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1 Samuel 16:1-13

¹ The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found my next king among his sons.” ² “How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears of it he’ll kill me!” “Take a heifer with you,” the LORD replied, “and say, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you.” ⁴ Samuel did what the LORD instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. “Do you come in peace?” they asked. ⁵ “Yes,” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well. ⁶ When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, That must be the LORD’s anointed right in front. ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart.” ⁸ Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, “The LORD hasn’t chosen this one either.” ⁹ So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD hasn’t picked any of these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all of your boys?” “There is still the youngest one,” Jesse answered, “but he’s out keeping the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel told Jesse, “because we can’t proceed until he gets here.” ¹² So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The LORD said, “That’s the one. Go anoint him.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The LORD’s spirit came over David from that point forward. Then Samuel left and went to Ramah.

Like many others, today’s Old Testament story has enormous consequences. On the surface it is an account of how David is chosen to replace Saul as king of Israel. Samuel selects only one of Jesse’s eight sons, and David seems the most unlikely. Even Samuel seems perplexed about God’s decision—at least at first. David is a lowly shepherd; yet the image of a shepherd-king of Israel becomes one of the most beloved in Christian history. What are we to make of this story within the larger drama of God’s dealings with a complicated and even unruly ancient Israel?

It turns out that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob does not judge on outward appearances. This is quite unlike our way of judging. As the story says, God does “not see as mortals see . . . the Lord looks on the heart.” Suddenly I realize that I make many of my own judgments about other people based on “outward appearances.” The success, power, and influence of others often shape my view of their ability and character. Recent discussions of our hidden privileges (whether of race, class, gender, or other identifier) have convinced me that our human decisions about one another rarely “look upon the heart.” When making community decisions about who our leaders should be, how God sees our hearts often seems missing.

Samuel’s perplexity opens us to the mystery of how God works to raise up leaders of church and society. Can we learn from God’s choice of a psalm-singing shepherd to look beyond our habits of “outward appearances” to divine wisdom? Much remains hidden at this point in the story of how David will rule, but the truth of God’s preference and risk in choosing the “shepherd of Israel” remains.

Christ Jesus, you looked upon the hearts of all you encountered with compassion and wisdom. Teach us to do the same in all our judgments. Amen.

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Leer John 9:1-41

John 9:1-41

¹ As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who was blind from birth. ² Jesus’ disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned so that he was born blind, this man or his parents?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents. This happened so that God’s mighty works might be displayed in him. ⁴ While it’s daytime, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ After he said this, he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smeared the mud on the man’s eyes. ⁷ Jesus said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (this word means sent). So the man went away and washed. When he returned, he could see. ⁸ The man’s neighbors and those who used to see him when he was a beggar said, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said, “It is,” and others said, “No, it’s someone who looks like him.” But the man said, “Yes, it’s me!” ¹⁰ So they asked him, “How are you now able to see?” ¹¹ He answered, “The man they call Jesus made mud, smeared it on my eyes, and said, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and then I could see.” ¹² They asked, “Where is this man?” He replied, “I don’t know.” ¹³ Then they led the man who had been born blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴ Now Jesus made the mud and smeared it on the man’s eyes on a Sabbath day. ¹⁵ So Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. The man told them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.” ¹⁶ Some Pharisees said, “This man isn’t from God, because he breaks the Sabbath law.” Others said, “How can a sinner do miraculous signs like these?” So they were divided. ¹⁷ Some of the Pharisees questioned the man who had been born blind again: “What do you have to say about him, since he healed your eyes?” He replied, “He’s a prophet.” ¹⁸ The Jewish leaders didn’t believe the man had been blind and received his sight until they called for his parents. ¹⁹ The Jewish leaders asked them, “Is this your son? Are you saying he was born blind? How can he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know he is our son. We know he was born blind. ²¹ But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who healed his eyes. Ask him. He’s old enough to speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they feared the Jewish authorities. This is because the Jewish authorities had already decided that whoever confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be expelled from the synagogue. ²³ That’s why his parents said, “He’s old enough. Ask him.” ²⁴ Therefore, they called a second time for the man who had been born blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ The man answered, “I don’t know whether he’s a sinner. Here’s what I do know: I was blind and now I see.” ²⁶ They questioned him: “What did he do to you? How did he heal your eyes?” ²⁷ He replied, “I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” ²⁸ They insulted him: “You are his disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man is from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “This is incredible! You don’t know where he is from, yet he healed my eyes! ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. God listens to anyone who is devout and does God’s will. ³² No one has ever heard of a healing of the eyes of someone born blind. ³³ If this man wasn’t from God, he couldn’t do this.” ³⁴ They responded, “You were born completely in sin! How is it that you dare to teach us?” Then they expelled him. ³⁵ Jesus heard they had expelled the man born blind. Finding him, Jesus said, “Do you believe in the Human One?” ³⁶ He answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” ³⁷ Jesus said, “You have seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you.” ³⁸ The man said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped Jesus. ³⁹ Jesus said, “I have come into the world to exercise judgment so that those who don’t see can see and those who see will become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard what he said and asked, “Surely we aren’t blind, are we?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t have any sin, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

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Leccionario Semanal

March 16–22, 2020

Resumen de la Escritura

The two readings from the Hebrew scriptures focus on the life of David. In First Samuel, the prophet is sent to anoint the next king of Israel. God chooses David not because of outward appearance but because of his heart. David is not perfect, nor is his life always easy. Psalm 23 declares David’s trust in God in good times and bad times. Just as Samuel has anointed David with oil, so does the Lord anoint him. The New Testament readings both employ images of light and darkness. Ephesians instructs us to live as children of light, not darkness. In John, Jesus heals a blind man and brings him from darkness into light. Some religious leaders protest because although their physical eyes can see, their spiritual vision is darkened.

Preguntas para la reflexión

Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13. How often do you judge others by outward appearances or worldly successes? How can you “look upon the heart” to judge leaders in your community?
Read Psalm 23. When have you experienced Jesus’ presence with you in the wilderness?
Read Ephesians 5:8-14. How does God’s light help you persist through struggles within yourself or in the world around you?
Read John 9:1-41. What questions does Jesus ask you? How do your questions of Jesus help you understand him?

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1 Samuel 16:1-13

John 9:1-41

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