God's Gracious Choice

Sermon for St. Paul’s, December 21, 2008
2 Samuel 7:1-11 16, Luke 1:26-38

Last week in the sermon, we talked about being called to be the people of God. Isaiah 61, gave us a picture of what God’s people look like. They are a people in which there is no oppression, where the brokenhearted are bound up, where those falsely imprisoned are set free, where the mourning are comforted. They are a people who are blessed richly by God and are a blessing to those around them. They are a people of justice and generosity. And we heard that we are called to be such people. We are the people that God is forming into a community that reflects these values, that reflects God’s glory, that reflects the kingdom of God. God realizes that this will not be an easy task and so God sends one who will show us the way, a Messiah, God’s own Son, to model for us and teach us, to strengthen and encourage. God, through the work of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will bind up the brokenhearted, set free the captives, and comfort the mourning. When we fail, God calls us to repentance. God forgives us and recreates us. God reforms us once again into God’s people.

But there is always a bit of doubt in our minds. Are we really the ones who are to be God’s people? Are we really the ones God has chosen? Why would God call us? Why would God choose you? Why would God choose this small little community to be God’s people? During my time here last week, several people mentioned the significant decline in this congregation over the last few years. In the building here, there are pictures of large youth groups. There are memories of two services. There are longings for a time when the sanctuary felt full to overflowing, when the congregation felt alive and vibrant. People seem to wonder, “Has God left us? Are we still God’s chosen people? Are we worthy of God’s presence? “

Who is it that God calls to be God’s people? What criteria does God use? And what does God desire from us?

If I was choosing a group of people to represent me, who would I choose? Who would you choose? At the moment, there are a number of television shows where famous people are choosing their successors, their prodigies, their best friends. Donald Trump is finding apprentices, Elle magazine its next junior editor, Heidi Klum the next great designer, Gordon Ramsey the next great chef. They look for the best and the brightest. Someone with talent, intelligence, creativity, and a great personality to match. They are not looking for someone who is simply great. They are looking for someone who is spectacular.

Our society seems to worship the spectacular… those who are big and bold and splashy. Those who are beautiful, rich, young, and healthy. And at times the church does not seem much different. Pastors often lament the fact that when they go to minister’s conferences, all anyone seems to talk about is size. How many people attend your church? How big is your sanctuary? Do you have the latest sound system? Are you reaching the “emergent” generation? Henri Nouwen, a priest whose ministry focuses on the handicapped, writes:

“When you look at today’s Church, it is easy to see the prevalence of individualism among ministers and priests. Not too many of us have a vast repertoire of skills to be proud of but most of us feel that, if we have anything at all to show, it is something we have to do solo. You could say that many of us feel like failed tightrope walkers who discovered that we did not have the power to draw thousands of people, that we could not make many conversions, that we did not have the talents to create beautiful liturgies, that we were not as popular with the youth, the young adults, or the elderly as we had hoped, and that we were not able to respond to the needs of our people as we had expected. But most of us still feel that, ideally, we should have been able to do it all and do it successfully.”

Nouwen calls this the temptation to be spectacular, the belief that in order to please God we must be a star, gifted in all things and successful in anything we put our mind to. And pastors are not the only ones who fall to such temptations. Churches, too, feel that they must have a vast repertoire of skills and to be good at all of them. They feel the need to be popular, to attract large numbers of people, and to be professional and polished in all that they do.

Spectacular is what the world is looking for. Spectacular is what we believe we should be. But is spectacular what God is looking for? Does God only choose the best and the brightest?

In the book of 1 Samuel, we find Israel in need of a ruler. For several generations they had been led by Judges, men and women sent by God to provide wisdom and leadership for the people. Israel, though, was tired of judges. They wanted a real leader. They wanted a king like all of the other nations. And they wanted someone spectacular. So, they chose Saul. Saul was the son of a wealthy family and the most handsome man in all of Israel. He was big, tall, and strong and he looked like a king. Everyone believed that Saul would be a great king and, with the Lord’s help, in those first months he was. Saul won his first battle against the Ammonites. His second battle, however, did not go as well. The Israelites were in distress under the attacks of the Philistines. The people were hidden in caves and among the rocks and tombs. Saul was awaiting Samuel, the priest, who would bring an offering to the Lord on their behalf, but Samuel was taking too long. The people were leaving. Saul was losing his followers and losing the battle. So, Saul decided to present the offering himself… disobeying the Lord’s command. Saul lost patience and rather than waiting on the Lord and on Samuel, he attempted to do it all alone. Saul gave in to the temptation to be spectacular, believing that God would want him to win the battle at all costs, even disobedience to the Lord’s commands.

Saul would continue this pattern of relying on himself rather than relying on God… and so, God would eventually reject him as king. Instead. God would turn to another… a less spectacular choice for king, but one described as “a man after God’s own heart.” The prophet Samuel had been sent to choose a new king, this time from among the sons of Jesse. When he saw the oldest son he thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before us.” But the Lord replied, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Samuel examined all of Jesse’s sons one by one starting with the eldest, but the Lord rejected them all. Finally, only the youngest remained. David was almost as handsome as Saul, but there was a great difference between the two men. Saul, when given the choice between being spectacular and obeying God, consistently chose to be spectacular. David, however, would consistently resist the temptation to be spectacular. David’s greatest desire was not popularity or success, but rather obedience. David’s greatest desire was to please God. And because of that, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon him. The Lord chose David as the new king over Israel, the least of his brothers would become the first among them. God’s choice was not the spectacular, but rather the one after God’s own heart.

