Christmas at Luke's

Christmas at Luke’s

December 15, 2024
Luke 2:1-14

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

 Luke 2:8-14

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Let’s just be honest.  When it comes to Christmas, Luke’s house is messy.  Mark didn’t even decorate and Matthew stuck to a deeply traditional family gathering with guests worthy of the royal occasion.  Luke, on the other hand, will invite anybody to the party, even filthy shepherds on night watch. 

One can imagine Luke at the grocery store that morning handing out invitations to every cashier and bagger, and then there’s one for the lady at the drive thru window and one for the mail carrier and the garbage collector.  Oh, and don’t forget the homeless guy under the bridge and the drunken crowd with no place to go after last call at the bar.  Any chance we can get a special day pass for the local convicts while we’re at it?

“Hey, there’s a new baby at the little run down shack at the end of the dirt road!  Actually he’s in the shed in the back yard in an old cattle trough, but never mind that.   Everybody come see!” 

Matthew needs to make sure his Jewish audience recognizes God’s faithfulness to them and their ancestors, but Luke has no such concern.  His primary audience already stands outside the religious “members only” club.  Of course there are Gentiles in Matthew like the magi, and there are Jews in Luke, like Simeon and Ana, and possibly even the shepherds (we don’t know).  It’s not that Matthew is excluding outsiders or that Luke is being dismissive of the insiders.  It’s the same message, the same invitation, just for a different audience.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city.”  This is exactly what Luke wants to make clear.  Jesus has come for ALL people.  He’s not just a “Christian” Savior or a “Jewish” Savior.  He’s not just the Savior for people of a particular nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, or political affiliation.  He’s not just the Savior for the wealthy or powerful.  He’s not just the Savior for those who are clean and have their lives all put together.  He’s not just the Savior for those who are considered “respectable” in society.  He is YOUR Savior too!

We love to sing “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine and “Jesus loves me, this I know,” but are we as willing to look in the face of the one we don’t want around and say “Jesus is yours too… Jesus loves you too”?

As we move from one gospel account to the next, the scope of the incarnation just keeps expanding.  Christ comes to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.  This Kingdom comes through the Jews and the son of David AND this Kingdom is wonderful, joyous news for ALL people.  I wonder, who else might Luke be telling you to invite for Christmas this year?

 Listen to full sermon here

Christmas at Matthew's

Christmas at Matthew’s

December 8, 2024
Matthew 1:18-25; 2:13-15, 19-23

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly.  As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  

Matthew 1:18-20

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Overall, Matthew draws heavily on Mark’s account of Jesus life, death and resurrection, but as we saw last week, Mark doesn’t give Matthew much to work with when it comes to Jesus’ birth.  We don’t know Matthew’s source material for the first few chapters, but we do know that he is very intentional about the way he frames the story.  Matthew relies heavily on the hope of Israel’s prophets and he even begins his story with a genealogy tracing Jesus’ family lineage through Abraham and David. 

Christmas at Matthew’s house is a great big family reunion, but when we look closely at the genealogy, we find that he even invites a few of the “black sheep” that some would rather not see at the reunion.  Outsiders ranging from Rahab to the Magi get a seat and Matthew’s table, but it is clearly still Israel’s table. 

At the end of the day it is Joseph, son of David, who is addressed first by the angel.  Joseph must fully embrace Jesus as his own son, to adopt him as a legal part of David’s household, despite the questionable circumstances around his conception.  

I can only imagine how Joseph must have felt being addressed as a “son of David.”  As an ordinary craftsman, his “royal” lineage did not carry much weight.  King Herod was on the throne and he was little more than a puppet of the Roman Empire.  There was no “son of David” waiting in the wings to save Israel from their oppressors this time.  The idea that Joseph would be in line for the throne must have seemed as laughable to him as the idea of having a child in her extremely old age seemed to Sarah. 

But this is precisely Matthew’s point.  He builds on Mark’s emphasis that this Jesus is indeed the son of God and will usher in God’s kingdom, but Matthew also knows that for his people, none of Jesus’ signs or wonders will mean much without some serious credentials in the Messianic bloodline. 

