"In the Eyes of Jesse:" The Fourth Sunday of Lent
Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (RCIA)
Second Draft
[Homilists: If you wish to compare the second draft with the first, you can find the previous version directly below this one. Major editing occurred near the end where the conclusion was substantially shortened. I welcome any constructive criticism you might have. E-mail me direct at jms48@fuse.net. Also, an audio version can be heard on the homily page of the St. Aloysius Gonzage web site. The link appears in the side column to the right.]
Jesse had eight sons.
On the day that Samuel arrives at Jesse’s ranch
to select a future king
from among Jesse’s eight boys,
the prophet did something that old man Jesse had surely done
a thousand times before:
Like a basketball coach, he looked them over and sized them up.
The passage tells us that Eliab was tall.
We get the sense that Shammah was athletic.
If you turn to the book of I Chronicles,
you learn the names of some of the other brothers.
One was named Raddai
(which sounds a lot like “Red-eye”
which sounds like a guy I wouldn’t want to mess with).
Then there was Abinadab
and Shimea
and Ozem
and on down the line the prophet went,
inspecting the young men like a drill sergeant at morning roll call.
But one’s missing.
So Samuel gets Jesse to call the youngest one, David,
from the field.
This lad truly impresses Samuel
and the Lord tells him that David is one he is anoint as king
Now, we could look at this passage from a historical viewpoint;
we could look at it from a theological viewpoint.
We might even look at it from sibling viewpoint
and wonder how the seven older brothers got along with David
after they were passed over for the job of being king.
But every one of these vantage points
would miss the main point of the story.
If you listened closely you heard that,
as Samuel worked his way down the line,
it was God’s opinion and God’s opinion alone that mattered.
What is the main point?
The main point is that God does not see things as human beings see things.
Appearances mean nothing,
it’s what is in the heart that counts.
So, let’s go back to the lineup.
But this time, don’t view those young men
through the eyes of Samuel the prophet,
look at them through the eyes of Jesse, their father.
Do this, and you’ll discover the true meaning of these words.
Consider the passage from the perspective of a father or mother
and you’ll know what this story is all about.
It’s telling us that God look to the heart
and I can’t think of any better comparison
that the way a parent looks upon a child.
A lot of you here know what that’s like firsthand.
For the day your child is born to the day of that first step…
to the first day your daughter goes to school…
to the first time you throw a fast pitch to your son…
to the night of the senior prom…
to the day you move your daughter into a college dorm…
to you stand in the back of church with your son in a tux…
tell me, parents, do you not often…if not daily…
look at them and study them and thank God for the good things in their heart?
God does not “go by the outside,”
God goes on what’s “inside.”
And that’s exactly the way a parent perceives a child.
So, follow me back to the passage one last time.
Forget about Samuel, set your eyes on Jesse.
You’ll see that, even as Samuel goes about the job
he’s appointed to do,
Jesse knows what every parent knows.
Jesse knows that each one of his children
holds a place in God’s heart.
And, by the way, Jesse also had daughters.
[Look at the geneology in I Chronicles
to find their names: Zeruiah and Abigail.]
Jesse knew that his daughters, along with his boys,
had a place in the world
and held a place in God’s plan for the world.
Could each child be chosen leader of Israel?
No, there can only be one leader at a time
and not everyone has the stomach for politics.
So, don’t get hung-up on the history
or the social conventions
at the time this ancient text was written.
Rather, look closely at this passage
and peer into the eyes of Jesse.
They are the eyes of every parent
who looks into to the heart of each child.
Look at Jesse... and marvel at the way God looks at us.
First Draft
Jesse had eight sons.
On the day that Samuel arrives to select a future king
from among Jesse’s eight boys,
the prophet did something that old man Jesse had surely done
a thousand times before:
He sized them up.
Each one of them had notable characteristics
be fitting a future leader and ruler of God’s people.
The passage tells us that Eliab was tall.
We get the sense that Shammah was athletic.
If you turn to the book of I Chronicles,
you learn the names of some of the other brothers.
One was named Raddai
(which sounds a lot like “Red-eye”
which sounds like a guy I wouldn’t want to mess with).
Then there was Abinadab
and Shimea
and Ozem
and on down the line the prophet went,
inspecting the young men like a drill sergeant at morning roll call.
Finally, he gets Jesse to call the youngest one, David,
from the field.
