David, the son of Jesse, is introduced as the next branch of the Jesse tree. David is the youngest of boys and a shepherd boy. Samuel is surprised that the next king of Israel isn't Jesse's other sons! But David the shepherd boy is to be the next king of Israel and a shadow of Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7. Ann goes on to flesh this out in the chapter.
Having just gotten back from New York City at the height of the biggest shopping season, her words take on much meaning for me … The endless bombardment of ads, gloss, Photoshop - it's like full-immersion sight lessons, schooling us to have eyes for everything unimportant and unreal. From Hollywood to Pinterest, the media of this world aggressively schools your soul to see the exact opposite of the way God sees. (126)
People aren't bodies; they are hearts. (126) Seems like an obvious thing but the fact that it even has to be mentioned insinuates that it's not just a Samuel flaw but humanity flawed.
She asks some good questions to ponder hard on and she reminds me - When my priorities aren't the things seen - when my priorities are rather all things unseen - it's only then that my life begins to have substance and weight. (127)
Good thoughts to chew on - He who was the most beautiful One became the most ugly … that our ugly hearts might become beautiful in the eyes of God. Who knows of another love story like this?(128)
and ..
There is another forgotten One from Bethlehem - One who was not allowed in, who was kept out with the sheep and the animals. There was another who was anointed by the Spirit and sent out into the wilderness, not just hunted by Saul but assaulted by Satan. There was another who was not just forgotten by his father, but forsaken by His Father. The most brilliant, beautiful Person in the universe lost his physical attraction (Isaiah 53) so that we, being spiritually unsightly, could be beautiful in the eyes of God.(128)
Question #1 - I'd like to be better at asking questions and listening - getting beyond the superficial where appropriate. Not busy thinking of the next thing to see but hearing what they're saying.
3 comments:
I was reminded of the "hidden" things of God throughout today's reading and couldn't help but consider how Christ is "hidden" in, with and under the bread and wine (Lord's Supper/Communion/Eucharist), water (Baptism) and the Word (God's Holy Bible)...God comes to us in these places and is our Emmanuel (God with us). Again, so many good thoughts in this chapter to ponder :) Susanne
Oh, thank you for bringing this up - I wrote this last night wayyyyyyy too tired and just knew I was missing something. Good reminders!! Because we can have a tendency to carry this "Samuel thinking" into church with us. Expecting to see Christ in this "shazam" way or judging for ourselves based on what we think we see whether the Spirit is working among us. But again, as with our subjective way of seeing and feeling things, we KNOW objectively that Christ is for certain working about the things you mentioned - in Word and Sacrament - because he tells us he does.
Ah! I love this book, and I love this blog! You ladies bring out some wonderful things in the writing!
I noted to myself many of the same things Rachel did. I didn't even think of the "hidden" things Susanne was mentioning - what a great point as well! Even with bringing Samuel syndrome into church - how we can even sometimes go through the motions of hearing the Word, but it bounces off our distracted or tired brains and never gets to our heart.
I loved the idea of exercising our eyes (training them to look to the heart of things) by walking with Christ.
And, "the world keeps looking for beauty in appearances rather than in his appearing." (p125) Such a good point during Advent!
Wish I could go on, but my time is up!
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