it was crime at the time
You know those movies where the “earth faces its darkest hour”? The ones where a band of heroes must be assembled. The movies where the best and brightest are brought together for an impossible task. You know those movies? Well, today’s passage isn’t one of them.
In fact, this passage is about as near the opposite from that as you can get! This is because we’re dealing with the Bible. And the Bible isn’t for Tinseltown. No, the Bible is for real life.
In scripture today, we see the young nation, Israel, facing a crisis. Instead of assembling a squadron of heroes, though, every person brought on the scene, from first to last, is an absolute loser! There’s gun-shy, Samuel. The know-nothing Jesse. And the, not important enough to be on the stage at the big moment, David. But, spoiler alert, in that room full of nobodies, God had hidden the future!
Let me set the scene: Fledging Israel is staring down a quandary like they’ve never known. Their first king is flailing. Before the kingdom can topple over, though, God puts Samuel on the job. Samuel, the aging prophet. And then, God sends that old prophet to the little town of Bethlehem! Because, apparently, God has found the future king in that insignificant village! And among a hitherto unknown family, to boot!
And if all that wasn’t harebrained enough, Samuel must go and crown the new king covertly. This is because Saul, the old king, is still clutching the crown! God’s chosen a new king while the old one is still on the throne! What’s more, old king Saul knows he’s floundering! And instead of reaching out for help, he’s hunting down anyone he perceives as a threat!
Clearly, there’s a hitch in this plan. But another king isn’t the only problem! Not by a long shot. It turns out the years haven’t changed Samuel! The old prophet is still in no hurry to deliver bad news! “If Saul catches wind of this, he’ll kill me,” Samuel worries aloud to God.
Instead of giving Samuel a blueprint for a heist worthy of the Oceans movies, though, God just gives Samuel a flimsy ruse! “Tell everyone you’re in Bethlehem for a sacrifice,” God replies. And no one’s buying it, either. When Samuel comes to Bethlehem, the elders come out to meet him, trembling. “Do you come peaceably,” they whimper. They can tell something’s up!
But, after not a little hemming and hawing, Samuel starts assembling the team. Samuel tells Jesse, some average Joe, to gather all his sons for a barbecue. Unbeknownst to them, Samuel’s gathering all the critical players for the clandestine meeting. Everything’s coming together for the coronation of the next king!
Then, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Eliab, the heir apparent, steps on the scene! Eliab, with his well-tailored suits and perfectly coifed hair, crosses the room. And Samuel’s been at it long enough to spot a successor when he sees one. He doesn’t even need to hear from God. Samuel knows he’s just witnessed the future.
God, though, just shrugs! Before Eliab can even sit down for the interview, God’s waving him off! Samuel can’t believe it! God, however, just tells him not to be impressed with the way things look. God doesn’t see as we do. Eliab may look like the future, but he’s not where God has decided to tuck it away.
So the search continues. The tension mounts as Jesse’s next son, Abinadab, passes by. But God just yawns. “Thank you, next,” says God. And this build-up and letdown happen five more times! Finally, out of exasperation, Samuel asks if there’s anyone else. Jesse replies that there’s one last child. But if the other sons didn’t cut it, that one’s not about to, either. “There remains yet the youngest,” Jesse replies, “but he’s keeping the sheep.”
At the climactic moment, when the new king is about to be crowned, David’s not even important enough to be there! The God who doesn’t see as we do has seen fit to crown the son of Jesse, who’s of so little account, he didn’t even get an invite to the big event!
Well, after a little awkward standing around, David finally shows up. Now, all the key players are assembled. Picture it: Samuel, the old prophet. Jesse, the clueless father. And David, the overlooked youngest son. A room full of nobodies, if ever there was one.
But, in that room crowded with the least, the last, the lost, and the little, God had hidden the future! David, that no-account son, will rise to become the great king of Israel! Furthermore, it will be from that inconsequential family line that Jesus himself will be born!
The future was hidden in plain sight! In that room full of what looked like has-beens, God saw all the makings of the future, salvation, and eternity, too!
…But we still see things the same way as Samuel. Don’t we? We look for our future in the heroes. We think our fate will be secured by the brave, beautiful, brawny, and brainy. But God doesn’t see as we do. What looks to us like failure looks to God like the future!
God is a far-sighted God, you see! The more invisible you feel to God, the better God sees you! The further off you feel from God, the clearer God sees you!
We fantasize that God will give us a future by empowering us to carve one out. Go it alone. In reality, what God actually does is, let the future we’ve been trying to build come tumbling down. But, into that disaster, God hides the perennially overlooked son! No, not David. Jesus! Jesus, the root of Jesse! Jesus, the anointed one! Jesus, the Christ!
And in this Jesus, the one who came with no form or majesty that we should look upon him, God has hidden the future. Your future! Your fate is hidden in the one we were so offended by; we killed him. Killed him for claiming to be king when we knew darn well he didn’t look like one! But, in that death, Jesus has flung your future wide open!
Jesus has secured your fate! But not with any heroic efforts. No, he’s done this with his crucifixion!
Today is no hero movie, beloved. It’s something better. Today is the day of salvation! This is eternity itself handed over to you in the middle of your life!
Now, for salvation to be salvation, it must come from outside. It cannot be something you pull off. It must be something that is put in you. And in the meal we will share, and these words let loose right now; God is doing just that!
Your future has been hidden in this very room! Yes, it may not look like much, but in the eyes of God, it has all the makings for eternity itself! And here it is: Christ has forged your future from the wreckage of your past! He has culled your fate from your funeral. Hidden himself in hospital rooms, sleepless nights, and tear-soaked cheeks.
Yes, for now, it looks like a bunch of loss. But when the complete comes, when God raises you up with Christ, you will see it for what it's been all along! Not what outward appearances show, but what God gives: Christ hidden in your grief, regrets, failures, and fears!
Your future, you understand, has been safely held in the pierced hands of Christ all along!
Indeed, God doesn’t see as we do. And for that, we give thanks. For that, we look ahead to the future with hope. For that, we all say, Amen.
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