The lad impresses Samuel
and the Lord tells him that he is one he is anoint as king.
Now, we could look at this passage from a historical viewpoint,
we could look at it from a theological viewpoint.
We might even look at it from sibling viewpoint
and wonder how the seven older brothers got along with David
after they were passed over for the job.
But every one of these vantage points
would miss the main point of the story.
If you listened closely you heard that,
as Samuel worked his way down the line,
it was God’s opinion and God’s opinion alone that mattered.
And God does not see things as human beings perceive things.
Appearances mean nothing,
it’s what is in the heart that counts.
So, let’s go back to the lineup
and take another look.
In fact, I suggest we look at this passage
the way Jesse must have looked upon his sons that day.
Do this, and we’ll get closer to the meaning of these words
and the power contained in them.
Look at this passage through the eyes of any father or mother
and you know what’s going on here:
it’s about knowing the heart of your children.
For the day a child is born
to the first day your daughter goes to school
to the first time you throw a fast pitch to your son
to the night of the senior prom
to moving your daughter into a college dorm
to standing in the back of church with your son in a tux…
do you not often, practically constantly,
look at them and study them and thank God for the good things in their heart?
God does not “go by the outside,”
God goes on what’s “inside.”
And the closest example to that
that I can think of
is the way a parent perceives a child.
So, getting back to the passage,
I got my eyes on Jesse, the father,
not Samuel, the prophet.
While Samuel has a job to do,
that is to anoint the next king of Israel,
Jesse knows, as surely as God also knows,
each one of his children,
(yes, he had daughters too: Zeruiah and Abigail)
would have a place in the world
and a place in God’s plan for the world.
Could each one of them be chosen leader of Israel?
No, there can only be one leader at a time
and not everyone has the stomach for politics.
But look closely at this passage
and look closely into the eyes of Jesse.
They are the eyes of every parent
who looks into to the heart of each child.
Look at him... and see how God looks at us.
Despite our appearance
despite our status or the type of job we do
despite our sins
despite our set-backs
despite our failures…
we all have a heart…
and what resides in our heart,
and that which is lodged in the heart,
and whatever it is that drives the heart and gives life to our heart
this is what God sees
for this is the person you truly are;
and this is the person God knows.
Second Draft
[Homilists: If you wish to compare the second draft with the first, you can find the previous version directly below this one. Major editing occurred near the end where the conclusion was substantially shortened. I welcome any constructive criticism you might have. E-mail me direct at jms48@fuse.net. Also, an audio version can be heard on the homily page of the St. Aloysius Gonzage web site. The link appears in the side column to the right.]
Jesse had eight sons.
On the day that Samuel arrives at Jesse’s ranch
to select a future king
from among Jesse’s eight boys,
the prophet did something that old man Jesse had surely done
a thousand times before:
Like a basketball coach, he looked them over and sized them up.
The passage tells us that Eliab was tall.
We get the sense that Shammah was athletic.
If you turn to the book of I Chronicles,
you learn the names of some of the other brothers.
One was named Raddai
(which sounds a lot like “Red-eye”
which sounds like a guy I wouldn’t want to mess with).
Then there was Abinadab
and Shimea
and Ozem
and on down the line the prophet went,
inspecting the young men like a drill sergeant at morning roll call.
But one’s missing.
So Samuel gets Jesse to call the youngest one, David,
from the field.
This lad truly impresses Samuel
and the Lord tells him that David is one he is anoint as king
Now, we could look at this passage from a historical viewpoint;
we could look at it from a theological viewpoint.
We might even look at it from sibling viewpoint
and wonder how the seven older brothers got along with David
after they were passed over for the job of being king.
But every one of these vantage points
would miss the main point of the story.
If you listened closely you heard that,
as Samuel worked his way down the line,
it was God’s opinion and God’s opinion alone that mattered.
What is the main point?
The main point is that God does not see things as human beings see things.
Appearances mean nothing,
it’s what is in the heart that counts.
So, let’s go back to the lineup.
But this time, don’t view those young men
through the eyes of Samuel the prophet,
look at them through the eyes of Jesse, their father.
Do this, and you’ll discover the true meaning of these words.
Consider the passage from the perspective of a father or mother
and you’ll know what this story is all about.
It’s telling us that God look to the heart
and I can’t think of any better comparison
that the way a parent looks upon a child.
A lot of you here know what that’s like firsthand.
