Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sermon: "David and Goliath:The
Power of Being Small"
Scripture: I Samuel 17: 1-11, 19-23
Reverend Larry Gerber
A girl, a soldier, a mole and a shepherd discover that you don't need to be huge to be a historical heavyweight.
Three quick stories, with one common theme:
Story One. In about 500 B.C., it is said that Gautama Buddha meditated alone in an Indian cave for 40 days, and then staggered out -- nearly dead from starvation. A girl from a nearby village saw him, and offered him some milk and rice pudding. Energized by this snack, Buddha walked to the famous tree under which he meditated and achieved enlightenment. The village girl gave a small gift that launched an entire religion.
Story Two. In the early 1700s, the French army had come close to taking the citadel in the city of Turin in northern Italy. But then a common Italian soldier developed a clever plan ? he armed a mine in a tunnel, lured the French army closer, and then blew himself up, along with his enemies. This event turned the tide of the battle, and eventually the war. A single soldier took out an entire army.
Story Three. When William of Orange assumed the English, Irish and Scottish thrones in the year 1689, a group of opponents called the Jacobites took action to overthrow him. But they were unsuccessful in their efforts. One day, a little mole kicked up a clump of dirt which tripped William's horse, threw the rider and shattered the king's collarbone. As he tried to recover from this fall, William caught pneumonia and died. For years afterward, the Jacobites toasted this mole, calling him the "Little Gentleman in Black Velvet." The tiny mammal had helped to eliminate their nemesis, William of Orange.
Three stories, one theme: Small can be surprisingly strong and effective.
Duke University basketball team went up against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the 1991 Final Four of that year's March Madness basketball tournament. Las Vegas was predicted to win by at least 12 points. They were bigger, statistically better and faster. Virtually everyone thought Las Vegas was going to triumph, and some predicted that the game would be a blowout -- after all, they had crushed Duke the year before, winning the championship game by 30 points.
In the locker room before the game, Coach Mike Krzyzewski -- known as Coach K -- gave his Duke Blue Devils a message that was surprisingly biblical. He compared their situation to that of the contest between David and Goliath. Duke was described as the little shepherd who was ready to go out on the hardwood and do battle with the mighty Las Vegas giant.
Coach K reminded his team of who they were and where they had come from during the year. He told them that if they believed, anything could happen. Duke went out the underdog, the David of basketball, and defeated the giant Las Vegas Goliath. That year, Duke won its first NCAA basketball championship.
The story of David and Goliath offers a contest that appears to be a completely lopsided mismatch. David is "just a boy," says Saul, the king of Israel, while Goliath "has been a warrior from his youth" (1 Samuel 17:33). There seems to be no way that David the shepherd can prevail against 10-foot-tall Goliath of Gath, standing strong with a helmet of bronze, a coat of mail, a javelin, a spear, a sword and a shield (vv. 5-7).
"You come to me with sword and spear and javelin," says David to Goliath, "but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head" (vv. 45-46).
David knows that if he believes, anything can happen. He's convinced that the battle is not his, it is the Lord's. Trusting God all the way, David runs quickly toward the battle line, flings a stone at the Philistine, and knocks him to the ground. Then he draws Goliath's own sword, and uses it to cut off the giant's head (vv. 48-51).
"I come to you in the name of the Lord," says little David. "This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand" (vv. 45-46). David is not full of self-confidence as he faces the giant -- he is full of God-confidence. He knows that if you believe, anything can happen. He trusts that God will deliver Goliath into his hand, and God does just that.
When you talk about the power of small, you are really talking about the power of God.
Lone individuals as well as even small churches can do big things for God -- because this thought, that the power of small is the power of God, is the key to the surprising success of many individuals and small churches that attempt to do big things for God. They know that their own powers are limited, so they are willing to put their confidence in God, and trust that "the battle is the LORD's" (v. 47).
Individuals: I have always been rather small in stature. On top of that, my brother, older than me by six years, always took me with him to the neighborhood gatherings for basketball, baseball, and other gatherings of his friends, also six years older than me. The others did not bring their smaller siblings, if they had them).
On one occasion my brother and his friends were playing basketball on the barn floor, which was common in our rural community. I was about half the size of my brother's friends. I wanted to play basketball with them. They said it was ok as long as I didn't become a crybaby if I got knocked down, etc. Being smaller and somewhat quicker I was able to dodge them most of the time and get the ball past them, sometimes through their legs, to my teammate at the other end. I could jump in front of them and intercept the ball on a long through from the other team. Oh, I got knocked down, and I got my bumps and bruises, but I also got respect for my willingness to take the bumps and play hard.
On another occasion my brother took be along to a birthday party of one of his friends. Yes, the kids at the part were six years older than me. Of course it was a mixture of boys and girls. They were around 16 and I was 10. Yes, smaller than all of them. One boy kept teasing me, trying to pick a fight with me because he knew he could not win a fight with those his own age. My brother stood up and said, "Go ahead, Larry, hit him, he is asking for it." Others chimed in as well. The boy told me to stand up on the step so that I would be at eye level with him. He said: "Go ahead, you hit me first." I asked him to please remove his glasses as I could not hit someone with glasses on. He insisted that I would miss him anyway so he would not have to remove his glasses. Well, the chant was on: "Hit him, hit him, hit him". I had heard enough and let out with a left jab to his nose. His glasses went flying and his nose bled profusely. Oh, yea, his nose was broken. He began to cry and hollered: "Ok, ok, enough, you win.:" The adrenaline was flying high and I offered: "Who's next, come on." My brother to the rescue said that it was time to go home?my first and only physical fight was a huge success and I knew that I could conquer the world.
