Love Is Stronger Than Fear - June 21, 2015

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I Samuel 17:4-5, 32-49

"Why are you afraid?" the boy David asked the army of King Saul. Well, of course they were afraid. The Philistine army had encamped on one side of a mountain and the Israelite army on the other. The Philistines sent out their most fearsome warrior, a giant named Goliath. And Goliath was clearly a force to be reckoned with. He was huge: ten feet tall. His size alone would intimidate most people. Add to that he had the best technology of his day – bronze armor and a spear as big as a weaver's beam. Like most bullies, Goliath was loud and brash: "Today I defy the ranks of Israel!" he challenged, "Give me a man that we may fight together." The war could be reduced to a battle between two warriors. King Saul and all Israel were indeed frightened and who could blame them?
The soldiers of Saul's army were no fools. None of them volunteered to fight Goliath. To do so would have been a suicide mission.

Along came David, the youngest son of Jesse. He was too young to be a soldier. He was old enough only to shepherd his father's sheep, though in this case he had been sent as a messenger boy to deliver food to his older brothers. They had no patience with his questions.
To everyone's astonishment, David volunteered to fight the giant. King Saul dismissed David's offer: "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth." David cited his experience as a shepherd protecting the sheep from lions and bears, and then claimed his faith in God as the secret to his ability to defeat Goliath.
In his desperation, Saul took David up on his offer and provided him with the best tools available: bronze armor and Saul's own sword. David quickly realized he could not go the high tech route and resorted to his slingshot and five smooth stones from the local stream.
Saul was afraid. The army was afraid. David's big brothers were afraid. By all rights, David too should have been afraid.
"Why are you afraid?" The Goliaths of our day are many and can be frightening indeed.
International bullies lead the headlines on the newscasts nearly every night. The forces of the Islamic State capture cities that the United Sates took only a few years ago. Terrorists do not play by the rules: they are hard even to identify. Defeating them is like playing a game of whack-a-mole: strike one down and another pops up in another corner of the world. ISIS, Boco Haram, Al Queda, El-shabab. The names are different and yet their philosophies and techniques seem similar. One would think the United States is larger and more sophisticated and should easily be able to defeat them, and yet they rise up again and again. The truth is that we are afraid.
Our world is filled with corporate bullies. According to National Public Radio, most mining companies do their best to keep workers safe and pay fines levied against them when they don't. 7%, however, do not pay fines and that sub set continues to allow dangerous working conditions: explosive coal dust, loose rock, poor ventilation, and more. Workers are injured and killed in those mines.
Often in such situations, people continue to work under dangerous conditions because they need the pay check. Furthermore, studies show that 62% of whistleblowers lose their jobs and 18% felt they were harassed or were transferred. The corporate Goliaths of our world overpower the little people who take them on. Workers are afraid.
From the global front to the board room, the playground to the workplace, bullies show up in all spheres of life. These days bullies spread rumors on the internet, ruining reputations and leaving children and adults alike feeling isolated and afraid. It can seem there is no way to combat them. There are still bullies who use their fists to take Halloween candy or lunch money from smaller kids. There are supervisors who demand personal favors from employees who comply for fear of losing their jobs. Bullies belittle and demean those under them. A bully can be a spouse, a supervisor, a teacher, or the kid next door. They are very scary.
In our fear, David's example can comfort and inspire us. David relied on God's power to help him defeat Goliath. He told Goliath, "This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down." David knew that his own power was too small to conquer the giant. He trusted that God was with him and God's power was greater than any human soldier, no matter how big.
David was true to his faith, and he was true to himself. He relied on his own experience as a shepherd, protecting the sheep from wild animals. When Saul gave him bronze armor, David realized he could not even walk in it much less dodge a bigger and stronger bully. "I am not used to these, he said. He did know that his sling shot had killed bears and lions. He knew how to use this low tech weapon and so he depended on the familiar tools of his trade. One stone was enough to bring Goliath down.
David's story is yet another example of God's pattern of choosing the unexpected to work God's will. Infertile women, like Sarah and Hannah and Elizabeth give birth to children who will fulfill God's promises. Time and again it is the younger son (Jacob, Joseph, and Moses) who becomes the leader God raises up. David too, remember, is the youngest son.
"Why do you fear?" Jesus may ask us today as we face the storms or bullies of life. The truth is facing chose challenges IS hard. And like David we must learn to stay true to our faith and to ourselves.
Our nation has long prided itself on our values: equality, freedom to worship and assemble and express ourselves. We honor personal privacy. When we violate those values in a frantic attempt to figure out which hole the mole is going to pop out of then the terrorists win even if they never kill another US citizen.
As Christians let us remember that our relationship with God is more powerful than the latest technology. Whether you are facing a bully at school or work, on the streets or in the corporate world, it is God's power that will win.
God's power, ultimately, is the power of love. Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying, "When I love my enemies, do I not defeat them?"
Let us not be naïve here. The Goliaths of our day are big and scary. They cause immense harm to innocent people. They seem to get their way, whether that's in the unjust practices of a giant corporation or the wiles of the internet bully. They are hard to defeat.
Bullies in the end cannot be defeated by the weapons of war. We can bomb ISIS over and over and when we do so we simply create more resentment and anger against our country.
Faithfulness to God and our own integrity are our only chance. Desmond Tutu, who fought against the Goliath of apartheid in South Africa, wrote:

Goodness is stronger than evil,
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Life is stronger than death.

A moment ago we listened to the big bell in the clock tower toll nine additional times in memory of the nine people murdered last Wednesday night when a gunman opened fire at a Bible Study at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. A white man, he had been welcomed by the black members of the church. I can imagine them greeting him, offering him a cup of coffee, and inviting to sit down. Likely someone got him a Bible and helped him to find the passage they were studying. Reports indicate that at the end of the study he stood up, and uttered a racially inflammatory statement as he opened fire. The Goliath of racism seemed to triumph on Wednesday night. Nine families grieve. Never again will they hold their loved ones. No more family dinners together. No more will nine sets of hands be folded in prayer or raised in praise.
But Wednesday night was not the end of the story. Yesterday's news reported that the families offered forgiveness to the shooter, Dylann Roof, via a video link at his first hearing. Alana Simmons, whose grandfather died, said, "although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate, this is proof – everyone's plea for your soul is proof, they lived in love and their legacies will live in love so hate won't win."
I ask you this morning, which is stronger – the racist hatred of the shooter or the love of the bereaved families who have forgiven him?