2009-06-21 David and Goliath

2009-06-21 David and Goliath
James McTyre
Lake Hills Presbyterian Church (USA)

"He was over 9 feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing 125 pounds. On his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed 15 pounds."

And you're on the Israelite battle lines. Every morning you suit up fo abattle that never comes. Every morning, you go put on your armor. You strap on your shin guards. You snap the chin strap and adjust your helmet. And you go stand in line. And you wait.

You look over at the Philistines. The dirty, rotten, stinking Philistines. And you see a person. About your height, about your size, adjusting the strap on his helmet, and shifting from side to side in his boots. Man, it's hot. It's already been a long tim since breakfast. And the biscuits and cream cheese your mother sent by way of your scrawny little brother didn't last long.

You march when they say march. You break when they break. And you'll die when they say die.

I try to put myself in the story of David & Goliath. I'm not tall enough to be Goliath. Probably not tall enough to be David. Maybe the paranoid, delusional Saul. Who spent all his days pacing back & forth in his office, mutering to himself, and updating his Twitter status.

Not a hero, not the villain, occasionally the muttering bureaucrat, but if I were to honestly place myself in the story, I think most days I'd be one of David's brothers. But probably not even that well-known. In the closing credits, I'd be Short Israelite #621. Not mean enough, to be Goliath, not brave enough to be David, not yet crazy enough to be Saul - I'd be one of the countless number lining up to watch the battle that doesn't happen.

Click on the news. Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan. North Korea. Heath care, job loss, foreclosures. Get up, dress up, line up, wait. Get up, dress up, line up, wait. Most of us aren't David. We aren't Goliath.We're just doing the best we can to hold the line while we wait for someody else to make a move. Look at the story: There was only one David, one Goliath, one mama back home making biscuts. Everyone else, the overwhelming majority, were just doing the best they could to keep things from blowing up. Preserving the status quo. It wasn't great status but it was quo. You know quo. Quo is go. We need mo' quo.

Or do we?

The story of David & Goliath is so stirring, even 3000 years later, because as much as we know quo, we also hate it. We all long for that one, brave little David to step up and take a stand. Take a stand against the big bullies, sure. But there are aleays more giants. What we really want is one of our own, maybe the smallest, to take a stand against the mighty status quo. Because if just one can steup up, especially a scrawny, weak one, if just one can steup up and dare to challenge the monotony, maybe there is hope.

So from the stands, we cheer for Susan Boyle, the Scottish lady with a houseful of cats, one long eyebrow, and the voice of an angel. We pull for the Tampa Bay Rays, Gonzaga basket ball, and anyone who's playing Florida. And it's not just because we want to ee the Goliath dynasty fall. Well, sometimes we do. If it's the New England Patriots or Steve Spurrier. It's not just that we want to see the big guys fall. We want something older, and more primal. We want the underdog to rise up because of a deep-seated, God-given hunch. The hunch that earthly power is an illusion. That faith, hope and courage are stronger than any foe. That giants will fall and the meek shall inherit the earth. That the status quo of the way things have always been can be blown away by one single breath of God.

"David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give all of you into our hands."

Not by earthly power. But by the breath of God.

All of you can probably think of at least one modern-day David & Goliath story. Here's one of my favorites.

In Rochester, New York, Greece-Athena High School has a new, most unlikely hero. A special ed student by the name of Jason McElway. Jason was the basketball team manager. For four years, he assisted the coach, helping with whatever the team needed. Getting them motivated. Handing out water. And just being enthusiastic. Very enthusiastic.

Despite being born with autism, Jason never had a problem expressing himself at basketball games. His father was always concerned Jason might get a technical because he yelled so much.

Because he'd been so devoted to the team, for the last game of the season, the coach decided to let Jason actually suit up. Not to play, necessarily, but just to let him feel what it's like to wear a jersey. At least, that was the plan. But with 4 minutes left to go, the coach stood up, and called Jason's number. Jason, after years of fetching water, and towling off other people's sweat, was actually in a game.

His first shot was a 20-footer from the right baseline. An airball, totally off the mark. His second shot missed, too. But the third was the charm. A 3-pointer, nothing but net. But Jason wasn't done yet. Not by a longshot. Jason ended up shooting six 3-pointers. One rightafter the other. A new School record. He had 20 points total, in 4 minutes. A new school record. And each time a shot went in, his teammates, and the crowd, went a little crazier. His last basket, right at the buzzer, created total, bench-clearing, stand-emptying mayhem.

Because he is autistic, Jason says he's used to feeling different. But never this different. Never as different as the day the crowd lifted him onto their shoulders, and celebrated Jason's victory.

*As reported by Scott Pelley, CBS News:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZtU676jA_k

The status quo says special ed kids can't keep up with the rest of us. The status quo says, "Sorry. You're too small. You're too weak. You're too different." God says, "Ah, you're just my type."