Reading 35 • October 18
Today's Scripture
Judges 13:1–14
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name; but he said to me, ‘You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.’”
Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, “O, Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born.” God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” Then Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s rule of life; what is he to do?” The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.” (NRSV)
Reflection
Shortly after receiving this somewhat daunting assignment (how do you retell the story of Samson’s birth and offer relevance and spiritual insight?), I was returning home from yet another air travel experience. (My travails with air travel are the subject of tests in patience, determination, and just a bit of “you can’t make this up”). While waiting to board, I was captivated by “Delilah,” a wickedly cute toy bulldog, yet the name per se caught my attention. Why?
It brings the fuller story of Samson to mind. Not because Delilah was a beguiling woman exploiting a hapless man — that’s an overworn and impertinent theme — but because the complete story of Samson from immaculate birth, towering strength, impeccable hair to impulsive behavior, deep character flaws, loss, imprisonment, and torture then finally rescuing the Israelites, is a journey not unlike the sojourn through life for many of us. In truth, Samson, whom we were taught to glorify, was a decidedly imperfect figure. Sometimes a story makes the most sense when you start at the end; such is the case for Judges 13:1–14.
The imperfectness in Samson wasn’t new. Consider this passage from Judges. The entire book is a treatise documenting the errant ways and shortcomings of the Israelites. And the Judges themselves? Those were military folk, likely not the best kind, governing an unruly bunch. Rampant imperfectness.
Yet God remains true, remains whole, and enters this vortex of rebellion, retreat, oppression, and once again does what God beautifully does — offers hope. And how? By reaching out to the ordinary, the unsuspecting, the improbable souls, and gifting them with divine authority. In this case, a childless couple is told repeatedly, “You will bear a son.” Manoah expressed disbelief and asked to see the angel of God. The woman (don’t we wish we knew her name?) was unwavering in her faith and compelled Manoah to believe.
As humans we wish to be Samson — beautiful features, great hair, immense strength, boundless opportunity; instead, we are ordinary. Very ordinary. But it is in our ordinariness that God taps the capacity inherent in all of us to do the extraordinary. Not because any of us are great or exalted or gifted with any splendid assets, but because by God’s will, the least among us is capable of the best within us. Perfection is not the quest; living a Godly life — doing the small acts of kindness, expressing strength through gentleness, touching the lives of others, and easing our collective burdens of fear, anxiety, and imperfectness, is our glorious charge. Through God, we realize our extraordinary and perfectly embrace our imperfectness. Hallelujah.
Prayer
God, we approach you in supplication and present our imperfect souls to do your work. There is good work to do; embrace, enable, and empower us to do the good there is to do. Amen.
Written by Clyde Yancy, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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