May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, you are our rock and redeemer. Amen.

 

For the past several summers, I have worked as a canoeing and kayaking instructor, mostly working with children and teens. Now, if you know anything about the way kids grow up, you will know that we get all shapes and sizes in our program. Sometimes we’ll have a 9-year-old girl who is bigger than a 14-year-old boy.

Finding the right sized equipment for everyone in the class is quite the task. For example, if your lifejacket is too small, you won’t be able to zip it, and it will just fall off when you go into the water – it will be totally useless. If you get a lifejacket that is too big, you won’t be able to tighten it around your body. If you’re floating in the water, a lifejacket that is too big will come up under your chin, making you uncomfortable, and ultimately making it harder to breathe and to swim to safety.

 

Safety equipment is only as good as the person wearing it, and only as good as the purpose it was meant to fulfill.

As David entered battle with Goliath, he turned down the offer of King Saul, to borrow his armor. Saul’s armor was made for a full-grown man, a warrior engaging in combat as part of an army. It was about as useful for David as a horse’s saddle would be for a goat.

 

David didn’t need Saul’s armor. It wouldn’t help him in combat with Goliath. David was planning to fight this huge Philistine warrior in the same way that he had fought bears and lions in the wild. He needed a different set of tools.

 

Unfortunately for Goliath, he didn’t know how David was planning to do battle. His armor and weapons were about as useful as my perfectly-fitted lifejacket would be if I tried to rush into a burning building to help someone. Goliath was wearing the right clothes for the wrong time.

 

Now, this is the point in the sermon where I’m supposed to say that David had something that Goliath didn’t have. David had his faith to support him and guide him.

But that’s not really what the story tells us. The story tells us that Goliath had strong faith, also. Goliath called upon the Philistine gods when he went into battle with David. David, of course, had faith in Yahweh, “the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” (1 Sam 17:45) Both David and Goliath went into battle armed with a set of tools… and with the faith of their people.

 

So, if the point of the story isn’t that David won the battle because of his strong faith, then what is the point? Why do we still tell this story?

 

Let’s gain some perspective by taking a step back from this particular Bible passage and looking at the bigger picture of what’s been happening with God’s people up until now.

 

When the Israelites came into Palestine from Egypt, they displaced the people who were already living there, and settled into this Promised Land, the land that God had led them to. The Israelites organized themselves by tribal groups in their new homeland. The 12 tribes of Israel almost functioned like the different states do in the US – they weren’t just family groups, they were also regions that those tribes occupied in the Promised Land.

 

The Israelites set up a government that was monitored by judges. Instead of having a centralized government, whenever people had a dispute, they would take it to one of the judges. The judge would then make the best possible decision, based on the situation and on their understanding of God’s law.

 

But the Israelites weren’t satisfied with the system of judges. It worked for a while, but they really wanted a monarchy, like the other countries around them. They petitioned for a king to be appointed – or rather, anointed – and finally God gave them what they asked for. God had the prophet Samuel anoint Saul as the first king over the people of Israel.

 

Saul did the best that he could as king for a number of years. But really – it had to be tough to be the first king of Israel. There were no role models or advisors to help you out. After several years, things started to go downhill for Saul. In fact, things went poorly enough that God decided that Saul shouldn’t be king any more. God had Samuel anoint David to be king in Saul’s place.

 

The reading we heard today happens after David has been anointed by Samuel. But David hasn’t actually become the king yet. Saul is still in charge… and from what we can tell today, it sounds like Saul doesn’t even know that David has been anointed as the next king.

 

So, this story serves to show the reader that David would be a better king than Saul. David can accomplish something that Saul cannot.

David truly is the more appropriate king, since he is the one to step up to the challenge and outsmart Goliath. Saul had his chance and didn’t take it. David enters right on cue and saves the day for the people of Israel.

 

David doesn’t win because he has faith and Goliath doesn’t.

David wins because God is with him, and God is trying to teach Saul and the other Israelites a lesson. Saul has been disobedient as a king. David will do God’s will, and God will be with him.

The real conflict in this story isn’t between David and Goliath – the real challenge is between David and Saul. Goliath was just a casualty of their rivalry.

 

Hmm…

That doesn’t sound like anything that ever happens in the church, does it?

Two different people, competing to see who can be in charge of a situation, maybe taking down others who stand in their way?

 

Actually, we could learn many lessons from the rivalry between David and Saul. We’re still pretty good at fighting with one another for power. The people of God still argue about how to organize ourselves… who should be in charge… what God wants us to do… who knows the true will of God.

In my experience, every worshipping community has had struggles like this. We haven’t changed all that much since the Israelites begged God for a king instead of judges, and since Saul and David were both anointed to be king.

 

So the Old Testament reading today tells the story of a battle. The winner of the battle isn’t the person who has faith. Saul, David, Goliath – all of them demonstrate that their faith is what motivates their actions. The winner is the person who God chooses to be with – the person who does God’s will.

And of course, all the people will want to follow the winner. That’s what will make David be a successful king – the support of the people, and following the will of God.

 

David is just one example God offers over thousands of years. This story reminds us that God is always with God’s people.

And because God is with us, like David, we can do great things!

This is not because we have any better tools than the next person or any greater faith. When we do great things, it is because God is working through us.

 

So let’s stop the infighting. It’s actually one of the primary reasons that non-Christians stay away from church. People who don’t belong to any faith community look at us fighting amongst ourselves. They don’t want any part of that, so they stay away.

Stop the rivalries and the conflicts.

Work to equip each other with the best equipment that each person needs for thir life of faith.

And remember that God will be with us, like God was with David.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

 

Adapted from a sermon first preached in a small congregation in Wisconsin, on June 24, 2012.