For the day your child is born to the day of that first step…
to the first day your daughter goes to school…
to the first time you throw a fast pitch to your son…
to the night of the senior prom…
to the day you move your daughter into a college dorm…
to you stand in the back of church with your son in a tux…
tell me, parents, do you not often…if not daily…
look at them and study them and thank God for the good things in their heart?
God does not “go by the outside,”
God goes on what’s “inside.”
And that’s exactly the way a parent perceives a child.
So, follow me back to the passage one last time.
Forget about Samuel, set your eyes on Jesse.
You’ll see that, even as Samuel goes about the job
he’s appointed to do,
Jesse knows what every parent knows.
Jesse knows that each one of his children
holds a place in God’s heart.
And, by the way, Jesse also had daughters.
[Look at the geneology in I Chronicles
to find their names: Zeruiah and Abigail.]
Jesse knew that his daughters, along with his boys,
had a place in the world
and held a place in God’s plan for the world.
Could each child be chosen leader of Israel?
No, there can only be one leader at a time
and not everyone has the stomach for politics.
So, don’t get hung-up on the history
or the social conventions
at the time this ancient text was written.
Rather, look closely at this passage
and peer into the eyes of Jesse.
They are the eyes of every parent
who looks into to the heart of each child.
Look at Jesse... and marvel at the way God looks at us.
First Draft
Jesse had eight sons.
On the day that Samuel arrives to select a future king
from among Jesse’s eight boys,
the prophet did something that old man Jesse had surely done
a thousand times before:
He sized them up.
Each one of them had notable characteristics
be fitting a future leader and ruler of God’s people.
The passage tells us that Eliab was tall.
We get the sense that Shammah was athletic.
If you turn to the book of I Chronicles,
you learn the names of some of the other brothers.
One was named Raddai
(which sounds a lot like “Red-eye”
which sounds like a guy I wouldn’t want to mess with).
Then there was Abinadab
and Shimea
and Ozem
and on down the line the prophet went,
inspecting the young men like a drill sergeant at morning roll call.
Finally, he gets Jesse to call the youngest one, David,
from the field.
The lad impresses Samuel
and the Lord tells him that he is one he is anoint as king.
Now, we could look at this passage from a historical viewpoint,
we could look at it from a theological viewpoint.
We might even look at it from sibling viewpoint
and wonder how the seven older brothers got along with David
after they were passed over for the job.
But every one of these vantage points
would miss the main point of the story.
If you listened closely you heard that,
as Samuel worked his way down the line,
it was God’s opinion and God’s opinion alone that mattered.
And God does not see things as human beings perceive things.
Appearances mean nothing,
it’s what is in the heart that counts.
So, let’s go back to the lineup
and take another look.
In fact, I suggest we look at this passage
the way Jesse must have looked upon his sons that day.
Do this, and we’ll get closer to the meaning of these words
and the power contained in them.
Look at this passage through the eyes of any father or mother
and you know what’s going on here:
it’s about knowing the heart of your children.
For the day a child is born
to the first day your daughter goes to school
to the first time you throw a fast pitch to your son
to the night of the senior prom
to moving your daughter into a college dorm
to standing in the back of church with your son in a tux…
do you not often, practically constantly,
look at them and study them and thank God for the good things in their heart?
God does not “go by the outside,”
God goes on what’s “inside.”
And the closest example to that
that I can think of
is the way a parent perceives a child.
So, getting back to the passage,
I got my eyes on Jesse, the father,
not Samuel, the prophet.
While Samuel has a job to do,
that is to anoint the next king of Israel,
Jesse knows, as surely as God also knows,
each one of his children,
(yes, he had daughters too: Zeruiah and Abigail)
would have a place in the world
and a place in God’s plan for the world.
Could each one of them be chosen leader of Israel?
No, there can only be one leader at a time
and not everyone has the stomach for politics.
But look closely at this passage
and look closely into the eyes of Jesse.
They are the eyes of every parent
who looks into to the heart of each child.
Look at him... and see how God looks at us.
Despite our appearance
despite our status or the type of job we do
despite our sins
despite our set-backs
despite our failures…
we all have a heart…
and what resides in our heart,
and that which is lodged in the heart,
and whatever it is that drives the heart and gives life to our heart
this is what God sees
for this is the person you truly are;
and this is the person God knows.
posted by BlueCollarPreacher at 10:53 PM
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