While Christmas for Mark is all about Jesus’ messianic activity through his life, death and resurrection, Matthew’s Christmas is all about family.  Who is Jesus’ family?  Where does he come from?  Can he truly be the one we have waited for? From the genealogy to the announcement to Joseph and even to the foreign astrologers who see the sign of a new king in Israel, everything about Matthew’s Christmas story points to this simple truth, that Jesus is indeed the heir to David’s throne. 

The Jewish people have gotten a bad wrap in history and even in the gospels as they are often made scapegoats for Jesus’ death.  Matthew reminds us, however, that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel.  Gentile Christians are not a replacement for the Jews.  Instead we see God’s promise to Abraham fulfilled, that through him and the nation of Israel, all nations would feast together on God’s Holy Mountain and God, Emmanuel, would come and dine with us.

Listen to the full sermon here

Christmas at Mark's

Christmas at Mark’s

December 1, 2024
Mark 1:1-11

The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, happened just as it was written about in the prophecy of Isaiah:

Look, I am sending my messenger before you.
He will prepare your way,
a voice shouting in the wilderness:
        “Prepare the way for the Lord;
        make his paths straight.

Mark 1:1-3

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Wait, what… how is this the beginning of the good news?  What’s going on here Mark?  Where’s the angel chorus, the miraculous birth, the shepherds in the field and the wise men from afar?  Where’s the manger and that “sweet little Jesus boy” we love to sing about this time of year?

The first time we see Jesus in Mark’s gospel is at his baptism, sometime around age 30.  As comedian Mark Lowery says, “God is in the house, isn’t somebody keeping a journal!” 

Christmas at Mark’s house must have been a little… well… non-existent.  If the four gospel writers were neighbors, it appears Mark would be the Scrooge of the crew… no tree, no lights, no presents, no cookies.  For 30 years Jesus has been walking around and Mark doesn’t even seem to know he was born until he shows up at the river where some strange prophet eating locusts and wearing camels hair is calling the people to repentance in preparation for the coming kingdom of God. 

What’s more, Mark’s is actually the earliest gospel account we have, likely dating to more than 30 years after Jesus’ death and at least 10 to 15 years before Matthew’s version of the story (25 to 30 years before Luke or John).  Could you imagine waiting that long for the next iPhone or Android upgrade?  The world was clearly a lot slower back then.

The bottom line is this, for roughly the first 85 years from the time of Jesus’s birth, there was no written account of the Christmas story at all.  Mark is the first that we know of to record anything about Jesus’ life and teachings and he starts recording only 3 years before the end.  It would seem he came a little late to the party.

On the other hand, birthdays were really not very significant in the ancient world.  Birth narratives in Rome were often more mythological accounts written much later to glorify the divine significance of a person’s life, especially someone like an emperor who they would have called the “son of God.”  But we’ll save that for another gospel.  For now, what in the world can we learn about Christmas from Mark?

The beginning of the good news, Mark declares, is not in a manger in Bethlehem, but in the preparation of people’s hearts for the Kingdom of God that was proclaimed centuries before by the prophet Isaiah.  It’s ironic that Mark, the shortest and most high-paced of all the gospels, is the one that looking back, actually calls us to slow down.  Of course his original audience would not have had the Christmas story in any form, but for us, it is a reminder not to rush too fast into Christmas.  First we must prepare our hearts and change our lives.  Christmas is not the beginning of the good news, it’s just one small part of the Kingdom of God breaking into our reality. 

Mark’s question is simply this… “Are you ready?”

Listen to the full sermon here

Let It Go

Let It Go

November 24, 2024
1 John 1:8-10, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 73:1-28

If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong.  If we claim, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

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It is far to easy to be overwhelmed by the evil in the world around us.  Hatred, greed, fear and suffering of every kind seem like they are only getting worse.  We wonder why it seems that “bad people” seem to get away with everything while those who are genuinely striving to do what is right so often end up at the bottom.  Our cries are not new.  Even the Psalmist cried out to God asking why the wicked seemed to prosper (Psalm 73). 

As we approach Thanksgiving, let me offer two truths and a way forward regarding this pressing question.  First, God is not blessing the wicked or cursing the righteous.  Things happen, for good or bad, to all people regardless of how “good” or “bad” they might be.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Furthermore, Jesus shows us in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) that those who do not seem very “blessed” by the world are already blessed by God. 

