Profiling
1 Samuel 16:1–13
March 26, 2017
 Fourth Sunday of Lent 

 O NCE AGAIN, LET’S LOOK IN OUR “LENT IN A BAG” and see what symbol we have for today — glasses. I wonder why we have glasses as today’s symbol. I wonder what glasses are used for? To help see more clearly. Sunglasses help keep the sun out of our eyes but that helps us see better. I wonder if the shape of the glasses in a heart means anything. I wonder how glasses help us understand this story of Samuel.

Samuel is a prophet of God. That means he speaks on behalf of God to the people. God told him to anoint Saul as the first king of Israel. Samuel faithfully did that. Now God God regrets Saul being king. In fact, God is going to take the kingship away from Saul and from Saul’s family.

You see, usually a child, usually the oldest child, of the king becomes king (or queen) when the king dies. We know Saul has a son named Jonathan. If passing the crown was according to tradition in other nations, Jonathan should have become the next king. But God rejected Saul and his family. The reasons for that can be found in previous chapters but aren’t relevant to today’s focus.

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WELL, NOW, WHO’S GOING TO BE the next king, if not Jonathan? Samuel hears another message from God. “Forget about Saul, I have someone else in mind to be king. Go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse. One of his sons will be the next king.”

So, Samuel travels to Bethlehem to find Jesse. Jesse is a farmer and owner of sheep. He is well known in town. Samuel finds Jesse and tells him to dress his boys in their Sunday best and come to a special worship service Samuel is hosting.

That night when Samuel sees the oldest son, Eliab, Samuel is amazed by his height and good looks. His name even fits. It means “my God is father.” Surely this is God’s choice. After all, we want telegenic leaders, imposing leaders, intimidating leaders. But God said, “No thanks.” Next.

So, the next-oldest son, Abinadab, is paraded in front of Samuel. Not him either. And so it goes. He looks over the sons, one by one, from oldest to youngest, and each time God tells him this is not the one. Shammah. Nethanel, Raddai. Seven in all.

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SAMUEL IS DISCOURAGED. He saw what looked to be good candidates for king, but God rejected each one. What God said was this: Don’t look at how someone looks. I don’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but I see into the heart.”

Samuel asks about other sons. “Well,” Jesse says, “there is the youngest, but he keeps sheep.” This unnamed boy is only worthy to work in the far-flung fields of the flock. His father didn’t even think it important for this youngster even be at the worship service. Samuel is exasperated, but says, “bring the boy to me.”

Sure enough, the one least expected is God’s choice. The only one not invited to be present for the shindig is God’s choice. Kind of a Cinderella story. The one left out is the one God chooses to be the future king. God commanded Samuel to anoint the boy. And the Spirit “rushed” upon David. Samuel needed glasses, heart glasses to see what God saw. God’s measure is the human heart. We look too easily at the outward appearance of a person.

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ON THIS FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, we confess to profiling one another.

I thought a lot about that word “profiling.” It’s used a lot nowadays. It has political undertones. But I think that’s the right word. We look at some people and immediately write them off. What they wear. What they look like. How they smell. They are undesirable. They are foreign. They are bookworms. They are “one of us.” They are Christian. They are Muslim. They are evil. They are good. They are bad. They are right. They are wrong. All by looks. All by outward appearance. All by words, sometimes code words, that bring false familiarity.

Consider how often you make these kind of judgments every day. When you meet with a new co-worker, you immediately begin to develop an initial impression of this person.

When you visit the grocery store after work, you might draw conclusions about the cashier who checks you out, even though you know very little about this person. We make snap judgments and decisions, that are often biased or stereotyped perceptions of other people.

Imagine that you are getting on a bus but there are only two seats available. One seat is next to a petite, silver-haired, elderly woman, the other seat is next to a burly, grim-faced man. Based on your immediate impression, you sit next to the elderly woman. Unfortunately, she’s quite skilled at picking pockets. You judged the woman as harmless and the man as threatening. As a result you lose your wallet.

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PROFILING CAN LEAD to misjudgments.

This week an olive-skinned woman was taunted to go back to Lebanon. She was obviously frightened but also amused because she was born outside Lebanon, Indiana. Recently, an Indian-American Sikh was killed because someone profiled him as Muslim.

We make judgments based on what we can see; what we can hear, what we presume. Did you realize that Americans tend to equate a British accent with intelligence? That by age 6 girls tend to see boys as being smarter. Racial profiling exists whenever you feel uncomfortable/afraid around someone just because of their race. You see a Hispanic and assume she or he is in the United States without proper papers. I know a preschool in town, not ours, that does not do background checks on employees because they only hire Christians. That, too, is profiling — assuming that it is always safe to leave children with people who claim Christianity.

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FOR THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT, give up profiling. We’re not good at it. Neither was Samuel. Samuel sizes up Jesse’s sons by their appearance. God looks on the heart. God keeps choosing the ones who we would not expected to lead.

This week, put on God glasses. Seek to see people as God sees them. Look at every person believing that here is a person whose life, in some way, glorifies God.

— Keith Cardwell