Sitting in Judgment or Acting with Courage?
a sermon based on Judges 4:1-7
by Rev. Randy Quinn

I don’t know the exact story in your life, but I’m sure you have had some experience where you shook your head and either said aloud, muttered under your breath, or thought to yourself, “Not again!”

Some children are prone to certain types of accidents.

Ø      They spill their bowl of cereal on a regular basis.

Ø      They ‘forget’ to answer nature’s call and wet their pants.

Ø      Or the most common one at our house – they lose their shoes.

And when it happens, we want to say, “Not again!”

When I was younger, I was prone to have troubles with the law whenever I drove a car.

Ø      The first time I was behind the wheel, I was only 14.  My dad was sitting next to me, and after driving less than one block, a police car was pulling us over.

Ø      I had just gotten my learner’s permit when we moved across town to another house.  Since we had three vehicles, my parents asked me drive one of the cars.  As we pulled into the driveway of our new house, a police car pulled up behind me.

Ø      When I was getting my driver’s license, I hit the car in front of me while parallel parking.  (Did you know that having an accident while taking your driver’s exam is an automatic failure?)

Ø      Later that same summer, I was driving rather recklessly and totaled our car.  I was grounded for several months.  The next time I got into the car was when my parents sent me to the store.  And on the way there, the brakes in the car went out.  I crashed into the front of the store as I tried to use the curb to stop.

When I called home to tell them I had an accident, my parents said, “Not again.”

§         There have been times when it seemed that every time we sat down to eat dinner the phone rang.  Our natural response was, “Not again.”

§         I can also recall recurring arguments with teenagers and thinking, “Not again.”

§         And when some of you saw in the bulletin that we have a Church/Charge Conference today, you probably thought, “Not again.”  J  (And just so you know, I don’t doubt that our D.S. probably thought the same thing!)

As I said, you may not have had the same experiences, but I’m certain that you have had similar situations where you have thought – or said – the same thing.

That must be how God must have felt.  God had chosen Israel as a special and unique people.  God not only chose them, God freed them from slavery and gave them a new home, a new land, a new purpose.  In response, they committed to following God and obeying God.

But rarely did a generation pass before the people forgot who God was.  Generation after generation sought other gods.  They turned to their each other for advice rather than turning to God or God’s representatives – whether they were prophets, judges, or priests.  After a significant crisis, the people realized it was really a spiritual crisis and turned to God for help.  And God always and consistently responded by bringing salvation.

As our chapter opens, I can almost hear God muttering, “Not again.”

“The Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD.  [Not again!]  So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan” (Judg 4:1b-2a).

We almost don’t need to read the rest of the chapter to know how it will end.  The people will cry out for help.  God will answer their prayer.  And the people will again commit to being faithful and obedient.

It’s as dependable as a Perry Mason episode – or any number of television shows.  We can tell how it will end almost as soon as it starts.  The only unanswered question is “How?”  How will Perry Mason prove his case?  How will God save the people from Jabin and the commander of his army, Sisera?

This being the book of Judges, we would expect the answer to come from a judge.  The current judge was a woman named Deborah.  The people had been turning to Deborah more regularly than many Americans turn to Judge Judy – in part because the role of a Judge in their day was more a combination of Judge Judy, Dear Abby, and Dr. Laura.

Her role is more than legal entertainment; it is often the serious matters of daily life.  Not only does she help sort out legal matters, people turn to her to sort out social customs and religious controversies.

Deborah is an ethical advisor who sits and makes judgment about the affairs of individuals in the community.

Ø      So people come to her for help with their mothers-in-law.

Ø      And people come to her to sort out a dispute over real estate transactions.

Ø      They even come to her for help with determining when and where to offer their sacrifices to God.

In this story, however, she calls for someone to come to her as she offers a solution to the problems of the entire people.  She gives Barak a message from God.  He is to go and confront Jabin and Sisera.

But Barak is reluctant to go.  “Unless you go with me, I will not go” (v 8).

Deborah is willing to go with Barak because she knows the answer to Israel’s dilemma lies in his obedience.  It may be his job to lead the troops into battle, but she is willing to take the role of leader because she knows God is the one who will grant the victory – not the particular leader God chooses nor the particular troops in the field.

God will grant the victory.  Not Barak.  Not Deborah.  God.

She says, in essence, that she is not just an arm-chair general.  She doesn’t just sit under a tree because she is lazy.  She sits there because it’s a place where people can find her.  But if Barak is unwilling to go into battle and face the enemies of God, she will go.

Deborah found herself “putting her money where her mouth was” as she stood alongside Barak.  She reminds me of a pastor-friend who told me the story that happened in worship a few years ago.

My friend was on vacation and witnessed nothing short of a miracle – one that both he and I would have had difficulty pulling off.  During the worship service, a woman approached the lectern to read the scripture.  She barely started into it when she began to weep.

At that point, the pastor stood up and walked towards her.  My friend thought the pastor was going to finish the reading for her.  (My friend and I are both certain we would have done that in similar circumstances.)  Instead, he simply stood behind her with his hand on the small of her back and whispered, “You can do this.”

My friend later learned that the woman had not been in church since her mother died three weeks earlier.  She had gone out of state to bury her mother and now was trying to return to familiar places and roles.  The pastor encouraged her to continue in that process – and she was able to finish the reading.

Deborah stood with Barak so he could do what God had called him to do.  And in the same manner, you and I are called to stand with one another as we each do what God is calling us to do.  Some of us are called to preach.  Some are called to paint.  Some are called to teach.  Some are called to clean.  Some are called to sing.  Some are called to pray.

While I was a seminary student, I had come home to celebrate Christmas and was talking with my parents about things that were happening at the church.  At the time, both of my parents were serving on church committees and were telling me about the issues they were working on.

In the context of that discussion, I told my parents, “I don’t think I’d want to serve on that committee.”  My mother’s response was quick and pointed.  “Don’t let anyone in your churches hear you say that.”

While I knew she was right, I also knew that each of us must do our part to make the church work.  The pastor cannot do everything.  Nor can the Lay Leader.  Nor can a small group of committed people.

Everyone must do their share of the work, or the congregation easily slips into the role of audience for the pastor and other “performers.”  When that happens, we cease to be the church and instead become an unusual part of the entertainment industry.

I’m happy to say that this is a church where people have joined as partners in ministry.  We don’t come here to be entertained, but to be nurtured and to share our gifts in proclaiming the Gospel.  And while I still wouldn’t want to serve on some committees, I’m pleased to know the people serving on those committees are more capable than I could ever be – so the church is better off without me serving on those committees.

And when we all do our part – including the part Deborah played in Barak’s life – the church is able to flourish.  Together we become more than the sum of its parts at Sunnyside United Methodist Church – or as I like to say it, S.U.M. Church.

Thanks be to God.  Amen