Little Help?

A couple of years ago, Carola and I went to a concert to see one of my childhood heroes, Ringo Starr and his All Star Band. You may remember him as the drummer for a little English band called the Beatles. He was 80 years old at the time, and doing the songs that he was famous for. The band consisted of musicians from several other well known rock groups that he had asked to help him do several shows. One of the songs that Ringo was best known for singing when he was with the Beatles, was “With a Little Help From My Friends.” It became quite the iconic tune and lyrics for an entire generation. The lyrics called attention to the fact that Ringo didn’t have a terrific voice, not bad, but not really a well tuned instrument. And so in the lyrics, he says, “What would you do if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I;ll sing you a song, and I’ll try not to sing out of key. Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends, I’m gonna try with a little help from my friends......” Sometimes that’s all we need when we meet challenges in life, a little help, hopefully from our friends.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about a style of leadership called servant leadership. The style involves placing a greater significance on fulfilling the needs of the people you lead, to supply them and support them in their efforts to do what they are supposed to do as opposed to directing them, or “making them” do your will. And we talked about how this style was modeled by Jesus in his time on earth with his followers. He called his disciples to be spiritual leaders of the people in the manner he demonstrated. But, though they knew they were called to do so, they sometimes didn’t feel ready, or able to do what Jesus had asked them to do. But, once that Jesus, in one of his resurrection appearances with them told them, “I will be with you always,” and they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day if Pentecost, they gained the strength of this knowledge and inspiration and they were able to go and do as they had been asked to do because they knew they were not alone.

Throughout the scriptures we see God calling on people to do great things, who seem to be the most unlikely people to do what God is calling them to do. Moses, who self-admitted his slowness of speech, was asked in the Exodus story, to convince Pharaoh to release the Hebrews from their slavery, then lead them through the wilderness, and administer issues that cropped up more and more. The prophet Jeremiah asked God to call on someone else, because he thought he was too young to do what God was asking him to do. Today’s scripture reading from the Old Testament is a story that has all the action and drama of a modern day action movie, and it is a story that allows for viewing it from several different perspectives, and today we’ll look at a couple of those perspectives, one being this idea of a call to leadership that seems beyond our abilities.

We will read from the book of Judges in a moment. But, first let me set the stage for you. After the Israelites had been freed from Pharaoh, and after they had wandered for years in the wilderness, and after they had entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, they settled into the land of Canaan, mostly in the hill country, in tribal units. There was no central government for the Israelites at this time. This section of the Bible including the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings is known as the Deuteronomistic Histories. Don’t worry, there is no test after the sermon, and you’ll likely never hear that term again. But, I’m telling you that only to let you know that these books sort of go together as a collective “history” of the Israelites after they entered the Promised Land. And in these writings, there emerges a pattern of behavior and response that is repeated over and over again. The pattern is this: Apostasy, Oppression, Repentance and Salvation. Apostasy means that the Israelites kept turning to the worship of idols, and other gods, away from Yahweh, the God who had delivered them. When they did this, the pattern was that God would raise up an oppressor to rule over the people as their punishment for their apostasy. After a while, the Israelites would cry out to God, and repent, and God would raise up a deliverer, or as in this book, a Judge, to fight for the salvation of the Israelite people.

This pattern was repeated over and over again in these books. When reading this story,, we get the impression that if the Israelites do right, God rewards them, and if they do wrong, God is going to punish them. An act and consequence pattern. A sort of “you reap what you sow” mentality. These deliverers were known as Judges, who acted as leaders in the tribal units, but they may also have farther reaching influence among the Israelite people. They judged over the people’s conflicts, and handled other problems as they arose, since at this time there was no central ruler, as later when Israel was ruled by Jewish kings. So now, let’s turn to our reading of Judges 4:1-10 to hear about one of these Judges, who just happens to be a woman, and her call to a man to serve in leadership.

The New Revised Standard Version Deborah and Barak

4 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years.

4 At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.’ ” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him.

This story again reveals the pattern we talked about in these histories. While they are called “histories”, these stories as with many of the books of the Bible, may not be factually based, but hold meaningful truths for our relationship with God. The pattern in these writings almost always starts with “And the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” again, meaning that they likely had turned to the worship of other gods and idols. Then God raised up another oppressor, this time King Jabin from a place called Hazor, and his military commander, Sisera, who was likely a mercenary general. Sisera was said to have 900 chariots of iron, a technology that made his troops invulnerable to opposing forces. After twenty years of King Jabin’s oppressive rule, the Israelites went to their spiritual and tribal leader, Deborah, and cried out to be saved.