What I didn't know was that lesson was the beginning of my challenge to fight for the Lord the rest of my life. The personal fight to prove myself had to be cast away while I accepted the call to be a minister of the gospel and fight for God.
Small people, small churches: Clearly, individuals can make a difference, and so can small congregations. Our nation is saturated with these churches -- in fact, half of all congregations contain fewer than 100 adults who participate on a regular basis. These churches are full of people with close personal bonds and a high level of commitment -- folks who faithfully deliver Meals on Wheels, organize arts and crafts for Vacation Bible School, show up to paint the church kitchen, and assist their immigrant neighbors by teaching English as a Second Language.
"The 21st century is the century of small, strong congregations," says Kennon Callahan, predicting that around the planet "the vast majority of people will be in these congregations." From rural areas to urban centers, he believes that people will continue to be drawn to the "immediacy, intimacy and nearness" that small, strong congregations provide.
St. Thomas' [Episcopal Church in the village of Winn, Maine] has stood on a rise above the Penobscot River for 139 years, its unlocked doors welcoming all those who venture up the hill. Winn was once a bustling town with a hotel, a tannery and a railroad station. Now a couple of hundred folk share a post office and a general store. The tiny, gothic St. Thomas Church draws its membership from an area roughly the size of the state of Delaware. During the course of its ministry, the congregation has mothered four other congregations, one of which still remains open.
"The current congregation of St. Thomas is now composed mostly of elders and half a dozen children. All members voluntarily contribute to the congregation's discretionary fund, but there is wide educational and economic diversity in the congregation. Some members never finished high school, while others have graduate degrees. Some have traveled throughout the world, while others have never left the state of Maine. Some have steady employment, but others have never recovered from the closure of the paper mills. ?At the altar, however, all these differences melt away,' says Carolyn W. Metzler, the congregation's vicar. ?Then people come forward, kneel -- as they are able -- and stretch out their open hands.' The smallness of the congregation enables Metzler to know people by their hands alone, ?cupped in front of them and waiting for the holy bread. Dimpled, creased, arthritic, calloused, ringed, bony, pudgy, thumbless, tilted, open, all waiting expectantly.'"
St. Thomas is growing in numbers and in faithfulness. It will never be a large church, but the congregation is steadfast in its ministry in the community, particularly to those most in need.
Small churches realize that their own powers are limited, so they put their confidence in God. Like David, they know that "the Lord does not save by sword and spear" ? or by high-tech sights and sounds in the sanctuary (v. 47). They realize that their budgets cannot support the expensive equipment of larger and wealthier churches, so they pick up their five smooth stones and their sling, and face their Goliaths with faith alone (v. 40).
The power of small is the power of God.
Nothing more, nothing less.
But what a force it is: It's the power of compassion that inspires a young girl to give milk and rice pudding to a hungry stranger. It's the power of sacrifice that enables a soldier to offer his life to save his city. It's the power of justice that drives a group of Christians to confront deeply rooted racism in their community. It's the power of community that creates close personal bonds and a high level of commitment in a 75-member church.
Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church: large and small at the same time -- offers the large church facility, but has a Mission Statement that reads: We are a family of Christians united in faith reaching out to others." And our vision statement says: " To make Jesus Christ real in our community."
We are a large church, in numbers and facility, but within the immensity and complexity of the whole we have one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. We have many cells within the larger honeycomb, and as the honey bees know which cell is their responsibility we need to know which cell of our honeycomb we, as individuals, needs to be responsible for.
I hold the title of Sr. Pastor, CEO by some, Head Honcho, Chief in Residence, and more, but there is no way I can comprehend the entire make up of our church. We have many cells that make up the honey comb called the church. Each cell must not only take responsibility for the stability of that cell, but those working in that one cell must be sure it is securely fastened to all other cells or the honeycomb will crumble
Large churches can form small groups that provide the intimacy and nearness that small, strong congregations provide. Prominent leaders in the church and community can set aside their self-confidence and pick up some God-confidence. Just as David put down the helmet, sword and coat of mail that had been given to him by King Saul, we can strip ourselves of the layers of pride and self-assurance and be the free and faithful people we are supposed to be.
We, as a church, large or small, are called to offer: Compassion. Sacrifice. Justice. Community.
Our mission and vision statements say that we are a family of Christians united in faith to make Jesus real to the community. Are we standing tall and proud of our Christian heritage? Are we doing all that we can and should be doing for the Kingdom? Have we silenced the giant that would erode making Jesus Christ real to the community? Do we have cells that have a strong connection with all of the other cells in our network? Is our honeycomb solid? Are you feeling connected to a cell in our honey comb? Are you working in the cell God has called you to serve? Do we need new cells? Will you start one?
Sources:
Biga, Leo Adam. "A contrary path to social justice." Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductee Father John Markoe. omahablackmusic.com.
Callahan, Kennon L. Small, Strong Congregations: Creating Strengths and Health for Your Congregation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2000. 12, 13, 17, 61.
Kujawa-Holbrook, Sheryl A. "A Saving Remnant: Vitality in Small Congregations." Congregations, Spring 2007. alban.org.
Niebuhr, Gustav. "Religion journal: How to harness the power of small congregations." The New York Times, March 17, 2001, nytimes.com.
Wood, Graeme. "Little guys who became historical heavyweights." mental_floss, March-April 2008, 16.
