David Anointed King

Scripture:

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Quick Summary:

God doesn’t pick the oldest or tallest son to be king over his people. God picked the scrawny one that Jesse didn’t even bother to call in from watching sheep in the fields.  

The Point:

God does not look at the outside but at the heart.

Questions for Family Time:

                  1.      What was the story today about?

             a.    God picked David to be king.

                  2.      Was he the biggest? The strongest? The loudest?

         a.      No.

                  3.      Why do you think David was picked?

a.      It wasn’t anything on the outside. God knew his heart, and knew he would be a good king.                   

Deeper:

I am the third of four kids, and it always seemed my older brother and sister got everything. They got to be Mary and Joseph in the Christmas play. I got stuck being a sheep. My sister got the cool new clothes. I got her hand-me-downs.

What was a little true for me, was a lot more true for David. David was stuck with hand-me-downs that had been worn by 7 different boys before they got to him. While his brothers got the honorable jobs at the right hand of his father and later as soldiers in the army, David was stuck watching sheep all day. On top of that, the oldest son got the birthright and twice as much inheritance, not the 8^th son. He didn’t just feel forgotten. He was. His father hadn’t even bothered to call him in when the prophet Samuel visited his house.

But God saw David. He saw in David the gifts needed to be king. He saw David’s confidence in God and bravery when predators came to steal sheep. That would make a great Commander-in-Chief. He heard David’s songs of worship and knew that David loved God and would put him first. God already knew that one day, David would be remembered as the king “after God’s own heart.” He saw in David someone who could admit when he messed up. He saw someone who would show mercy when possible. He saw the traits of leadership that David’s father Jesse missed.

God sees us, too. No matter how ugly, stupid, or invisible we feel, God sees the real us underneath. He sees what really matters. He sees how we trust him when we are scared. He hears our prayers filled with love and adoration. He knows when we are willing to forgive someone who may not deserve it. He knows what is in our hearts. He doesn’t choose according to the world’s standards of attraction or charisma. He chooses according to our willingness to be molded into what he needs us to be.

      There is a popular saying that goes like this: God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called. I think that is true for David. There were things he still had to learn, and as we hear his stories this semester, we will discover he made mistakes. But God called him to be king knowing him. And God did a good job choosing him because David would become the best king in all of Israel’s history. In fact, he would be so good that to this day his ancestors, the Jews, would be identified by the Star of David. He was so good that when Jesus, God’s own son came he would be complimented with the name Son of David.

Personal Reflection:

What do you think God sees when he looks into your heart? What does he see that the world may have missed? How is he calling the best in you to change the world?

Fortitude: Being Brave

Scripture:

John 19:38-42

Quick Summary:

Joseph and Nicodemus were scared of following Jesus. But when all of Jesus’ disciples abandoned and denied him at the cross, it was these two scared men who risked their lives so that Jesus could have a proper burial.

The Point:

Joseph and Nicodemus showed fortitude. Fortitude is when God give us the courage to do what is right.

Questions for Family Time:

                  1.      What was the story today about?

             a.    When Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

                  2.      Who helped Jesus ?

         a.      Joseph and Nicodemus carried him to the tomb.

                  3.      Were Joseph and Nicodemus disciples?

        a.      They were too scared to be disciples, but became brave in the end.

Deeper:

I heard it said recently that it’s not how you begin but how you end. That pretty much sums up the story of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Both believed in Jesus, but both kept their opinions to themselves. They didn’t follow Jesus because they were afraid others would find out. They both had a lot to lose. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and Joseph sat on the council that requested Jesus’ crucifixion. They both would lose their friends, their careers, and their faith communities if they were outed as Jesus followers.

I imagine that the disciples of Jesus looked down their noses at these men of little faith. After all, The Twelve gave up all they had to follow Jesus and were always with him in front of crowds or sitting at the temple.  How telling it is that The Twelve are nowhere to be found when Jesus finally died on the cross. Fear of the crosses that lay in wait for them tempted them to abandon their leader. They had spoken of bravery and rebellion while Jesus was alive, but now that he hang dying, they were nowhere to be seen.

Only the two scaredy-cats remained. Joseph, who never had the courage during Jesus’ life, now courageously honors Jesus’ body in death. He goes to Pilate himself and requests permission to take down the body.  There goes his career. Then, with Nicodemus’ help, he wrapped it in new cloth and fragrant spices. There goes their faith community. Matthew tells us that Joseph put Jesus in his own new tomb, never used before, and rolled a stone in front of it. There goes his friends and family relationships.  But those things now are not as important as they were. What is most important now is that Jesus is buried with dignity, not allowed to suffer the shame of being picked apart by birds like so many criminals. Honoring Jesus became more important to these men than what they stood to lose.