Secondly, we should approach the question of good things happening to bad people or even bad things happening to good people with a healthy dose of humility.  John writes that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8) and Jesus himself says that no one is “good” (Mark 10:18).  The idea that good things or bad things should happen to people based on our merit is a foolish notion because at the end of the day, none of us are truly “deserving.”  God’s love is not something that can be earned, but a gift freely given to all, to those who deserve it the least, and to those who mistakenly think they deserve it the most.

There is no easy answer to the injustice in our world and the seeming lopsidedness of blessing when it comes to those who gain power and wealth through evil means vs. those who suffer for doing what is right.  There is, however, a way we can begin to reframe our perspective and build resilience in the face of suffering and injustice.  It is the simple act of giving thanks. 

When life feels unfair, gratitude keeps us grounded and allows us to focus on God’s faithfulness rather than the fleeting circumstances around us. Gratitude opens us to see God’s blessing in places we might not have otherwise noticed.  And gratitude humbles us to realize that though there are many who unfairly gain blessings on the backs of others, it is also true that God is already blessing the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek and merciful, those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, those who are pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even those who are persecuted. 

Gratitude won’t solve injustice, but it will open our hearts to hope, peace, love & joy even in the darkness.

How Many Times?

How Many Times

November 17, 2024
Matthew 18:21-35, Matthew 6:14-15, Colossians 3:12-14

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive as many as seven times?”

 Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy-seven times.

 Matthew 18:21-22

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Seventy seven or more accurately 70 x 7 times.  In one humorous telling of this story, Peter continues the conversation…

“Seriously Jesus, first you tell me to forgive the one  who sins against me and now you’re going to make me to math too?!”

Taken literally, I suppose that means we only have to forgive someone 490 times, but if we’re counting that high, I’m not sure genuine forgiveness is really on our minds.

Seven is commonly used in scripture as a number of completeness or fullness.  In other words, we are to forgive the full or complete number of times… which would be every time.  At first glance, this seems a bit unreasonable, until we understand the parable that follows. 

A servant owed the king 10,000 talents.  I have seen several different calculations on what this would look like in 21st century American dollars, but needless to say, they are all exorbitant amounts.  There is no way this debt can ever be repaid, and yet the king releases him of the debt rather than forcing him to pay for the rest of his life. 

Of course the servant is beyond grateful, until he comes across someone else who owes him a much smaller amount, perhaps only a few dollars by comparison.  In turn, he refuses to forgive the debt owed to him.  When the king learns of this, he is furious.  He reinstates the tremendous debt and throws him into prison.

Perhaps one reason we struggle so much with forgiveness is because we don’t realize just how much we have been forgiven.  We don’t appreciate the value of the forgiveness and mercy we have experienced in our lives, not only from God but also from others.

It’s amazing how stark this truth becomes when we look at it in the financial terms Jesus lays out.  Forgiveness sometimes feels abstract.  We can’t always put a price on how much someone has hurt us.  But when money is involved, we know exactly how much we are owed and how much we owe others.  When we see others in debt, we can be quick to judge.  We don’t ask what happened that led to such debt, what tragic circumstances or exploitive systems may have led them to being in over their head.  We simply demand that they pay up, just like the man who the servant refused to forgive.  Yet when it comes to our own, though we my do our best to pay, there may very well come a time when we ask for mercy, for an extension, for a reversal of unfair fees, or some other relief during a hard time when other expenses overwhelm us. 

When Jesus forgives those who hung him on the cross, he declares that they do not know what they are doing.  Perhaps that alone is a good reason to forgive.  We simply don’t know what’s going on in the other person’s life.  Maybe they don’t fully understand what they have done.  Maybe a bit of mercy will help them turn things around.  May we forgive as God has forgiven us. 

Leveling Up on Love

Leveling Up On Love

November 10, 2024
Luke 6:27-38. Matthew 5:43-48

But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.

If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them.

 Luke 6:27-32 (CEB)

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In Matthew’s telling of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).  Luke’s rendition shows us exactly what such love looks like in action.  Turn the other cheek, give freely without expecting anything in return, lend without expecting repayment, show compassion, don’t judge, forgive.” 

