David and Goliath: The Assumption of Perception: A Sermon for the 5th Week After Pentecost

May only truth be spoken and only truth received. Amen.

 

In our reading from Samuel, we got to hear the familiar story of David and Goliath.

 

But before we get to the fun stuff like using slingshots, I want to give you a little bit of background to our story.

 

Ancient Palestine had along its eastern border a mountain range. In that mountain range are all of the ancient cities of that region – Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron.

 

Then there's a coastal plain along the Mediterranean where Tel Aviv is now and connecting the mountain range with the coastal plain is a series of valleys and ridges that run east to West. You would have to go through this valley to get from the coastal plain to the mountains.

 

This part of Israel is full of forests and wheat fields and vineyards.

 

More importantly, though, in the history of that region, it had a real strategic function. It is how hostile armies on the coastal plain find their way up into the mountains and threaten those living in the mountains.

 

That’s where we are in today’s reading from Samuel.

 

The Philistines, who are the biggest of enemies of the Kingdom of Israel, are living in the coastal plain. They are originally a seafaring people, and they start to make their way through one of the valleys up into the mountains.

 

They want to occupy the highland area right by Bethlehem and split the Kingdom of Israel in two.

 

The king of Israel, King Saul, obviously catches wind of this and Saul brings his army down from the mountains and confronts the Philistines in the valley of Elah, one of the most beautiful of the valleys in the area.

 

The Israelites dig in along the northern ridge and the Philistines dig in along the southern ridge and the two armies just sit there for weeks and stare at each other.

 

They're deadlocked. Neither could attack the other because to attack the other side you've got to come down the mountain into the valley and then up the other side and you're completely exposed.

 

So, finally, to break the deadlock, the Philistines send their mightiest warrior down into the valley floor and he calls out and he says to the Israelites, “send your mightiest warrior down and we’ll have this out, just the two of us!”

 

This was a tradition in ancient warfare called single combat. It was a way of settling disputes without incurring the bloodshed of a major battle.

 

The Philistine sent down their mighty warrior. He is a giant. He's 9 feet tall. He's outfitted head to toe in this glittering bronze armor and he's got a sword and he's got a javelin and he's got a spear.

 

He is absolutely terrifying. He's so terrifying that none of the Israelite soldiers want to fight him.

 

It's a death wish, right? There's no way they think they can take him.

 

Finally, the only person who will come forward is this young shepherd boy, who goes up to Saul and he says, “I’ll fight” and Saul says, “you can't fight! That's ridiculous! You’re just a kid, he is a mighty warrior!”

 

But the shepherd is adamant. He says, “no, no, no, you don't understand! I have been defending my flock against lions and wolves for years. I can do this!”

 

Saul has no choice. No one else has come forward. Saul says, “alright then.” He turns to the kid and says, “but you've got to wear this armor. You can't go as you are.”

 

He tries to give the shepherd his armor and the shepherd says no, “I've never worn armor before! You’ve got to be crazy!”

 

The shepherd boy reaches down, instead, and picks up five stones and puts them in his shepherd’s bag and starts to walk down the mountainside to meet the giant.

 

The giant sees this figure approaching and calls out, “come to me so I could feed your flesh to the to birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the field!” He is taunting this person coming to fight him.

 

The shepherd draws closer and closer and the giant sees that he's carrying a staff.

 

That's all he's carrying, instead of a weapon, just this shepherd staff.

 

And the giant, insulted, says, “am I a dog that you would come to me with sticks?”

 

The shepherd boy takes one of the stones out of his bag, puts it in his sling, and rolls it around and let's it fly, and it hits the giant right between the eyes! Right in his most vulnerable spot, and he falls down, unconscious.

 

The shepherd boy runs up, takes the giant’s sword, and cuts off the giant’s head. The Philistines see this, and they turn and run.

 

The ever-popular story of David and Goliath, where David has always been considered the underdog, with the assumption that Goliath should have won that fight.

 

Why is this the assumption?

 

Is it because Goliath is so tall and David is so small?

 

Is it because Goliath has all the weapons and David has nothing but a sling and a rock?

 

In general, we tend to judge people by their appearance, even if we don’t mean to.

 

Think for a moment about your reaction to the following images:

 

A big guy, wearing a leather jacket covered in tattoos and piercings?

 

A woman dressed in a business suit?

 

A group of teenagers hanging out on the corner?

 

A person sitting outside 7-11 asking for change?

 

An elderly-looking couple sitting on their porch?

 

A well-kept lawn?

 

A backyard full of car parts and other random items?

 

Take note of your internal reactions to those images.

 

Perception is everything, and yet, it means nothing.

 

We don’t know anything about those people or those homes. We see them and we make an assumption based on our perception.

 

When David walks out to meet Goliath in the valley, we can imagine the Philistines laughing at David’s size and the Israelites embarrassed that their smallest person was the only one with courage enough to face the giant.

 

But they knew nothing about David, the shepherd of sheep who protects his flock from lions and other prey on a daily basis.

 

David, the man who is a sharp-shooter with a sling – a sling, not a sling-shot – 2 very different weapons – who was trained to take down a rushing lion in a single shot.

 

Our perception of people, our assumptions about them, need to go beyond exterior looks.

 

We need to look deeper into a person’s life history in order to get to know them, and even then, it is not our place to judge, but to have empathy and grace.

 

We also need to consider other people’s perception of us.

 

June is Pride month, but it also National Indigenous History Month. And June 21 was National Indigenous Peoples Day where we were to recognize and celebrate the history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis across Canada.

 

We have created a perception that we walk with the Indigenous community, thousands of souls who were stolen, survived, lost, and now found.

 

But it’s easy to grieve for these babies and children, taken from their families never to return, or never to be the same again.

 

It’s easy to reflect an air of grief and sorrow for the families.

 

It’s all about perception.

 

Now we need to care and grieve for those who survived.

 

We need to action on behalf of the alcoholic, the drug addict, the beggars, and the parents who never got to parent.

 

We need to walk with those who physically survived Residential Schools but have lost their futures.

 

We need to recognize that we have an opportunity to correct our perception of the Indigenous community by learning the factual history of Canada, extend apologies, and make change for the future of our relationship with them.

 

It is easy to be Goliath, a giant who expects everyone to tremble before us. A giant who will stomp on anyone in our way.

 

We need to be David. Going into the fight with nothing but a few stones and a strong faith in God as our weapons.

 

When David’s stone hit Goliath in the forehead, history was forever changed.

 

Now it’s time for us to pick up our stones, hold tight to our faith, and take down our own Goliaths.

 

Amen.