1 | sermon They say that the victors write history in their own favour.

This is true after wars, in political life and even in church history. We can see it too all around in the news of today. Yet there is also another effect that victory brings in its wake. And that is the wearing of rose tinted spectacles. In other words, with time the winners forget the doubts they had, the pains they felt and the efforts they had to expend to win through in the first place. Take for example, some of the epic struggles of the Second world War. Nowadays - each victory seemed assured but it was not so certain, I am sure, back then. This is particularly true of the Old Testament. And thats why we need to be intelligent readers of our Bibles. Frequently, we hear of the goodies going up against the baddies armed only with faith in God and surprise, surprise all the rest was plain sailing. The snag is, even from our own lives, we generally dont find this not to be the case. And so the theology of success is not just trite, it also disparages the faithful yet unsuccessful. Moreover, in the messiness of the average human existence it is palpably unbelievable.

Therefore as we once more encounter the story of Davids as-

2 | sermon cent to the throne, let us see it in terms of civil war rather than a journey of unstoppable momentum. Let us see it as a military coup rather than universal acclamation, let us see it possibly in terms of ethnic cleansing instead of a re-instatement of rights. Put simply, in the crowning of David we have a story of pain, struggle and suffering of large numbers of people. Nevertheless, it is in that light we can reconcile the Old Testament with the New. And as result, we can identify with its message as much as with its more pragmatic sequel. Surmounting that, we can within its pages find real hope for ourselves. For few are destined to float through life without the sense of its downside. At some stage, for example, we will experience the rejections of Christ and his disciples. The outcome being we go through the exact same thinking of Paul as he attempted to reconcile his deep seated and painful affliction with his sense of affirmation from God. How then do we find meaning, hope and even value in adversity? How as persons of faith can we even come to terms with failure? Well lets get back to David. Now no matter how much the spin

3 | sermon doctors polish him and his story up, the earthy truth is still there. He did have a messy life, a ruthless streak and a scheming outlook. Yet despite all that, God was faithful to him on his journey. David took not one step to Jerusalem alone. As an outcome he was strengthened, advised and comforted in the pain and ambiguities of his quest. Paul goes further. He too had no doubt as to the righteousness of his mission. Nevertheless, in the wee sma hoors, he must have wondered if his personal problem made the hill just too hard to climb. Nevertheless, he possibly solves it by looking for its positive spin offs. He indeed turns adversity into advantage. Maybe we then need in God-giving faith and God-given wisdom to accentuate the impetus we receive from what besets us to start afresh, improve and go somewhere better. Finally, in hard personal times we need to see the thoroughly practical approach of Christ. Since, we do not hear him moralising over his rejection. We do not see him pushing against an obviously closed door. Instead, he advises against the worthlessness of banging your head against a brick wall. Rather, he literally says, get over it and move on. Dont let the blows of outrageous fate push you off course. In fact, he makes clear

4 | sermon that there will be some circumstances, events and people you will not be able to change. Rather, look for victory elsewhere. For that will undoubtedly be a better place and a finer moment. Mores the point, that probably will be the win that God envisaged in the first instance. At an assembly in 2006 at Grove Academy I announced that I wasnt sure whether I would support England or not in their then world cup bid . I went on to say that whether they win or loose Their team will undoubtedly learn from the experience. This then allowed me to introduce to the students the story of Jonas Salk. He was the doctor trying to find a cure for the disease of polio mellitus.

5 | sermon I remarked that whilst the pupils Wouldnt seen it when I was a small boy it was not uncommon to see people with steel supports around their legs because their muscles had been destroyed by polio. And as a result Dr Salk had over 200 attempts at developing a vaccine to stop this dreadful illness. Yet when he did succeed in 1954, he was asked about all those

6 | sermon other failures. He simply said that they werent 200 disasters they were only 200 good lessons. My aim in telling that story was to suggest something like if at first you dont succeed try try again. However, its usage in the light of our discussion today can seem glib if not flip. Nevertheless, it retains a degree of merit. For with Salks persistence in adversity, we can hear the hint without discouragmentthat Davids victory did not come easy. With this doctors sense that good must eventual come, we can grasp via the rejection of Christ, that struggle and strife are endemic in progress. Above all, if we learn from the disciples the ability to find better battles to fight and wiser ways to fight them. Then we start to hold on to a strategy to cope with life with all its dark as well as light moments. Since the light of faith may not show our final destination but like a torch beam it pick out the next few safe steps. Since in

7 | sermon the resurrection of Christ Jesus we have our map based on the truth that nothing is ever for ever except the certainty of his gift of eternal life. And in the inoculation of the spirit, we have the shield to walk on through all that ails and find an unexpected cure beyond. Amen

HYMN.