Against Giants

the way in which we fail to say Thank You to God when we turn away from him, ignore worship, disregard the good ways in which we should use his gifted resources, and ignore our neighbors in need.

Lord, protect us from ourselves, and the things that we do and neglect to do!

Several weeks ago in our Sunday morning Forum we heard about Daniel's Closet, headquartered at Redeemer Church down the street.

It came about because of one small boy who observed the giant of cold and need beating up a man without a coat.

Daniel asked, “Can't we help?”

He and his gram scrambled around and found a coat, and some other things that the man could use...

...and then did it for another person, and another... and they asked some friends who asked some other friends for clothing and other supplies, and now the people at Redeemer have established a Saturday each month when they make all of these things available to whoever needs them, without cost.

A new neighborliness is established, and the giants of neediness and loneliness are beaten, in the name of Christ Jesus.

All of this because of the question raised by one boy.

Lord, raise up among us many more such giant-killers!

This week I heard a person (we'll call him “Adam”) describe a friend for whom things seldom went well.

There was a series of family crises, and his friend was despairing because of the giants that were pursuing him.

Adam said to his friend, “I know that you are not a religious man; but since it seems like things can't get much worse, here's something different to try.

Even though you don't have much money, give some away, and see what happens.”

How much?

Start somewhere. Pick a figure, and give it away.

We realize what Adam was trying to do was to get his friend to think about someone other than himself.

And it worked!

His friend still has giants, but their power was ebbing when he was busy helping someone else.

And then there can one of those things for which one cannot plan.

The friend wasn't sure how he was going to get all of his bills paid last month, but he was determined that he would continue to give away the amount that he had promised to give, when an aunt whom he had only known vaguely, died, and left him some money, to more than handle his obligations.

Saturday several weeks ago he called Adam and told him what had happened. “What's going on? Why did this good thing happen to me? Nothing good ever happens to me!”

Without saying so, Adam realized that God must be using this gift of an unexpected inheritance as a way to reach his friend.

So Adam said to his friend, “I asked you to do one thing, and that has been turning out interestingly, and so now I'd like to ask you to do one more thing. I know you haven't been a religious man, but would you come to worship with me tomorrow?

No questions, no obligations...just come.”

Adam's neighbor called him on Monday, and said, “I don't know how you figured out all of this, but I have to tell you that these days since you asked me to give away money and asked me to come to worship with you have been some of the happiest of my life.

You have been showing me what can do, and at worship I started to hear why.

I still have lots of questions and hesitancy, but I know that I am on a different path now.”

By the good gifts of God, the giants in his life are being beaten, and he is learning how and why to say “Thank You, God.”

These giants wear all sorts of disguises, but underneath, they are all a part of the un-holy trio: sin, death, and Satan...all of the things that try to separate us from God and each other.

We're singing a stanza of one of Luther's Easter hymns as the Offertory today, a hymn that names Jesus' cross and resurrection as the fight between death and life, the ultimate victory for others.

David could have walked away; it wasn't his fight. He could have said “I'm just a boy.”

But, for the sake of his neighbors, and so that the Name of the Lord God be honored, he went ahead and faced the giant.

Jesus could have walked away from the fight, but he undertook it for us so that the power of the giants in our lives could be shown to be transitory. Hallelujah!

May we

(1) accurately diagnose our problems, unmasking Satan's giant disguises,

(2) take stock of all the resources God has given us to use, most especially Jesus resurrection,

(3) employ those resources in ways that

honor God and assist our neighbor,

(4) give thanks to God always.

Giants, begone! Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.