Even in death, Jesus was still transforming lives. He took these two men too scared to stand up to their peers, and used them to prepare the way for his resurrection only a few days later.

Perhaps you have felt like Joseph and Nicodemus. God has called you, but you have ignored that call because it would totally change your life. Maybe you have watched others follow Jesus, as you believe in him in secret. If so, than hear this Easter the good news: Jesus needs you. He needs you to honor him and to give the best of what you have, so that through your gift he can bring new life. Take courage, for out of your fortitude God will do something beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

Personal Reflection:

When have you been scared to live out your faith? What would you have to give up to live out your faith? What new life could God bring from you courage to do what is right?

Justice: Being Fair

Scripture:

Luke 21:1-4

Quick Summary:

Jesus saw people giving their money to the temple when a poor widow put in just two coins. He said she put more than all the others, because she gave a big portion of what she had. She gave more in God’s eyes even though she gave less in people’s eyes. God sees what is fair, but that is not always the same. Our virtue is Justice. It is treating everyone fair. 

The Point:

Justice is about being fair to everyone. Being just means helping the people who need it most the most.  

Questions for Family Time:

                  1.      Who gave the most money in the story?

a.     the rich

                  2.      Who did Jesus say gave the most?

a.      the poor widow

                  3.      Why did Jesus say she gave the most?

a.      She gave the most of what she had.(proportionally, she gave more than the rich)

Deeper:

Justice in our society is often understood as people getting the punishment they deserve. The Bible talks about justice in a much broader sense. It is fairness for all people. Often God is found telling his people that they need to seek justice for the oppressed, not by punishing individual oppressors, but breaking down oppressive systems in their society and empowering the oppressed to rise above their circumstances.

When our nonprofit organizations ask for donations, they recognize the biggest gifts. They put up plaques with the largest donations on their walls. The biggest givers are recognized the most. Those big givers are often the ones who have the most to give. They are wealthy businesses and families. They are NOT poor widows. They are the people at the other end of the spectrum of wealth. Recognizing the biggest gifts which happened to be donated by the riches people was the same during Jesus’ time. The people of Jesus’s time expected that was how God recognized their too gifts. Then Jesus came along and called a measly 2 coins the largest gift. That gift wasn’t worth recognizing. It wasn’t enough to run the temple, to feed the priests, to care for the building, to buy oil for the candles or wood for the altars.   It was nothing.

Widow in the Scripture is code for “someone with nothing.” A widow had no husband or sons, and with them no land rights or ability to make a living. They were at a dead end. This is why Jesus consistently reached out to them as the poorest of the poor and makes them the hero of his stories. With one word he described a person of the utmost lowest class without the ability to rise. Not only this, but this position was not due to things under their control. They didn’t deserve to be in the position they were in. They were someone that any group of people could have sympathy for. That poor widow.

And yet, Jesus makes her the hero.

Jesus said the widow’s was the largest gift because God counts by the proportion of what we have to what we give. The rich men maybe gave 3% of their income that day. All their needs were met and that money was just extra rattling around their pockets. The widow, though, was poor. Those two coins easily could have been 50% of her income for the day. Jesus recognized the sacrifice she was making in giving such a large proportion to God. She was not giving God the extra after all her needs were met. She gave to God and trusted he would meet her needs.

Jesus didn’t advocate for the widow giving the same as the rich men. He advocated justice. Justice was seeing that in the widow’s case, the amount of money was not equal to the size of gift. Justice was recognizing her gift was more sacrificial. Justice was looking passed the coins to where (and who) they came from.

God always sees in terms of justice. He cares about lifting up the oppressed. He is less concerned about how much has to be given to them than about them ending up equals at the end. In school, some kids need more help with reading, but at the end, we want every kid to read well. That is justice. Justice is not giving them all the same help in reading, but making sure they all end up proficient. That is how God sees us, and how he wants us to see others. He doesn’t want us only seeing the gifts people give to society. He wants us to see the people behind those gifts. He wants us to recognize that some gifts that seem tiny are enormous.

Personal Reflection:

When have you seen a tiny gift really be an enormous one because of the one giving it? How do you teach your kids to stand up for others, especially people who might be labeled as oppressed or poor? How do you stand up for them? What would be a big sacrifice for you to give to God?