Two things I find particularly interesting here:

1. The editors of the Common English Translation title this section of Luke, “Behaving as God’s Children” in contrast to Matthew’s section header, “The Law of Love.”    It’s easy to talk about love in abstract terms, but Luke seems to realize how easy it is to separate what we call “love” from actual actions or behavior.  There are a lot of people who claim to love everyone while behaving in extremely unloving ways. 

2. It seems that Luke’s version of this command is used far more rarely than Matthew’s these days.  A lot of people want to call themselves “Christian” without being bogged down with the nuances of actually “behaving as God’s children.”  Many Christian groups are far more vocal in deciding who they think God’s enemies are and then declaring God’s wrath and judgment upon them.  Some even go to the extreme of seeing themselves as instruments of God’s judgment to condemn or punish the wicked.

In our world, “an eye for an eye” is much more popular than “turn the other cheek.”  Forgiveness and compassion are seen as weak.  And let’s not even talk about  the money issue, “lending without expecting to be paid back in full.”  Our economy thrives on exploiting people’s debt so they pay back far more than they ever borrowed, often over the course of a lifetime. 

Funny how the rules of our culture run so contrary to Jesus’ most basic teaching, and yet we see no conflict between calling oneself a Christian while behaving in greedy, hateful and judgmental ways toward others.  I wonder how many of the rules and laws we want to pass to keep our enemies (or political opponents) in line would be acceptable terms if similar laws were passed against us. 

Many Christians today have a persecution complex.  Despite having a lot more freedom than we realize and holding significant political power at every level, we tend to feel like everybody is out to get us… everybody is our enemy.  Even if that was true, which I do not believe, I wonder how our relationships with those “so-called” enemies might change if we behaved toward them the way Jesus taught and modeled for us. 

Maybe, just maybe, we would make a lot more friends.

Caught Between Truths

Caught Between Truths

November 3, 2024
John 18:33-19:16, Psalm 2

Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.”

“So you are a king?” Pilate said.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked…

… From that moment on, Pilate wanted to release Jesus.

John 18:36-38, 19:12

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Jesus is clear that his kingdom is not of this world and that his primary purpose is to “testify to the truth.”  Pilate responds with the question that has haunted us all for over 2,000 years… “What is truth?”

Here in the 21st century, we are still sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for Jesus’ answer, as though the conversation somehow got cut short.  And in the meantime, we have had more than enough “truth-sayers” trying to fill in the blanks with their own answers to this seemingly impossible question.  As a result, we now live in a culture where truth is so drowned out by lies that we can hardly tell the difference.  When lies are told often enough, they don’t necessarily become facts, but they do create a certain kind of truth that shapes reality.  When enough people believe a lie and act on it, it’s veracity no longer matters.  Real people get hurt, and most often it is the innocent and marginalized that are harmed the most. 

Just a few weeks ago a gunman was arrested in North Carolina over threats of potential harm intended against FEMA workers.  Lies and conspiracies about the government relief organization have run rampant in the aftermath of two disastrous hurricanes and the fact that they are not true doesn’t change the real harm they are causing to relief workers and storm victims in desperate need of help.  Sadly, this is only one of many examples where the truth or lack of truth has become irrelevant and caused great harm to entire groups of people throughout our nation during the current election cycle.

The same reality was true for Jesus.  It didn’t really matter whether he was a king or not, or what kind of kingdom he proclaimed.  It didn’t matter if he actually deserved to die.  For Pilate, and far too often for us, there was a voice far louder than truth.  It was the voice of fear.  The lynch-mob that yelled the loudest got to decide what truth was.  Jesus is guilty… Crucify him!

And in the end, truth surrendered to the fear of the people and quite literally died at the hands of both the mob and the state. 

Jesus says that if his Kingdom were of this world, he would respond with violence as the world does, but instead he chooses not to fight because his Kingdom is not of this world.  How tragic then that his followers across the centuries continue to fight.  We continue to stir up people’s fear with lies and conspiracies for the sake of political power, wealth and security. 

