Sermon:“Not As Mortals See”

Sermon: “Not As Mortals See”

Text: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

4^th Sunday in Lent (A)

March 2, 2008

Scripture introduction. In our second reading today the prophet Samuel anoints young David to be king of Israel. Of course, Israel already had a king, namely Saul, whom Samuel at God’s instruction had anointed earlier. But Saul had failed God; and in the previous chapter, Samuel had to tell Saul that God had rejected Saul and would tear the kingdom away from Saul. Now God calls Samuel to Bethlehem, the town where David and his brothers lived with their father Jesse. Samuel, having already threatened the king, was afraid because he knew that Saul would retaliate if Saul got word that Samuel had anointed another person to be king. The villagers in Bethlehem were afraid, too, for they knew Samuel had clashed with Saul and wanted nothing of the dispute.

This very skillfully told story emphasizes that David’s accession to the throne of Israel is not mere happenstance but in fact is God’s plan. The author of the story drives home the point by a repeated use of the word har, which means “to see.” But it can also mean “to provide,” sort of like our English use of the word, as in “see to it.” Thus, in the first verse, when God says, “I have provided for myself a king,” a closer translation of the Hebrew would be “A king for Israel I have seen to myself.” In verse 6, Samuel “looks upon”—in Hebrew, “sees”—the eldest brother Eliab and assumes because he is tall and handsome (like Saul) that Eliab is to be king. In verse 7 God speaks to Samuel the prophet [in Hebrew one word for prophet means “one who sees”[1]] and corrects him: “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they [see] the outward appearance, but the Lord [sees] the heart.” Even God’s appointed seer is temporarily blind, but God sees the possibility in David and also sees to it that David will be king.

Sermon. As I think about sight and seeing, I am reminded of how much of our vision depends not upon our eyes, but upon the sense that the brain makes out of the images that are coming through. When we look out upon a forest scene, it is our brain that allows us to pick out the animals, which are often naturally camouflaged. We know what a bird is supposed to look like, so if we look closely we can pick it out against its background. Optical illusions often depend upon something that tricks the brain. Many of you have seen the drawing that, if you look at it one way, looks like a fountain or a birdbath; but if you consider it differently looks like the profiles of two persons facing one another. The image seems to change even though the information being transmitted by the eyes never changes; rather, it’s a question of what sense the brain is making out of the information that it receives.

That’s one problem with being mortal—we have to make sense out of what we see, and all we can see is what is on the outside of a person. Yesterday your servants, the elders and deacons, met to make plans for the coming year. One of the things the session does in this meeting is to examine the newly elected officers to be certain that they have a sufficient understanding of the Presbyterian Church and, even more importantly, to hear how these newly-elected persons feel called to serve this congregation. It was an opportunity for us to discuss how our church understands what it means to be called to a particular mission or ministry.

We believe that in every call there are at least three calls. First there is the call felt by the individual—what some have referred to as the “inner call.” While this is felt in different ways by different people, there comes a time when—however, it happens—a person hears God’s call in their own heart. Second is the “providential call,” the objective grounds that make someone seem appropriate for the ministry. We don’t know what Eliab may have been feeling when he walked before Samuel—we don’t know whether Eliab felt an inner call. But Samuel’s opinion was influenced by these objective grounds, which are clearly part of the call. He was tall and good looking, which even in our culture is an advantage in leadership. The third part is the exterior call, the call of the church. When a person is perceived by the church to have the necessary gifts for the ministry in question, we say they have an exterior call. When you elected these elders and deacons for service, you were enacting the exterior call, the call of the church. This exterior call is so important to Presbyterians that in our denomination seminary graduates—no matter how good their credentials—are not ordained as ministers until they have received an actual call from a particular church or church-related body.

Inner call, providential call, exterior call of the church—we believe these three parts all work together. Sometimes one comes first, and the others catch up. Occasionally, we determine that one of the three is missing; and that is when we counsel persons to consider whether their call may be to some different type of service. Our elder Mary Jean DeMarr is the moderator of the Presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry, which is charged with determining whether these three elements are visible in the lives of persons who are pursuing a call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. As I’m sure she would agree, it’s not always easy to sort these matters out.

It’s not easy because our brains don’t always interpret correctly what our eyes are seeing and because our eyes can see only what is on the outside. But the Lord does not see as mortals see; the Lord sees the heart. We often speak poetically of the heart as the place where our emotions lie. To the ancients, the heart was the seat of a person’s character, will, and intention. This is what the Lord sees and knows. If mortals cannot see the heart, then we need to be careful when we draw conclusions about whether particular persons are suited for ministries in the church. Someone may want to be a Sunday school teacher, and we may wonder whether they have the necessary skills. What we may not know is that God gave them the skills long ago, and they simply have never had the opportunity to use them in church. In this sense, the providential call itself is not really objective because we never can know for sure what gifts and graces may lie latent in someone’s life.

Or it can work the other way. Sometimes the church, through the Holy Spirit, sees gifts in us that we do not see in ourselves. In those cases the exterior call of the church is the midwife to the inner call within the heart of a person. We may not feel the call ourselves—at least not at first. We may not think we have the necessary gifts and skills for that particular job. But God not only sees; God sees to it. That is, if God calls us to a ministry we can be sure God will equip us for that ministry, or will show us that we already are equipped. God had seen to it that young David had the necessary talents and character to become king of Israel. And God could see David’s heart—his intention, will, and motivation—and knew that he would serve well. In David’s case the exterior call came from Samuel, who himself had to be coached before he could see the wisdom of God’s choice. In your case, the exterior call may come from your fellow church members, who see in you the spiritual gifts necessary for your new calling.

And we need not limit our consideration to individuals. As a church, a community of faith, we have a collective calling. It will be different from other Presbyterian churches—unique and special to our local situation. It will be different from the other churches right here in downtown Terre Haute. But it is ours. Just as with individuals, we can be sure that God has looked upon our hearts and has called our church to particular ministries. And when God calls, God also equips. God sees to it.

When an individual or a church finds it calling, it is a time for joy and celebration. Frederick Buechner has written that we will find our calling at that place where our greatest joy touches the needs of the world. Nothing can match the feeling that we are in tune with God’s will for our lives and doing the ministry to which God has called us. It may be messy. It may be dirty. It may be full of thorny problems and risks. But there will be joy because the Spirit of God will come upon us and lift us up and empower us for the tasks ahead. The Bible tells us that when Samuel anointed David with the horn of oil, “the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” We are seeking to be a church of passionate spirituality. Not gushing spirituality. Not sappy spirituality. Not false spirituality. But passionate spirituality. The spirit of the Lord will come upon us mightily when we discern and embrace our calling.