Dear Friends,
In 1 Samuel 16:1-13, our Old Testament reading for Sunday, we meet Jesse the Bethlehemite. He doesn’t say much, but he’s an important link in the long chain of our faith.
God tells his prophet, Samuel, to stop grieving the failures of King Saul; he is ready to call a new king. He sends Samuel to Bethlehem, saying that he has chosen one of Jesse’s sons for the prophet to anoint. The next king will be David – yes, that David: the forebear of Jesus.
And that’s it. That’s the extent of his fame.
My father used to like to tell the story of his first visit to me when I started college. It was a source of both great pride and great consternation when one of my friends shook his hand and said, “Oh, you’re TJ’s dad!” I was equally proud to be known as Jess’s mom or Rachel’s mom – and suffered a little consternation as well. It’s a little reality check about who we are in the world against who we think we are or who we aspire to be. Those of you who are parents will have similar stories.
God chose Jesse to father David. But as great (and flawed) a king as David was, his fame, too, fades in the pure light of his descendant, Jesus.
We are all driven to find purpose in the world, but we may have little idea of how God accomplishes his own purposes through us. We may not be famous, but rather the parent or grandparent of someone famous – or not. We may even be a forebear of someone notorious! We may be the person who says or does the exactly right thing at the exactly right time to influence someone else to become great. Regardless, God’s purposes – the healing and restoration of all of creation – are brought about with our help, whether or not we’re aware of it.
Wishing you every blessing,
Mtr. TJ