Perhaps the mobs of fearmongers understand Jesus’s truth better than it seems.  The truth of God’s kingdom will not give them the earthly power they desire.  It will call them to surrender and to lay down their lives for the sake of love, even the love of their enemies. 

“What is truth” indeed, that it would call us to sacrifice so much?

It's Not Politics, It's Personal

It’s Not Politics, It’s Personal

October 27, 2024
1 Samuel 18:1-15 , 19:1-10, 20:32-33, 24:1-22, 26:1-25 (esp 19), Psalm 57

Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David, but Jonathan, Saul’s son, liked David very much.  So Jonathan warned David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Be on guard tomorrow morning. Stay somewhere safe and hide.  I’ll go out and stand by my father in the field where you’ll be. I’ll talk to my father about you, and I’ll tell you whatever I find out.”

1 Samuel 19:1-3

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 “Don’t get political.”

This may be one of the most commonly heard statements by preachers from their congregations these days, and the truth is, it’s a much tougher order than one might think. 

First, the gospel is inherently political.  The first creed of the church, “Jesus is Lord,” is a statement of treason that declares “Caesar is not.”  This is the kind of thing that literally gets people killed as political opponents of the empire, and yet as Christians we are called to pledge our soul allegiance to Christ, not to our flag or nation, no matter how Godly we may think it is.

Second, most of the times I’ve heard this statement came in response to the scripture itself, not to any political statement I may or may not have made.  The Sermon on the Mount alone is filled with teachings that go against the grain of our individualistic and capitalistic culture.  All I have to do is read the verses and someone will say, “What radical Marxist or Socialist said that?”  The objector is usually not happy when I respond with “Jesus… see, it’s right here in the Red Letters.”

Third, and perhaps most importantly in our current political climate, is the truth that much of what we call political should not be political at all.  In fact, much of it is simply about how we treat one another as descent human beings, how we show respect and love for all people, neighbor and enemy alike.  These are fundamental truths of our faith and necessary for a healthy society, and yet to call out a candidate for dehumanizing a person or group of people is viewed as a partisan agenda.  When people make broad brush statements that paint those who vote differently as an enemy of the state, or even an enemy of the faith, as I have been called many times, they often don’t even realize that there are members of their own family who are afraid to speak to them because of their inflammatory, derogatory and violent rhetoric.  The truth is, it’s not political, it’s personal. 

King Saul viewed David as a political enemy and a threat to his power.  He wanted David’s head on the end of his spear.  In America, we may not typically shed the blood of our political opponents, but it has happened and could easily happen again if cooler heads cannot find a way to prevail in the public discourse.  One might say that as a King in his day, Saul had every right to kill any threat to his throne, and technically, that would be true.

For Saul’s son Jonathan, however, this wasn’t about politics at all.  David was his best friend.  His father’s rage was deeply personal and he risked everything to protect his friend from his own father.  How many families, friendships, communities, even churches, are torn apart by political divides.  Do we promote candidates that threaten harm to those we love? 

Politics is always personal.  Love must have the final say.

Who Will Protect Us?

Who Will Protect Us?

October 20, 2024
1 Samuel 16:14-23, 1 Samuel 17:32-58, Psalm 27

Then Saul dressed David in his own gear, putting a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.  David strapped his sword on over the armor, but he couldn’t walk around well because he’d never tried it before. “I can’t walk in this,” David told Saul, “because I’ve never tried it before.” So he took them off.  He then grabbed his staff and chose five smooth stones from the streambed. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag and with sling in hand went out to the Philistine.

 1 Samuel 17:38-40

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One of the many idols of our time is the illusion of safety and security.  OK, maybe not always “illusion”.  Relatively speaking, we are probably safer on a day to day basis than many people in the world.  Most of us have good shelter, easily accessible food and water, no immediate physical threats, etc.  Not everyone in the world, or even in our own communities, can say the same. 

I say “illusion,” however, because no matter how hard we try, we cannot be fully protected from every possible harm in this life.  We can build our walls, increase our surveillance, develop better medical treatments, stockpile more money, etc. but there are always risks we cannot account for.

