February 15, 2009 Sermon

"I See You!"
(Judges 6:11-24a; Mark 2: 1-12)

Reverend Sally Harris

I suspect the only thing most of us know about Gideon is that some friends of his have put Bibles in hotels and motel rooms all over the world. For some of us there may be a vague memory of him blowing a trumpet, but for the most part Gideon is not a well-known Biblical character. So I find this story very intriguing – not just because of the drama of the story itself but because it is a story from Israel’s ancient past – before the temple in Jerusalem, before King David, before Israel had any kings at all. Gideon was one of Israel’s judges, like Deborah and Samson – charismatic leaders who, by the spirit, defended Israel from her enemies and inspired the people with their heroic deeds. Yet this is no heroic story – Gideon was not a hero, at first. Like the other judges, his abilities came from God, not from him. It took the visit of an angel and a sign from God to get him going and even then the angel had to work pretty hard.

That is what I like about Gideon – his undisguised queasiness about answering God’s call. He was not brave, he kept coming up with reasons why not, and he would not budge without a display of divine fireworks. That is why I like him. If Gideon could get with God’s program, then anyone can. If God saw Gideon… well then maybe God sees me… or you or us!!

The story of Gideon’s call begins in a wine press where he was trying not to be seen. Gideon was hiding from the Midianites. A wine press was a big vat carved out of a rock in the ground, big enough for several people to tromp grapes in and big enough, in this case, to thresh wheat. Gideon was down there because every time the Midianites saw something of value, they galloped in on their camels and took it. They were a nomadic tribe who had plagued Israel for generations, and this particular trouble had been going on for seven years. They let the Israelites do all the work, harvesting the grapes, the wheat, the barley, the olives. Then, when everything was piled neatly in baskets, they swooped in and took it all, killing anyone who got in their way.

So Gideon was hiding out when an angel showed up greeting Gideon as a mighty warrior. But Gideon was in no mood for either flattery or religious talk – he reacted to the appearance of the angel with seeming disdain – if God is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” It was as if the angel had said “Good morning,” and Gideon snapped back, “What’s so good about it?” I guess Gideon figured that the way you know God is with you is that everything is going well, you know: no starving, no hiding out, no Midianites. Gideon wanted the God he had heard miracle stories about, the God of wonderful deeds who brought Israel up from Egypt. Gideon did not want to be seen by this God who stood by while people were robbed and killed.

And the angel agreed, sort of, because suddenly God, right there, commissioned Gideon. “You do it, God said, ““Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?” Which was not what Gideon had in mind. “But, but…,” he sputtered,"I'm weak, I’m least, I’m small. There must be a hundred Israelites with better qualifications. I just suggested something ought to be done. I didn’t volunteer to do it. Honestly, I am not the one. I am the least impressive in my family. And my family, well, they are the weakest link in the tribe".

And God said: “But I see you. I will be with you,” and that was that. Gideon’s own qualifications did not matter. All that mattered was the partnership with God, who does not call anyone to do anything without promising to go too. Still, Gideon wanted to make sure it was really God he was dealing with, so he said, “Show me a sign that it is you.”

Now if Gideon had been a New Testament character, he might have gotten into trouble for that, because in Christian scripture people only ask for signs when they do not have faith. In Hebrew scripture, on the other hand, it is perfectly all right to ask for a sign. It is even considered a good idea- to test the spirits, to make sure that what is calling you does not come from the dark side of the moon or your own imagination. So Gideon did what anyone in his position would have done. He asked to see a sign. He asked the angel for a sign and told the angel to stay put while he went inside his house to fix a meal.

The next part is so alien to our time that it is no wonder we find it confusing. What Gideon actually wanted to know was how the angel would consume a sacred meal. If this visitor simply ate the goat, the gravy, and the bread, then Gideon would know he had a fake on his hands. But if the meal burst into flame and was consumed by fire then he would know it was God. Don’t ask me why it had to happen that way. I guess that’s how God ate dinner in those days.

When Gideon came struggling out of his house with all that food, the angel told him to pour it all on a rock. Then the whole feast went up in smoke, and the angel vanished from Gideon’s sight. Now that is a sign! And what did Gideon do? The sign he had begged for nearly scared him half to death. “Oh no God! I see you! I have seen the angel of God face to face!” And God calmly said: “Peace be with you. I am here. Do not be afraid. You will not die.” Then Gideon built an altar to God and named it “God’s Peace.”

You’ll have to read the book of Judges to find out the rest of the story. (I’ll give you a clue: it was not peaceful for the Midianites.) But what struck me about the story we heard this morning is Gideon’s legacy to us all. Not just his sassiness in the presence of God, nor his queasiness when the angel called his bluff. Those are important parts because they remind us we do not have to stop being human in order to start being God’s. But the real beauty of the story, for me, is that Gideon became the sign he asked for.

It was not the burned-up meal on the rocks- that sign was for Gideon’s benefit alone, so he would know who was calling him. The real sign Gideon wanted was relief for his people – an end to the robbing and killing – something he could celebrate at that altar called God’s peace. And indeed the sign Gideon longed for was given to him – only Gideon was it. Gideon was the sign. By answering God’s call, Gideon would become it. He would not just ask for it. Gideon would be it and do it. That is a powerful legacy for all of us who are tired of hiding from the Midianites, who miss God’s wonderful deeds, and who ask God to show us a sign by doing something spectacular.

Our gospel story of healing seems to echo Gideon’s story. It was the paralyzed person’s friends who first saw him. “I see you!” they said and then they found a way, ‘through thick and thin and tiles’, to bring their friend to the healer. It was not the faith of the paralyzed person that Jesus saw; no it was the faith of his friends. “I see you!” Jesus said, “and your friend is now healed.” The friends were the sign not the healing. Gideon was the sign not the burnt meal on the rocks. What sign do we seek? Are we the sign we seek? 

“But, but, but….” Gideon said. What do we say? Not that it really matters, because our qualifications don’t seem to be that important to God. Besides, God has a ‘but’ as well. “But I will be with you! I will lay my hands upon you. I see you!” And in the end all we really need to say is: “I am here!”    “We are here!”                        [resource: Barbara B Taylor, Home By Another Way]

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