"Of Pebbles and Giants"

Preached June 24, 2012 at Rennie Memorial Presbyterian Church in Amelia, VA


Texts: I Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49
          Ephesians 6:10-17

I always love a good underdog story. Most of us probably do. It's invigorating, exciting. The scene is set, everyone thinks they knows how things are going to play out, and then, out of nowhere, the underdog comes from behind, and against all odds, wins the day. It's heartwarming, inspiring. We find ourselves thinking, "If even he or she can defy the odds and triumph, maybe I can too!"

When we come to our Scripture lesson this morning, the story of David and Goliath, I think many of us are used to reading it as an underdog story. A little shepherd boy defeats a mighty giant warrior with a slingshot and a stone, and the underdog wins again. Lesson learned, end of story. We call it a children's story - in fact, I don't think I've ever come across a children's Bible that doesn't include the story of David and Goliath. But when we do this, I worry, do we write it off? Do we miss the radical message of hope about how God works, or the and sacred call of God that this story offers to people of all ages, perhaps even most especially to us as adults, who have had time in our lives to witness the ways of the world and grow weary of them?

It feels good to watch the underdog win, no doubt. But when we stop there, I think we miss the point. No, you see, the story of David and Goliath is not just a fairy tale or a good ball game. Did you hear the threats David and Goliath shout to one another before their encounter? Goliath taunts David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field!" And does David, the soon-to-be king of all Israel, respond with any more grace, with any more respect for human life, created in the image of God? Well, he does mention God's name, I'll give him that, but David responds to Goliath's threat to feed his dead body to the dogs by retorting that, "This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth!"

Is this a children's story? I don't have any children yet, but when I do, I don't imagine I'll be very keen on them talking to one another like this, or reading stories where the hero tells the villain he will cut off his head and feed it to the animals. I think I might prefer role models and stories for my kids who are less fixated on feeding their enemies to the dogs.

The point is, though, that this stand-off between David and Goliath is no ball-game. This is war - this is life or death. One of them will not survive this encounter.

And let me be clear, the Israelite and the Philistine armies are no audience watching from the stands, placing bets on who will win, making jokes about the players, waiting with bated breath to see what will happen. They're waiting with baited breath, all right, but that's because their lives and their freedom hang on what happens in this battle between David and Goliath. Do you remember Goliath's words, when he steps forward and offers his challenge? "Choose a man for yourselves," he says to the Israelite army, "and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us." No, this is no baseball game. This is the difference between life and death, the difference between freedom and being taken to a foreign land as a prisoner of war.

I wonder sometimes if our culture, our world, has forgotten that war is not just a really big sports game. I think of the books, movies, games, about war. Don't get me wrong - I think some of these do a wonderful job of describing the reality that soldiers and civilians in war zones face, putting life behind these experiences and images for those of us, like myself, who have never had to face such an experience. Some of these books and movies do a good job, but others...well, somewhere along the way they seem to have misunderstood. They talk about it like it's an adventure, just one big game. 

Those who have fought in wars know that it is no game. Those whose loved ones have served or are currently serving in the army know that it is no game. Those who have lost a loved one in a war know that it is no game.

No, I don't know that David saw himself as some underdog hero who would win fortune, fame, glory, and even go on to become King of Israel. I think he knew this was no game. He knew this was life and death.

So look with me, then at what David does, and, perhaps more importantly, at what he says before he acts...

David doesn't impress Saul with his past military victories, doesn't show him an impressive resume. He talks about his experience as a humble shepherd, and most importantly, he confesses his faith in the living God, who will save him from the giant.

Then, when David finally confronts the Goliath, he tells him that he comes to him in the name of the Lord. David says that God will deliver the Philistine army into his hand so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that this Lord does not save by sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's.

"The Lord does not save by sword and spear." This makes sense, I suppose, for David has neither sword nor spear, and Goliath has both. Goliath is almost 10 feet tall; David is only a youth. Goliath is an experienced warrior; David is a shepherd. Goliath is dressed in state-of-the-art bronze armor; David just has the clothes on his back. Goliath has a sword, and a spear that weighs over 22 pounds; David has a staff, a slingshot, and 5 smooth stones.

Yes, by all means, David is the underdog in this encounter - but I don't believe the Scripture is trying to teach us a lesson about underdogs. No, you see, I hear this text about a God who does not save by sword and spear teaching us a lesson about the way God does save. This story speaks a word of hope to all people facing giants, facing evil, facing huge, overwhelming powers and structures that seem too large, too insurmountable for us ever to overcome. The text tells us that we can overcome these giants, that we will overcome these giants, in the name of the living God, precisely because this God does not save by sword and spear. Quite the contrary, our God uses pebbles to fight giants.

Pebbles to fight giants. It doesn't make any sense, does it? It doesn't fit with our logic, with our understanding of how things work, and that's exactly the point. What we learn from David and his slingshot is that God does not do things the way we do. Our God is powerful, our God is strong, our God is a mighty fortress - but the living God in whom David had faith, in whom we still have faith today, does not operate according to conventional ideas of power. Our God uses pebbles to fight giants.

