Moving On
Samuel Anointing David, Duro Europas Synagogue, 245-256 Common Era, National Museum, Damascus, click to link
Sermon Series “Through the Bible,” № 22, 1 Samuel 16:1-13
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” –1 Samuel 16:1
Today, we move from the themes of Lent and Easter back toward the sermon series, “Through the Bible,” re-entering the stream near the middle of the first book of Samuel. The period of the judges is drawing to a close, and the period of the kings is beginning. Already, the atmosphere in which the text takes shape seems filled with regret. Eli regrets the disobedience of his sons, which leads to Samuel’s rise as leader. God regrets the fact that the people seem increasingly drawn to the leadership of a king, rather than trusting in the leadership of the judges. In our text for today, Samuel regrets the experiment with a king already has gone awry, that Saul, who was anointed not all that long before, has proven to be a disobedient failure.
Even today, with all of the advantages we enjoy, regret still is a powerful emotion, so much so that there’s a lot of advice out there about how to manage it. Dozens of books carry the phrase “no regrets” in their titles. If you search social media for the hash tag #noregrets, then you’ll find millions of posts.
The realm of the Church is not exempt from feelings of regret. Nostalgia about someone or something in the past we loved is often accompanied by the sad regret that things aren’t like they used to be. We sympathize with the emotion, and appreciate the desire to honor what is valuable about the past. But we have to be careful that we don’t get so sentimental about a past golden age – that wasn’t always golden in every respect – that we can’t appreciate the gifts God offers us in the present.
During the several years I served on our presbytery’s leadership team, some of the best advice I ever received in this regard came from Mark Thomas, now retired after service as pastor of Ladue Chapel. Mark was commenting on the tendency in meetings to waste precious time grieving about the way our churches used to be. Presbyterian churches don’t always enjoy the privileged status in society they once did. Cultural preferences about church membership are different than they once were. Mark said, “We need to stop wringing our hands, and move on.”
In today’s narrative, Samuel is the one wringing his hands. Samuel and the Lord are having a personal prayer conversation. In context, God has rejected Saul due to a pattern of disobedience. When Samuel doesn’t arrive to offer the appropriate sacrifice before battle, Saul takes the matter into his own hands, and plays the role of the priest. When Samuel finally gets there, Samuel tells Saul he has acted foolishly, and his kingdom will not continue. Later, when Saul’s armies defeat the Amalekites, he disobeys again, allowing his men to keep the best of the livestock and valuables as booty, and allowing the Amalekite king to live. Again, Samuel pronounces judgment on Saul’s disobedience, telling him that his kingdom will not continue.
Saul has a tendency to argue with God’s prophet, always finding a way to rationalize his poor behavior. His repentance seems aimed at maintaining political advantage. He acts like a spoiled child who apologizes to avoid punishment, but doesn’t really intend to change.
Like many a compassionate parent, Samuel wants to believe that next time things will be different. Next time, the gift will be appreciated. Next time, the love will be reciprocated. Next time, obedience and appreciation will replace bad behavior and bitterness. But, for Saul, it’s too late. The Lord says, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out.”
The image in the slide on the screen is one of the oldest known artistic representations of Samuel anointing David. It comes from the Dura Europos Synagogue, near the banks of the Euphrates River, in eastern Syria, not far from Iraq. Because the synagogue was destroyed just eleven years after it was built, the paintings found there can be dated to the narrow range of 245-256 C.E. The casual observer might wonder why, when anointing the boy who would become Israel’s greatest king, old Samuel looks so grim. But with the benefit of a little biblical exegesis, I think we can say that the artist understood the text well. Samuel was not filled with joy and excitement, but rather grief and concern.
God seems neither patient nor pastoral with Samuel. God seems to be saying to Samuel that the best thing you can do is to stop wringing your hands about a past that cannot be recreated. When you let go of the past, then you can move on into the future and receive God’s gifts.
The ninth chapter of John’s gospel records an encounter of Jesus and his disciples with a man blind from birth. The disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In Jesus’ time, it was popular to believe that those born with disability were receiving punishment for the sins of their parents, or personal sin. Jesus refuses to be caught up expressing regret about suffering or assigning blame. If the disciples will cease their grieving and anxious speculation, Jesus suggests, then energy will be freed up to serve in the work to which God has called them.
This past week, the New York Times published an op-ed piece by journalist Lindsay Crouse about a remarkable person in recent sports news.[1] That person is Mariko Yugeta, a 63-old Japanese runner, who, decades ago, narrowly missed qualifying for the Japanese Olympic Team. Her life took a turn into marriage, raising four children, and serving as a high school teacher near Tokyo. Five years ago, she returned to running, and now is running faster marathon times than she did as a young runner, best in the world for her age group.
Mariko Yugeta recalls the day when she fell short of the rival she would ordinarily beat, who ultimately took her place on the Olympic Team. She remembers how devastating it was at the time, and how she was filled with jealousy. But today, she is no longer mired down in regret. “It’s a waste of time to think about days gone by,” she said. “What’s important is the here and now, and the future. How can you improve yourself in the days to come?”[2] In addition to her senior records, she has set a goal of 150 marathons before completing her athletic journey. Recently at Boston, she completed her 115th.
Mariko’s story echoes a lesson we might take away from this text about Samuel’s encounter with God. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to stop wringing our hands about a certain kind of past that cannot be recreated. When we let go and entrust the past to the faithful One who never forgets, then we can move on into the future and receive God’s gifts for a new day.
NOTES
[1] Most of what I learned about Mariko Yugeta as it relates to regret is from Linday Crouse, “A 63-year-old Runner Changed the Way I Think About Regret,” The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/opinion/culture/no-regrets-mariko-yugeta.html accessed 26 Apr. 2022.
[2] Ibid.
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