Guy's Books and Thoughts

The lectionary in Lutheran Worship (LW) included a reading about King
David. David was the youngest of his brothers. When Samuel was
ordered by God to anoint a new king, he at first thought David's
oldest brother was the one. But God instead chose David. When David
battled Goliath, he did not find Goliath in a conventional sword to
sword confrontation. For one thing David could not even fit in the
armor given to him. I wonder if people around David would have had
doubts when they saw David could not fit into the armor. But God had
apparently been training David all this time, by his sheep herding.
Perhaps God does "train" us in ways that we are not even aware of. I
am also reminded of the original STAR WARS. Luke Skywalker was simply
a farm boy, not a professional soldier. Yet he was the one who
destroys the Death Star. His training was what he did on his farm. He
practiced his bombing runs that way, though he did no know at the time
his work was preparing him for combat. In KARATE KID, Daniel was given
indirect training by painting Mr. Miyagi's fence and waxing his car.
Daniel complained he was not taught anything, but it turns out that
those chores taught Daniel how to block. The tactics used by David
were not quite what Goliath had expected. Yet it was that sling and
stone which brought Goliath down.

It is interesting to see how events develop in history. A technology
may develop in a certain direction only to be countered by a different
technology. In the television series CONNECTIONS, James Burke
recounted a battle in which some of the best armored knights were
defeated by some lowly Swiss pike men. The use of the Swiss pikes
changed the direction of warfare. No longer was it simply a matter of
getting more and better armor.

This is not to say that professionals have no merit. Of course as a
general rule, professional opinion carries more weight than amateur
opinion. But having a PhD does not mean that person is right. A
professor of mathematics had "proven" heavier than air flight to be
impossible. And Scientific American had attacked the Wright Brother's
invention as a fraud. But that didn't negate the accomplishments of
the Wright Brothers.

Of course great events in history don't always come from obscure
places. But occasionally they do. Yes, Jesus was the descendant of
King David. But he was not born or raised in a palace. He was born in
an obscure place called Bethlehem. And he grew up in Nazareth. When
Nathanael was told about he Jesus, his response was to ask
rhetorically if anything good came from Nazareth. Ironically the
greatest good did come from Nazareth.

P.S. A friend in response pointed out that it does not have to be
either obscure place or prestigious place. My friend teaches at a
small academic institution yet he has also spoken to prestigious
institutions such as the Vatican.