Scripture: 2 Samuel 23: 13-17 and Philippians 2: 12-18
Sermon: “If Only….”
Topics: risk, danger, love, bravery
Rev. Mike Abma
2 Samuel 23: 13-17
13 Towards the beginning of harvest three of the thirty* chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. 14David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15David said longingly, ‘O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!’ 16Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, 17for he said, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?’ Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.
Philippians 2: 12-18
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. 16It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. 17But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— 18and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
INTRODUCTION
One of the most exhilarating things our family did this summer was climb a mountain in the Canadian Rockies. The climb was about 1000 meters (over 3000 feet) up, and about 8 kms (5 miles) long one way — another 5 miles to get back down. It was about a Class 3 climb.
Altogether, we were over 2600 meters high ( that’s almost 9000 ft).
The views were spectacular .
This climb was right at the continental divide.
We were surrounded by snow-capped mountains and sparkling blue lakes.
The thing about this extreme hike is that, at the higher altitudes, we were walking along a ridge. On one side especially, there was a very steep cliff. I kept on cautioning the kids not to be too close to that edge.
Now here is the odd thing. When Shirlene and I finally lay our heads down to sleep that night, we didn’t dream of those beautiful vistas or panoramic views. We both had dreams, nightmares, really, of falling off those cliffs.
I think one of the reasons the mountain climb was so exhilarating is because it was somewhat dangerous. That is how it is with a lot of exhilarating experiences:
they are both life-affirming and death-defying at the same time.
I can see why these kinds of experiences are becoming more and more popular for people. There is nothing virtual about them. They are real, flesh and blood experiences.
We could see evidence of a kind of hunger and thirst for these real life-affirming, death-defying experiences all over the place. We saw zip-lines, para-sailing, and mountain-biking – real mountain biking. Bikers taking their bikes up a ski lift to the top of a mountain, and then taking a death-defying ride down. At a number of huge rock faces, we also saw a number of rock climbers. If we looked carefully, there were tiny rock climbers slowly making their way up a 5.12 vertical climb.
My brother-in-law showed us a video of him bungee-jumping. He told us that this was another thing off his Bucket-List. At the time, I hadn’t even heard of the term Bucket List. But since then, I’ve seen the movie by that name – a pretty good movie, actually. A “Bucket List” refers to all the things you want to do before you “kick the bucket.” Our brother-in-law smiled and said, “Sky-diving is the next thing on his bucket list.”
A nephew of mine was in Spain this past summer. He and some friends made sure they were in Pamploma for the running of the bulls — for those of you who do not know this odd tradition, in early July, they run bulls through the narrow streets of that Spanish town. People – runners – enter the streets with the bulls and simply try to stay one step ahead of the bulls. Apparently it is over in about 5 minutes, but again, it is a 5-minute-rush of adrenaline. It also involves a risk. This year, one person died, and 9 were injured in Pamploma.
I have been thinking about these things since coming home.
What do we do in this culture that is writing “Bucket Lists”?
What do we do when many of the things on these lists are literally death-defying?
On the one hand, all these extreme sports and activities are thrilling. The Church Father Iraneaus once wrote, “The glory of God is a fully alive human being.” We felt fully alive when standing on top of that mountain after our climb this summer.
On the other hand, we have an old confessional tradition that is more cautious. Earlier in the liturgy we read from the Heidelberg catechism, question and answer 105, which cautions us not to harm or recklessly endanger ourselves. Even our Contemporary Testimony reminds us to receive life as a gift of God and not to take foolish risks.
So what do we do?
What is a healthy perspective?
I might note that the BANNER went from asking the question, “May Christians risk their lives for sport?” in 1996, to simply reporting on various people involved in extreme sports in 2006. Can we even question it, or is questioning bucket-lists and extreme sports simply being too old, too boring, and too fuddy-duddy?
