"Your Golden Rule"	June 14, 2009
I Samuel 15:34 - 16:13	11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Colesville Presbyterian Church	Pastoral Associate Aaron D. Frank

The text this morning begins abruptly shifting from the last scene in the Saul saga as he is rejected by God for his actions, to the anointing of David--whom his father seemed to have forgotten about.  It's a stark difference from the anointing of Saul.  You'll remember Samuel, the little boy hearing God's call to him while he slept on the floor of the Temple–we looked at a few weeks back.  Samuel grew to be a great prophet, actually a judge, for the Lord.  For years he was the compass, the moral center of Israel.  The people had demanded a King, so upon meeting the handsome Saul and being instructed by God, Samuel anoints Saul and Saul becomes a great leader of the people.  Saul's anointing included prophesies and charismatic utterances.  Israel as a nation rallied around him from the start.  But, he disregards the will of God during a battle, and God's presence leaves him.  He continues to rule, but his power, his authority are gone.  Even the King was not beyond the law.  Samuel, Saul's confidant, his mentor, his partner in leading Israel is distraught.  This is where we find ourselves when the text begins. 

 

God is not done with Israel though.  Hearing God's call, braving treason, Samuel goes to Bethlehem seeking the next King.  Jesse lines his boys up--strong capable young men, ready to receive God's spirit.  Samuel, confused says, “are you sure there are no others?”

          "Oh, well, there's the boy.  He's tending the sheep." 

          "Get him." 

 (As an aside, I'll tell you that I think there is some medieval ivory tower editing going on in this text.  Bright eyes maybe, but a day’s labor and our Habitat for Humanity work crew was pretty dirty.  Living with sheep on a hillside for weeks--handsome isn't the first thing that comes to mind.)

 

The runt of the litter.  Sunburned.  Ruddy.  Dirty.  Stinking of sheep and whatever else he had stepped, or slept, in, David takes his place in line.

          "Yes, he'll do just fine," says Samuel.

 

He is anointed with oil and the Spirit of the Lord washed over him.  From that day forward God was with David.  But, he was just a boy.  Scholar Eugene Peterson notes in his commentary on the books of Samuel, that this is not a usurpation of Saul.  Saul was rejected, and David was anointed.  But, the transition took years.  David was a boy, 10 maybe 12 years old, in no position to lead the people.  There was time for him to grow into the role, time for him to learn how to lead, how to discern right from wrong.

 

For the youth in our congregation that is what this time is for.  (And, I want to speak to them specifically in this sermon and also point out that growing in faith is a lifelong process, so there is always more to learn.)  This is why we have commissioned them for their mission trip and for their conferences this summer.  They are not ready to lead.  But as the litany of commissioning notes, they, and their adult leaders, are made worthy for service in their baptism.  That fact is true for all of you.  In your baptism you are made worthy for the service of the Lord, worthy to serve as witness to the church when you enter the world.  More than worthy to serve, you are called to serve, called to be representative of the grace that God offers us in Christ.  One day the youth of our congregation will be the leaders of the church.  But for now, they must learn, they must deepen their faith.  They must find a voice, a personal voice for their faith, they must come to better know those people whose experiences are different from their own.  So that they may better understand the grace that God gives in Christ.

 

It is only in growing deeper in their faith, in the deepening of each of our personal faiths that we can better know our God and our neighbors.  That's where the sermon title comes from.  "Your Golden Rule."  Yours.  Mine.  Each of ours.  We all know the statement.  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  The golden rule is a timeless concept.  Thinkers predating Jesus have espoused the idea and philosophers and moral theorists to this day still debate the merits and implications of the statement.  It is a subjective statement in the end.  What you may tolerate, I wouldn't. And, vice versa. It's only in living in the world, in exposing ourselves to the diversity of our society, of our city that we can come to understand and better employ that golden rule.  It's only by placing ourselves in the shoes of our neighbors that we can truly understand and employ the meaning of the rule.  Whether we call it empathy or immersion it transforms our faith. 

 

These events that the youth will be participating in over the coming weeks will be opportunities for just such a transformation.  In Reading, we'll meet families that are in desperate need of help.  In working, we'll see our faith acted out in painting, shoveling and who knows what else.  At Massanetta and Montreat, the opportunities for deepening our faith will be constant in the activities-in song and worship, small group discussion and group activities.  The importance of this learning can't be known today.  5 or 10 years from now, these experiences may mark turning points in the faith journeys of our youth.  Like David taking years to learn his role after being anointed, our young people, will continue on their path toward leadership in these events. 

 

This growth is not limited to the youth though.  Yesterday, a group from the church participated in a Habitat for Humanity work day.  We gutted a house in Kensington for a woman.  It was fulfilling work.  Physically, certainly.  But spiritually too.  I say this humbly, we broadened our community.  A statistic was replaced with a face and a name, Anne.   The nightly news reports of "millions of Americans" was replaced with one American, at specific address just a few minutes from here.  Not that it was ever acceptable in my book, but the phrase, "those people" immediately became my neighbor, Anne.

 

A while back I was at a shelter volunteering on a Saturday.  As we were working, one of the youth leaned over to me and asked, "are all these people homeless."  "Yes."  "But he's wearing Air Jordan's. His shoes are nicer than mine," the boy said.  We had a longer conversation, but it simply didn't register in his mind that homelessness didn't necessarily mean destitute.  When we can see our own problems and our own experiences in those neighbors who seem most different from us, then we are more capable of truly exercising that Golden Rule.  My prayer for the youth is that they will grow deeper in faith through the experiences of work and worship over the coming weeks.  That prayer is equally appropriate for you, the congregation.  May we seek to know our neighbors, to serve our community and to love one another as Christ loves us. 
 

Amen.