I Samuel 8: 4-11 ; 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

Power seen and unseen

The texts in Old Testament and New Testament lead us to a contrast between power that is visible and power that is invisible.  Samuel is disappointed in the demand of the people to have a real king.  It is almost as if they feel like gypsies who have roamed the region and are now established without an indisputable leader they can follow into combat.   They have forgotten the miracles in the desert after they made their way from the slavery in Egypt back to the Promised Land, a journey of many decades.  They don’t much care for the invisible, spiritual power God rules them with.  Although there are stories in the Bible that have been embellished through centuries of oral retelling, the Bible isn’t that much interested in great shows of power.  Paul has a completely unique perspective.  He cannot imagine the Christian community that will emerge in Constantinople several centuries later when the Emperor converts.  In Paul’s day the movement is tiny and spread out across the northern Mediterranean.  There is no visible power, just earthly power.   But friends, there are limits even to the power of kings and potentates and leaders of elected governments.  Shows of force will only keep you in power for so long. Power seen and unseen in terms of governments is often described as hard power and soft power.  “Hard power is about compelling your adversary to comply with your will through the threat or use of force. Soft power is about attracting your partner to share your goals through dialogue and exchange. * In terms of objectives: Hard power seeks to kill, capture, or defeat an enemy. Soft power seeks to influence through understanding and the identification of common ground. In terms of techniques: Hard power relies ultimately on sanctions and flows from the barrel of a gun. Soft power is rooted in meaningful exchange and the art of persuasion.  In terms of values  hard power is macho, absolute, and zero sum. Soft power is supple, subtle, and win/win.  In terms of economy hard power engenders fear, anguish, and suspicion. Soft power flourishes in an atmosphere of confidence, trust, and respect.”(themark,news)

In some places neither soft nor hard power succeed in the foreseeable future,  Philip Gordon may have a point when he says: “In Iraq, the U.S. intervened and occupied, and the result was a costly disaster. In Libya, the U.S. intervened and did not occupy, and the result was a costly disaster. In Syria, the U.S. neither intervened nor occupied, and the result is a costly disaster (in an article by Zack Beauchamp in Vox.xom, June 2015). That should tell us about North Africa and the Middle East.

Friends, is it possible perhaps that our image of God ‘s power is too much as hard coercive power.   It is the idea of a mover of brute force that whips the universe into shape and unleashes great forces of nature in a sheer act of will.  Should we not think of God as a force of energy in creation that more often that is much more persuasive than coercive?  That is at least the picture our texts appear to paint.  The idea of a violent but also loving God confuses us.  It seems to be a God with a split personality while a God Who uses mostly persuasive power is much more coherent.

Friends, what about our power as individuals to impact our world? How much power do you think you have?  Can it be measured?  How much good do we do?  Paul says the invisible is eternal, and by that he means the grace of God at work in the world.  That is where Paul believes the great power lies.  But how does that work? Let’s take an example.  When Herbert Hoover was President, there was only one mail clerk assigned to him, because he didn’t get much mail.  When his successor Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House, they needed fifty clerks, because Franklin and Eleanor would receive at least 5000 letters a day from people who felt that they would be listened to.  Now Presidents just get too many. But in this day and age can writing letters to senators make a lot of difference?  I think we don’t believe so anymore, because we think most congresspersons, unless they are in a safe district, are beholden to their big donors.  There is the internet, but it’s getting harder and harder to be heard there.  Search engines tend to go to sponsored sites.

Ultimately I believe the answer lies clearly written in between the lines of Paul’s words:  the answer is faith in God as embodied in Jesus Christ.   If we believe God has enormous soft power to work in the world and God is with us then all the good we do has a place within God’s work.  Without faith we can often despair at how little changes in the world.  With faith we own the effort, but God owns the result.  Our soft power can go a long way provided we think God is at work.  That is the key.  But God’s soft gentle power does need our persistent partnership.  Sitting on the couch will do nothing.  We are responsible for the souls we have the power to impact, one helping hand, one righteous protest, one encouraging word, one check written to a charity at a time.  Thanks be to God.