“O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness…. ” Collect of the Day
Welcome!
The readings from Sunday, June 23, 2024 (Proper 7B) featured the story of David and Goliath. The verses from Psalm 9 came from a heart and a community that, through experience, trusted God in even the most difficult moments of life. Our* discussion focused on the Psalm. You are invited to join the Psalmist in lifting your heart to God.
Click image to view or download our study guide
*Most Wednesday mornings a group of us gather online to explore the readings that will be used in worship the following Sunday. This week’s handout features readings, commentaries, and notes for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (June 23, 2024) in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary. Please: View or download the handoutwe used to guide our discussion and tune our hearts to the Spirit.
When the elders of Israel went to Samuel to demand that he appoint a king, it was argued they would need one to protect them from their enemies. Samuel was not convinced that Israel required a king but after arguments, Saul was anointed.
Among Israel’s enemies were the Philistines whose army had gathered at the Valley of Elah to confront Saul’s forces. During this stand-off a huge warrior named Goliath (reported to be nine feet, nine inches tall) came forward from the Philistine camp with taunts. He challenged the Israelites to send someone to fight him. The nation of the victor, he said, would rule over the other. King Saul was a tall man with experience in battle but he would have been no match for this Philistine giant.
Meanwhile, David, the youngest son of Jesse, was sent by his father to take food to his brothers who were serving in Saul’s army. When David saw Goliath and heard his taunts, he said he would fight him. He had killed wild beasts while protecting his sheep and was very accurate with his sling. There was neither fear in David nor a need to wear burdensome armor. When Goliath saw he was being approached by an armor-less boy with a shepherd’s staff and sling, he was both surprised and amused. He said “Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?” David, however, quickly dispatched the giant with a stone hurled from his sling. The stone penetrated Goliath’s unprotected forehead and he fell. David then used Goliath’s own sword to behead him.
Osmar Schindler’s colored lithograph, David and Goliath, depicts the self-assured giant standing with his head back in laughter at the sight of David. The men in the Philistine army behind him were anticipating a show-down between two warriors and they too must have wondered what was going on with the appearance of David. In his right hand Goliath is holding a spear and his left hand is resting easily on his waist. He did not take David seriously. Even his shield-bearer is standing aside and leaving him not fully protected. Goliath’s thoughts were perhaps “Are you kidding? What is this?”
Regardless of size differences, David was not intimidated. Before going out to confront Goliath, he told Saul, “The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will save me from the hand of the Philistine.” In the foreground, David has both feet planted firmly on a boulder as he looks at Goliath. He is ready and in a moment the stone placed in his sling’s pouch will be swung and released to put an end to Goliath.
There are many paintings and drawings of David’s encounter with Goliath. They range from Sunday School cartoons to gory images of Goliath being beheaded or David holding up Goliath’s severed head. David is well represented also in sculpture. Two of the most noted sculptures of David are Donatello’s David (with Goliath’s head at his feet) and Michelangelo’s David (holding a sling over his left shoulder).
David slays Goliath
Michelangelo, fresco, Sistine Chapel
Donatello, David, bronze, Bargello National Museum
More about the lithograph process: Osmar Schindler’s image of David and Goliath is a lithograph [litho: stone, graph: drawing (drawing on stone)]. The process is based on oil and water not mixing. When making a lithograph, a drawing is made with a greasy crayon on a flattened smooth-surfaced limestone. The surface is treated with a weak acid solution which rolls off the crayon drawing and covers the unmarked areas of the stone. After the drawing is removed with a solvent, the surface is made wet. Water clings to the treated surface but not to where the drawing was made (and removed). When the stone is inked with a large roller, the ink is rejected by the watered surface and clings only to where there was once a drawing. Paper is placed over the inked stone and it is run through a press. When the paper is pulled off the stone, the image (once a drawing on the stone) is now on the paper (in reverse). Multiple prints may be made by this process. If color is to be used, a separate stone is used for each color. Artists may color a lithograph by hand after it has been printed. ~Hovak Najarian
For more art and art commentary search the Art & Music Category or use Hovak Najarian as your search term.
“We are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 1 Samuel 8:19b-20
Israel Demands a King, engraving, 1778, J. Winter, active 18th century. This engraving was published in The Bible and its Story, 1909, Edited by Charles Horne and Julius Brewer.
When the prophet Samuel was advanced in years the Israelites began to worry about their future. Who would be their leader and how would they be able to deal with their enemies? The elders went to Samuel with their concerns and said “You are old and your sons do not follow your ways, appoint for us a king to govern us, like other nations.” Samuel was displeased that they asked for a king. When he prayed, God instructed him to listen to the people, but also to warn them solemnly about what they could expect if they were to bed given a king. Samuel warned the elders to be careful about what they wished but they would have none of it and said, “No… we are determined to have a king…
Winter’s Israel Demands a King (detail above) the figures are placed in an open courtyard and strong opposing opinions are suggested by a face-off between Samuel and the elders. Samuel, a slightly hunched over old man, is at the left. He has assumed a solid stance and is pointing forcefully with both index fingers as he states his opposition to Israel having a king. To the right an animated spokesperson for the elders is leaning forward as he argues forcefully to make a point. He seems ready to interrupt Samuel at any moment. The gestures of the elders are exaggerated for effect and their claw-like hands are emphasized. A young man standing behind Samuel seems to be taken aback by the demanding elders. Have they no respect … how could they talk to Samuel like that? After listening, praying, and explaining what it would be like to have a king, Samuel followed the people’s wishes and anointed a king.
J. Winter, Israel Demands a King (full engraving)
In medieval art, illustrations were added to enhance the text of gospel books. Often subjects were events in the life of Jesus, Mary, his mother and the Apostles, and Old Testament kings, prophets and events in other’s lives were illustrated. Illustrations also presented artists with an opportunity to venture into less-depicted subjects but sometimes these did not have visual impact. An engraving of Samuel arguing with elders could not compete with the drama of Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea or Elijah ascending to heaven in a fiery horse drawn cart. When a subject lacked action an artist was challenged to generate interest by staging the subject in a dramatic way. This could engage a viewer and describe a work’s subject but often these were not enough. The arrangement of figures in Winter’s IsraelDemands a King requires knowledge of the biblical text in order to understand the subject being depicted.
At mid-fifteenth century the printing press was invented and by the end of the century, books were being published. Instead of hand-painted illustrations as in gospel books, art in the form of engravings, could be inked and printed with the text. Engravings continued to be popular even after the halftone (a photo-mechanical process) was introduced in the late nineteenth century.
Hear what the Spirit is saying 
.jpg){kind=link}
