go and find out for myself. I’d love to listen to what he is teaching, and see if he is as good as they say he is. I’d love to see him do one of those miracles – oh I’d really love that! But there is no way. I don’t dare be seen in public with this guy. You see: I’ve worked all my life to get to where I am today. I’ve spent years studying, and then years working grunt jobs in the Temple. Now I’m one of the best-known leaders in Jerusalem. I’m a Pharisee, you know. I love my work. And I wouldn’t do anything to risk losing it all.

Not everyone has the same attitude as me. The others: they think he is crazy, or maybe even teaching in a way that is wrong, or dangerous. They want to get rid of him. They’re worried that he’ll lead the people astray. They’ve already started making plans. They want to arrest him, and get him out of the city. They don’t dare do it when anyone is watching. They’re afraid of what the crowds will do. But they’re a pretty clever bunch. If it is possible to get rid of him, they’ll probably be able to do it.

No, I don’t dare be seen with him. They’d accuse me of being one of his followers. Then they’d want to do away with me too, and I‘d lose everything. My job downtown. My salary (which, I might tell you, is a pretty big one). My nice house. My membership at the club. All the invitations I get to parties and events and receptions. Oh, if I ever was caught with him, I’d lose it all…

But I’m dying to know if he is half of what the people say he is. What should I do? How can I find out, without the others knowing what I’m up to? I wonder if it would be worth going to him in secret. I might get discovered, and I’d rather die. But on the other hand, if I went in the middle of the night, who would see me? And then, maybe, I might get to see if he is really all that he’s cracked up to be. I wonder if it would be worth the risk. I wonder if I could get away with it…

David J. Risendal, Pastor  (February 13, 2008)

Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. Why do you suppose Nicodemus went to visit Jesus in the dark of night?
2. What did he have to lose if he got caught?
3. What did he have to gain by spending time with Jesus?

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. Are there times or situations when I find myself reluctant to be identified as a Christian?
2. What might I have to lose if certain people knew about my faith?
3. How would people’s reaction to me be different if they could tell by what I say and by what I do that I am a Christian?

Lessons:
     Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
     Psalm 32
     Romans 5:12-19
     St. Matthew 4:1-11

Prayer of the Day:
     Lord God, our strength, the struggle between good and evil rages within and around us, and the devil and all the forces that defy you tempt us with empty promises.  Keep us steadfast in your Word and, when we fall, raise us again and restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

^4.1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³ The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹ and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

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St. Matthew 4:1-11, New Revised Standard Version Bible (C) 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.