Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a & Mark 6:30-34 

“God is a surprise!” There is a wonderful children’s hymn that reminds us of that fact.  It tells us to open up our eyes to the surprises that God brings into our lives. 

 Scripture is filled with stories of how God surprises humankind.  It is the story of David and Nathan that we heard in the Old Testament lesson this morning.  It is a time of tranquility and peace in David’s otherwise stormy life.  His enemies are gone or powerless.  His country, though still divided is currently at peace.  He begins to have pangs of guilt about God not having a temple.  “I am living in a house of cedar,” he says to the prophet Nathan, “while God stays in a tent.”  Nathan agrees with him.  Maybe he should build a house for God.  Then Nathan has second thoughts about it all.  We all have them.  Late at night when we can’t sleep for thinking, “I should have said…”  Nathan realizes that there is no need for David to build God a house.  God is going to build David a house, and not simply a house, but a dynasty.  God has chosen David to be king.  God has not only chosen him but has worked a miracle of grace through him.  That miracle of grace is not finished.  And so Nathan gives David God’s message.

God kept that promise to David.  David’s promise is fulfilled by the greatest surprise of all; for David’s heir was a king who tirelessly healed and taught and who died on a cross to bring peace to humankind.  The cross, an instrument of torture, became a symbol of love.  Jesus was not the kind of heir David would have dreamed of.  But we have a God who always seems to keep promises in ways that we do not expect.  Abraham fathered a nation.  Escaped slaves became God’s people.  A king died on a cross. 

The Gospel is filled with surprises as well.  God chose the most unlikely people to carry out God’s earthly mission.  Jesus sent them out, that mixed bag, and they came back filled with the excitement and joy of new ministry.  They accomplished things they never thought possible.  They healed sick people, changed hearts, announced the good news, and found themselves filled with compassion with others.  They hardly recognized themselves.  They were doing what they were meant to do.  They were being who they were meant to be.  What a surprise it was for them to find out that God was calling them! What a surprise to find out that they had what it takes! 

How has God surprised you in your life?  Was it through the awesome beauty of nature? 
        A rainbow arching its way across the sky ...
·            The fresh scent of pine ...
                   The sunlight dancing on the sparkling water of the lake ...
               ·        A night sky filled with a myriad of stars ...
                    ·        The mist rising above the falls ... 

Or was it God reaching out to you through another person?
·        A random act of kindness ...
     ·        The sheer goodness of someone going out of their way to help you ...
          ·        Something as simple as a smile or a gesture given in friendship ... 

Was it a synergistic moment when everything turned out just right?  I’ve shared my list of such things with you before, those Murphy’s Law happenings of life.  Things such as ...
·        Getting into the right line at the supermarket ...
     ·        Finding a parking space with time left on the meter when you know you haven’t got any change ...
          ·        Running late and getting to the bus stop just as the bus pulls up ... 

The greatest surprise for me has been in knowing that God is present with me on my life’s journey.  At times of sorrow, I have felt the deep consolation of God.  At times of joy I have been overwhelmed at God’s sheer goodness.  I look back at times in my life when I wondered how I could ever survive and I know that God was with me, supporting and strengthening me. 

David found out that it is not about where God is to be found, but about how God works.  The disciples found out that it was about God working through them.  These are things that we all need to learn.  We need to learn to be surprised by God’s sheer goodness to us.  We need to learn that most of those God-given surprises don’t happen in church.  They don’t happen when we are praying for them to happen.  God simply gifts us with them, scattering them through our lives.  Can we learn to accept God’s grace and pass it on with love and compassion to others?  Let us be surprised by God!