Deborah is one of those characters in the Bible that I look to as one who has an inner strength that is empowering for others, not to mention that she is a strong woman in a leadership position in a time when women had little value other than as mothers and wives. She is described as a prophet, one who, in the days before the written scriptures, relayed the Word of God, a sort of mouthpiece for God to the people. She heard their cry, and received God’s message to summon her military commander, a man named Barak, who lived in a place called Kedesh. The message from God she gave to Barak was for him to assemble his armies from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, consisting of 10,000 men. Through Deborah, God instructed Barak to take a position on Mount Habor and engage the armies of King Jabin led by Sisera, and God would deliver them to him.

Now Barak didn’t just jump at the chance to go up against Sisera’s 900 chariots of iron. He felt that his chances were pretty slim that he could defeat such an army and saw it as a mismatch. He balked. Like Moses before, and Jeremiah later, and those asked to lead the followers of Christ, he balked. We’ve all felt that way, haven’t we? We have all had a time when we felt called, or we were asked to do something for which we felt unprepared or ill-equipped to do. In those times, it sure helps to have a support system, or people you can count on to help you do the best you can. In the story we just read, Barak told Deborah, knowing he would be facing a superior force, that he would go if she would go with him, and not if she wouldn’t. She tells him that, yes, she would go with him. But Barak wasn’t just asking her go to hold his hand in his insecurity, he likely was more interested in her going because of her status as a prophet. He knew that she spoke for God, and her presence would not only feel like God was nearer, but her presence would be an inspiration to those he was to lead into battle. He was reassured, and felt he had the support to do what he was called to do.

Later in the story, which we are not reading today, we learn that Barak routs King Jabin’s and Sisera’s troops, wiping them out. And the mercenary, Sisera, the powerful military leader is killed by another woman, securing the victory, and thus, the salvation of the Israelites once again. Barak had been called to do the impossible. He was afraid that through Deborah, God was calling him to do something that was way beyond his capabilities. By asking the prophet and judge, Deborah, to accompany him to the battle, he knew that he was asking God to be with him and give him the strength and inspiration to do what he must do.

Sometimes we are faced with challenges and opportunities that seem beyond us. We feel unprepared and inadequate to deal with them. But, if we know that we are not alone, that we have each other to lean on, that we have God to strengthen us, we find that we are able to do more than we ever thought possible. And at other times, we may see that someone else may need to be supported so that they can be successful in what they are trying to do, and through our love for each other, we step up to be there for each other, to face challenges together, and to lift each other up when the burden seems heavy. It’s the story of God’s knowing that even when we may feel that we are not up to a challenge, and feel completely inadequate to do what God is calling us to do, that we are blessed with God’s support system, and when God sends us friends to help us, that is good news. Amen

Pastoral Prayer:

Our Lord God, we thank you for the blessing of your love, and the gift of your Holy Spirit into our lives. Help us to always remember that it is through you that we gain our strength, and every good and perfect gift. We thank you, Lord, and give you the praise, glory, and honor as our Almighty God.

Dear God, hear the names of those whose names we have prayed to you today, and keep them in the hollow of your healing hand. Be with them when they are ill, be with them when they are afraid, be with them when they are in pain, and bring them divine care and healing as we trust in you to do. Let them know you are there with them and their families who look to you for strength as they care for their loved ones. Thank you, God, for your healing power.

Lord, we are at a crossroads of history, and we ask that you guide and direct us in your ways to heal our land. Let us always remember to take care of each other, and to see that we help provide for those who do not have sufficient means to live on. Help us to remember your examples of love and caring, as we consider how we might best proceed to lift others out of poverty, mental health darkness, emotional strife, addiction, and financial jeopardy. We know, Lord, that we must trust in you to show us the way to make these possibilities a reality in the world. Bless us, Lord, with your wisdom.

As we see great change taking place over the next period of time, we ask for your blessing on all of our leaders in our country, and around the world, that they may carry out your will. We lift up our public safety responders, and ask that you keep them safe, and that they know our gratitude for their sacrifices and service. Be with our military, Lord, those on active duty around the world, and those veterans who have served in the past. We thank you, God, for those who have stepped up to defend the ideals we hold dear.

Be with your Church, dear God, as it seeks to spread your Word of love and compassion to those who need your message of acceptance. Be with those who lead the churches, and give them the blessing of your presence and wisdom as they struggle to find new ways to be the Church in such trying and difficult times. Remind them that the work they do is for your honor, and yours alone. We are blessed to be the Body of Christ to do your work on earth until the day the world will be redeemed by your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen

Communion:

After communion:

Benediction:

May you go from here in peace today with the Spirit of our Lord in your heart, and may you know his love everyday. Amen