Our economy runs in large part on our desire to keep this illusion intact.  Marketers prey on our desire for safety and security by telling us that we will not really be safe and secure unless we have whatever they are selling, or put our trust in whatever person, organization, or corporation they are promoting.  We buy far more than we would ever need out of an irrational and often unrecognized fear that we may not already have enough.  We vote for leaders who promise to protect us from the most outlandish threats and conspiracies.  We hoard basic necessities during times of crisis or natural disaster leaving hardly anything left on the store shelves or at the gas pumps for those who probably need it more than we do.  There is almost nothing we won’t do when we feel like our safety and security is at risk. 

And then we meet David, a young boy with no military training and no weapons to speak of, preparing to put his life on the line against the greatest enemy his people had.  Even the king and his greatest soldiers were terrified of this Goliath.  So terrified and desperate in fact, that the king himself was willing to put a kid’s life on the line if it meant protecting himself.  But he makes a good show of it.  He offers the kid his royal armor, the best protection and security money could buy.  If David dies out there, it won’t be because the King didn’t do everything possible to guarantee his safety. 

But the armor doesn’t fit.  The weight overwhelms this small shepherd boy and cripples him.  He can’t even walk out onto the field and he can barely lift the sword.  David knew his source of protection was not the security the king or anybody else could offer him.  It was his trust in God alone.

Which begs the question, where is our armor, the things we cling to for safety and security, weighing us down?  When will we stop trusting in the weapons of this world to protect us and truly place our lives in the hands of the God we claim to trust? 

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I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from? 
My help comes from the Lord, 
the maker of heaven and earth

~ Psalm 121:1-2 ~

Rest or React?

Rest or React?

October 13, 2024
1 Samuel 13:1-14, 1 Samuel 15:16-29, Psalm 40:1-17

The very moment Saul finished offering up the entirely burned offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcome him.  But Samuel said, “What have you done?”

“I saw that my troops were deserting,” Saul replied. “You hadn’t arrived by the appointed time, and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash.  I thought, The Philistines are about to march against me at Gilgal and I haven’t yet sought the Lord’s favor. So I took control of myself[ and offered the entirely burned offering.”

“How stupid of you to have broken the commands the Lord your God gave you!” Samuel told Saul. “The Lord would have established your rule over Israel forever, but now your rule won’t last.

1 Samuel 13:10-14a

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Saul’s army was deserting.  The enemy was at hand and the battle would surely be lost.  He knew the people needed assurance that God would be with them, but Samuel, the prophet, had not yet arrived to make the appropriate sacrifice and dedicate their battle to the Lord.  So Saul did what any rational leader might do, he stepped up and did what needed to be done.  He offered the sacrifice to rally his people and call upon God’s help.  So what’s the problem?

Samuel shows up a few minutes later and is furious.  From our perspective, this might just look like Samuel is whining because he didn’t get his moment in the spotlight. 

If I was running late to a church meal after church because I was talking with someone, I as the pastor would be grateful if someone else blessed the food and got started.  But Samuel looks like the pastor who comes in late and pitches a fit that they didn’t wait on him or her to say the prayer, as if the pastor was the only one who could offer the blessing. 

On the surface, this makes perfect sense, but God was doing something very different in Israel.  God is trying to clearly establish a hierarchy of power different than any other nation had known.  Rather than the human king having the final authority as was customary, God is establishing a nation where the King is under Divine authority.  In other nations, a prophet could be executed for challenging the king, but in Israel, it was the prophet who would have the final word because it was the prophet who spoke on behalf of God. 

Samuel wasn’t simply throwing a tantrum for not getting to do his part in offering the sacrifice.  His anger reflected God’s disappointment that King Saul chose to elevate himself to a position of final authority, no longer accountable to the prophet, and by extension, to God. 

Saul suffered from a disease we all struggle with.  It’s been called “just-do-something-itus.”  In other words, we are quick to become impatient and want to act immediately.  We speak when we should be silent.  We make careless decisions instead of taking the time to study, to listen, and to discern a wiser course of action.  We react to the perceived danger in the moment instead of resting in the God who promises to stand with us in the fire.  We let our emotions take the driver’s seat and act out of our desire to be in control instead of a place of humility and surrender. 

We always have a choice. 

Will we react in our own strength or rest in God?