It’s About God’s Strength Not Human Weakness
Thoughts on the First Readings -Joe Frankenfield
Fourth Sunday of Lent
1 Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a

You don’t have to be big to accomplish big things is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. One can make the case that the entire saga of Israel makes that point: a small, out of the way, third-rate, bumbling power can play the staring role in the world’s drama. We can even view the story of Jesus, the unremarkable teacher in an unremarkable land, as making the same point. God chooses the youngest son who’s capable of nothing more than riding herd on the family’s sheep, to become the next king of Israel and the ancestor of the carpenter turned teacher who will reveal God’s loving presence to the world.
Bible stories are more about what will happen than what did happen.

Don’t settle for the world the way it is. Don’t settle for making the best of the situation. Don’t settle for getting yours and getting out. Don’t wait for superman to come along to make things right. Don’t wait for God to come along to make things right. Don’t tell yourself that the world is naturally a mess but everything will be fixed in heaven. Don’t tell yourself that you’re helpless before evil, injustice, prejudice and suffering.

No matter how small you think you are; no matter how intelligent, powerful, rich, clever, or well-connected injustice may be, if you open yourself to the Spirit of God you will be a movement of God’s transformation. Do not measure your success – that’s God’s responsibility. Measure your faithfulness – that is ours.

Folks generally give up on faith not because they find God failing but because they find themselves failing.

There’s a reason that the story tells how God chooses the least likely child to rescue the nation.