In Luke, Chapter 1, we come upon a young girl in the town of Galilee. She was from a working class family and engaged to a local carpenter. She was a faithful Jewish woman, but there is nothing in the text to indicate that she was spectacular. Instead, many commentators believe she was rather ordinary. Faithful, but ordinary. A lot like you and me. Even less is said about her husband. He, too, can be described as faithful but ordinary. This time God was not choosing a king. God was choosing something much more important. God was searching for a woman to bear the Christ child. God was looking for a family to raise God’s son.

There is nothing in the text to indicate that God scoured the land for the most spectacular couple to raise this child. There was no competition to determine who would be the most worthy. There was no genetic testing to pick the woman who was the wisest or healthiest or most spiritual. There was no application process. No search criteria. In fact, the text tells us nothing about how God made the choice of Mary. Instead, we enter the story when the choice has already been made. Mary sits alone in small room and suddenly an angel of the Lord appears to her and says, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you… Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.”

As the commentator, Robert Stein points out, the point of the text is not Mary’s worthiness. Instead, the focus of the text is on God’s gracious choice. God chooses a young girl, a young girl just like one of us, to be the mother of the Messiah, to bear the Christ child. Mary is not spectacular, but because of God’s gracious choice, she will take part in spectacular things.

A young shepherd boy, the least of his brothers… a young Jewish girl from a working class family not yet married… these are the types of people God chooses. God chooses people like you and me. God does not look for the spectacular. God does not look at outward appearances. Rather, God looks at the heart. These are the types of people God chooses. All that God asks is that our hearts are right with God.

Advent gives us a chance once again to get our hearts right with God. To prepare for the coming of the Lord. I don’t know what happened in this congregation over the last five years or so. I don’t know if it is something that you need to confess or something you need to offer forgiveness for. Perhaps you were simply victims of circumstances beyond your control. What I do know, is that God still chooses you.

There is a little children’s book by John Trent entitled, “I’d Choose You.” The story is about little Norbert the Elephant who has had a particularly bad day. He was picked last for the team. Nobody wanted to sit next to him on the roller coaster. His friend, Heidi Hippo, embarrassed him in front of everybody. But when he arrives home, his mom opens her arms and says, “And if I could honor one child who has an exciting and wonderful future...and if I could teach him each day that he is God's special gift, especially on those days when he doesn't get picked...Guess which one I'd choose every time? I'd choose YOU!" Just as Norbert’s mom opened her arms to her son, so God’s arms are open to us. God chooses you.

All God desires is that our hearts are right with God. If you need forgiveness, confess your sins and they will be forgiven. If you need to forgive, lay your grievances before the Lord and ask for the strength needed. If you are in the midst of circumstances beyond your control, know that God is with you. God chooses you. God chooses the ordinary faithful to be a part of God’s spectacular work in the world.

God is with you right now. Dwelling in your midst. God does not care if you are great or small as a congregation. God does not care if you are rich or poor. God does not care if you have a magnificent sanctuary or a professional choir. God simply desire to dwell with God’s people.

In the text from 2 Samuel read this morning, we find David concerned about building a spectacular house for God. When God first came to dwell with the people of Israel, God’s presence was a great pillar of fire, a great cloud of smoke that traveled with them through the wilderness. Eventually, the people built a beautiful ark that they carried with them everywhere. The ark looked like a throne and when God spoke to the people of Israel, God would often settle in a cloud of glory on the ark. This ark came to symbolize God’s presence among the people. The ark was kept in the tabernacle, a great tent-like structure that could easily move with the people wherever they went. David, however, felt that the tabernacle was no longer appropriate as a house for God. Israel was in a time of peace and people were building permanent homes, no longer dwelling in portable tents. David himself had a beautiful house of cedar and felt that the Lord should have a beautiful house as well. David wanted to build God a great temple.

David shared his dream of building a great temple with Nathan the priest and Nathan, of course, approved. Obviously God needs a beautiful temple to live in. God is a spectacular being and God needs a spectacular building. But God had other ideas. God came to Nathan with a message for David saying, “I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of them… saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”

God was not angry with David for his desire to build a great temple. God recognized that David’s desire came from his love for God. But God did not need a spectacular house to dwell in. God was not concerned about a spectacular building. God did not need David to build him such a dwelling place. God would do the building. God would make a spectacular temple to dwell in. However, this temple would not be made of cedar. It would not be made of brick or stone. God’s temple would be made of people. It would be made of God’s people. And God would make them spectacular.

God goes on to say in 2 Samuel, “… I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth… Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” God did not need David to build a temple. Instead, God would do the building, forming Israel into the people of God, a beautiful temple that would serve as God’s dwelling place.

God chooses you to be God’s people. God calls you to prepare your hearts to receive Christ anew this Advent season. For God desires to dwell in you and among you. God desires to make you into people who reflect God’s glory, the kingdom of God. We now know that God’s kingdom will not look like anything we could have imaged, for it begins not in glory, but in a manger, with a young girl, chosen by God. It begins with God’s choice to dwell on this earth, in a humble human body. It continues with God’s choice to dwell in and among God’s humble people, God’s ordinary faithful people. For out of these humble beginnings, God will bring forth a great kingdom… God will build a beautiful temple, and God’s work will be spectacular.