DAVID AND HIS THREE FRIENDS
At the end of 2 Samuel we have an aging David remembering his life, his military victories, and his loyal friends. His greatest comrades he calls the Mighty Three: Josheb-Basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah. After identifying them and praising them individually for their valor and bravery, the writer of 2 Samuel tells a short vignette, a short story when David was young and on the run from Saul. These valiant Three had already joined David’s rag-tag troop of followers. David is in the Cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22). On one side is Saul, searching to kill him. On the other side are the Philistines, who have taken over the southern part of Judah including David’s hometown of Bethlehem. David is bored and tired. He misses home. He sighs and wishes he could have a drink of water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. We should know that this was not a necessity. It was not as if David was dying of thirst or anything. No, it was more a wish….”if only.”
No sooner had he said it, than his three friends sneak out of the cave.
They somehow get behind Philistine lines,
They somehow are able to draw the water,
And they somehow are able to bring it back to David.
We aren’t given many details.
But it doesn’t take that much imagination to think about the swash-buckling, death-defying, raid this would have been.
It must have been a true adrenaline rush.
Now here is the question:
Was it courageous or was it careless?
Was it bravery or was it foolhardy?
Was it admirable or was it dangerously risky?
The way the Bible tells this story, there is no simple answer to this question.
These two things are held in tension.
Yes, clearly the bravery and loyalty of these Three is being praised.
And yet, on the other hand, David is overwhelmed by what they have done.
David realizes that what they have done was too much:
too much of a risk,
and too great a danger
to simply fill a wish that David had.
Their lives were much too valuable.
Their lives were worth much more than the water they delivered.
The way David symbolizes this is, he pours the water on the ground.
This is the similar to the action a priest would make in providing a drink-offering,
a libation.
You get the sense that had David known what they planned to do,
he would have prevented them from doing it.
This passage conveys that delicate balance between
admiration for their courage on the one hand,
yet admonition to be more cautious on the other.
Yes, it was thrilling, exhilarating, a rush for the Three to have pulled this off,
yet here is David, falling on his face,
trembling, for what if they had died in the attempt?
Clearly David regards the life of his friends as holy, sacred.
“DRINKING IN” VERSUS “POURING OUT”
So what can a passage like this teach us?
I think we can get some guidance from what Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians.
Paul himself was a man familiar with risks.
We know Paul risked his life in the work he did.
But we also know there is a difference between
living a life dedicated to filling yourself,
and living a life dedicated to emptying yourself.
In other words,
there is a difference between
dreaming “if only I could….”
then making a “bucket list” that you can check off,
one by one;
there is a difference between that kind of life,
and living a life in which you first of all look to the interests of others.
In this whole letter to the Philippians,
Paul talks about imitating Jesus.
This means
choosing servanthood to others
over simply serving oneself.
This means
living a life of emptying yourself for others
rather than simply filling yourself with one experience after another.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with having “bucket list.”
an “if only list.”
But we should realize that often the reasons we defer or delay fulfilling that list —
Reasons like family comes first,
our community obligations,
our church duties,
our financial commitments to generously give….
often the reasons we defer or delay
are more important than the list itself.
The way Paul describes it is this:
the kind of life that is willing to delay or defer
is a life that is willing to be poured out as a libation – a drink offering – for the sake of others.
To put it another way,
it is allowing your life to be poured out
for God’s pleasure
and for the sake of others.
rather than trying to drink every last drop
out of a bucket-list of thrilling experiences.
The one is a pouring out.
The other is a drinking in.
The measure of a life is not what you have managed to drink in.
The measure of a life is how much you have allowed yourself to be poured out for the sake of others.
CONCLUSION
I was thinking about this in more practical terms.
And I thought of a family I know from Canada.
The family had 3 brothers.
The youngest of the three was born with a mental handicap.
The oldest brother went on to college, travelled the world.
He entered a calling in which he speaks to many people in a very public way.
In many ways he was very successful in what he did.
The middle brother went to college but stayed home.
He helped his parents care for his younger brother.
Then when his parents passed away, he kept caring for his younger brother.
He takes him to church every week – because that is one of his brother’s favorite things.
Because of his work, and his success,
many people know and recognize the name of the oldest brother.
But when I think of those brothers,
I can’t help but think of how the middle brother
poured himself out,
emptied himself,
for the sake of others.
And I can’t help but see him as shining like a star in the world.
Amen
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