And you see, King Saul and his army don't understand that. They're trying to fight fire with fire. But they can't - Goliath and his army are too strong. Being strong with force and powerful with weapons, that's the Goliath's thing, that's not God's thing. And so Saul and his army are too terrified to do anything.

Even when David does come along and offers to fight Goliath, when David reminds Saul about how God works, about how God delivers his people and will deliver David, Saul dresses David up in his own royal armor. It's a funny moment in the story, a bit of comic relief, if you will. David clanking around in Saul's heavy armor that is far too big for him, so big he can't even walk while he's wearing it! In giving him his armor, Saul is trying to clothe David in conventional, human ideas of power. But David says no, I don't need this. David's armor looks more like the armor Paul describes in his letter to the Ephesians. David puts on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit. The shoes that make him ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. David's armor is his faith in the living God.

And he fights a giant with a pebble, and the pebble wins.

I ask you now to stop and think for a minute - what giants are you facing in your life? Where do you encounter evil, and sin, and greed, and oppression, and hopelessness that seem too big for you to overcome? How do you experience what Paul calls "the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers of this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places?" And how do you stand up to giants like that?

I'd like to share with you two stories about pebbles and giants that I know...

I've told many of you that I spent a year living in Peru, working mission alongside the Presbyterian churches there. Well, there's a town in the mountains of Peru called La Oroya. It's a beautiful town, but there's a metal smelting plant there, owned by a billionaire from the US. And this man, who has more money than most people could ever dream of, he won't follow the environmental regulations that the Peruvian government has enforced because it's too expensive, he says, it would cost him too much money. Because of this, La Oroya is one of the 10 most polluted cities in the entire world. 97% of the children who live in La Oroya have lead poisoning. 97%. And the Peruvian government, well, they tell him his company needs to follow the laws, but they also like his business, the money he brings into the country, and they won't do much about it. It's a situation full of giants, full of "the cosmic powers of this present darkness." To the people who live in La Oroya, it's like a giant waving his spear, and there's nothing they can do. 

But there's also a group of kids who live in La Oroya, a group of 9-to-12-year-olds, who don't think this is right. They don't want to grow up with lead in their bodies anymore, and what's more, they have faith in the living God and believe that God doesn't want them to grow up with lead in their bodies anymore. And they've got a few pebbles in their pockets. One of their pebbles is education. They're smart kids, good in school, and they like to learn. And so they've learned how to use some video cameras. And they've learned about pollution, and about how to take care of their environment. And with the help of their parents and friends, they're starting to tell their story. And people are starting to listen. The story of La Oroya, and of the pollution and lead poisoning, have made it onto the television and into the newspaper in the US. And the giants are starting not to look so big anymore, all because a group of kids trusted that God works through pebbles. 

I'll tell you another story of pebbles and giants. Some of you may remember the gridlocked debate last summer in Washington, DC, over our country's federal budget. I was working in DC at the time with a man, a good man, a Presbyterian minister. His name was the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, J. Herbert is what we called him. And he heard the Republicans, and he heard the Democrats, and he heard all the politicians, talking about debt and deficit and default and the budget.

And he said I don't think God works that way. He said I don't hear anyone talking about people. He said I don't hear anyone talking about the people Jesus talked about, the ones who are hungry and need food, or thirsty, and need a drink of water. About people who have no homes, or no clothes, or are sick, or in prison.

And he started talking to some other ministers and religious leaders. And he said, "My faith in the living God tells me this isn't right, and we need to do something about it." And they said we think so too. These were giants they were up against, though; people so big, so powerful - what were a group of faith leaders could do. But they had a pebble. And they'd read their Bibles, and they knew that God uses pebbles to fight giants.

And do you know what their pebble was? Their pebble was prayer. 

They prayed and they prayed. They prayed outside when it was 100 degrees. They prayed in church. They prayed on the street, they prayed in their homes. And finally, when they didn't know where else to pray, they went to the US Capitol, right there in the middle of the rotunda, and they knelt down, 11 of them all together, one man in a wheelchair, and the read the Bible, and they prayed.

I asked you a minute ago to think about the giants you're facing in your life right now. For some of you, something may have come to mind immediately, for others, it may not be so obvious or clear. But I ask you now - what kinds of pebbles are you carrying around in your pockets, so that when the giants come, you are ready? Is your pebble prayer, like J Herbert? Is it education and teaching, like the children in Peru? Is it compassion? Or knowing how to be a good neighbor? Or mission? Or honesty? Or community? We all have our pebbles, our spiritual gifts -- God doesn't make us without them.

So I challenge you, in the week ahead, to look at what pebbles you're carrying with you, that you can use when a giant comes along in your life. Take those pebbles out. Examine them. Practice using them. And know that, like David, our greatest power, our greatest strength, is our faith in the living God. Amen.