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One of the most iconic scenes from modern culture -
{clip of the Death star destroyed by tiny xwing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuKqcfO31is }
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The Death Star is enormous - it is capable of destroying entire planets - indeed it has destroyed a couple of entire planets - but a tiny Xwing fighter can fit down a trench and send a torpedo down an exhaust port to set off a chain reaction that destroys it.
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1 Sam17:2 Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel,
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A giant - a 7 foot tall man (image of wun wun from game of thrones)
The Isrealites are quaking in their boots
He is a giant - impossible to defeat - yet as the angel tells Our Lady in Luke 1:37 - nothing is impossible with God.
One thousand years later the Roman Empire was like Golliath or a Death Star - a mighty unstoppable force that no one could defeat. And yet a tiny little religion called Christianity, a religion of a minority people on the fringe of the Empire often taken up by slaves - that tiny Christianity manages to take over the entire empire. The brutal force that tortured people in the arena for public entertainment, where the rich could rape slaves any time they liked or kill them on a whim and brutality the just the whole system of the regime - that regime was conquered from the inside by a peace loving religion which said “love your enemies” and “the last shall be first”.
The story of David and Golliath - the story of a little boy who defeats the 7 foot giant - well in the days when children used to go to Sunday school it was one of the best known bible stories.
Nowadays - people are perhaps more likely to know Prince of Eqypt {clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DeWzsbkAcM or Joseph https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtpzoGj-1V8 }
But if you don’t know the almost fairy tale like story of David and Golliath, it is well worth reading 1 Samuel 17.
The Isrealite army are quaking in their boots before the giant Golliath. He challenges them to provide a hero for single combat, but everyone is to afraid to volunteer until a little boy, probably only about 12 years old steps forward - ““The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Sam 17:37)
And to Golliath he says
“You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, (1 sam 45-46)
he says - and much to everyone’s surprise he slays the giant.
In our own lives there can be many giants.
I know that as you listen to this you may be going through difficulties and obstacles that feel overwhelming.
And I know that sometimes it is a case of “Lord when you don’t move the mountains when I ask you to” And “what if Blessings come through raindrops”......(1)
Yet my experience is that God DOES answer prayer. Not every time, not in the way we want it - but yes in amazing ways.
On the one hand - to quote Pastor Rick Warren “Not everything in THIS life has a happy ending, but this life if not the end of the story.”
Or to Quote Julian of Norwich - “All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well”
On the other hand - God DOES slay our Golliaths. Things that seem impossible have been achieved
When in 1718 an unusual dwarf Quaker called Benjamin Lay began campaigning against slavery it would have seemed an impossible task - but God was calling him to do it - until in 1863 even America had abolished slavery…..
When Nero was throwing Christians to the lions in 66AD as scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome, it seemed impossible a tiny religion could beat the giant of the Roman Empire - but two and a half centuries later, in 312 AD the Emperor himself Constantine converted to Christianity.
And those impossible overwhelming giants in YOUR life- YES!
It may seem impossible but “We will overcome”
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And how does God achieve this?
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Firstly - he uses the people we write off.
The people we write off
David the 8th son - which while in certain fantasy novels might be a sign of magical destiny “Terry Pratchett Sourceror” - in reality just meant he was the runt of the litter.
Indeed when David turns up at the battle field to bring a packed lunch for his siblings, his elder brother mocks him “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.” (v28)
When 12 year old David volunteers to fight King Saul responds “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” (v33)
And yet it is David who slays the giant.
Like Lord of the Rings - where it is not the heroic men and elves who defeat Sauron, but the tiny insignificant written off hobbits.
Like JK Rowling the divorced written off single mum victim of domestic violence - who ends up writing the best selling novels of the past twenty years - and who is a Christian too…
People may write you off. Too old, Too young. Too this, Too the opposite - a bit like the song “he said - she said” -
People may write you off. But God never writes you off.
Like God used that 12 year old runt to rescue Israel.
God has great plans for you
As St Catherine of Sienna put it - become who God created you to be and you will set the world on fire
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And secondly - God uses our talents from other areas
There is a famous martial arts film - where the hero’s skills in an ordinary every day task lead to martial arts victory.
I am of course talking about
(Karate kid still)
No - that’s the wrong one -
Kung Fu Panda
Po the Panda is very skilled at one thing - eating. Master shifu uses that love of food to train him in chopsticks Which means in his final fight …..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIepSpXKEqo
David defeats Golliath.
8Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them.
And instead David fights Golliath using the skills he picked up as a shepherd boy - and kills him with a sling.
(video clip)
You have all sorts of gifts and talents that God has been forming you with over the years
Luke uses the skills he picked up flying speeders on Tattooine to fly the tiny Xwing down that trench and destroy the monstrous death star.
Corrie Ten Boom, sent with her sister and father to a concentration camp for hiding Jews, to preach love forgiveness and an end to hatred in the years following the war.St Patrick used the horrific experience of life as abducted child slave in Ireland - to go back there as an adult missionary - without that horrible experience he would not have had the cultural knowledge or language to be a successful missionary.St Ambrose used the skills he had picked up as a Roman Civil servant to revitalise the diocese of Milan in the 4th Century when he was grabbed by the crowd and made bishop.
Now I don’t know if you are a Corrie Ten Boom or a Patrick or an Ambrose or a Luke Skywalker
But I know God intends you to be a slayer of giants
49David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
{cartoon clip of Golliath being slain}
In the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit Amen
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(1) reference to songs by Laura Story and Lauren Daigle
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