Laid down

Today’s (continuous readings at Holy Communion) Old Testament reading is 1 Samuel 17:32-49, the account of David and Goliath. Goliath was a giant. Literally. A benign tumour on his pituitary gland had caused him to grow to enormous size. But that same tumour pressed on his optic nerve, giving him double-vision. Met on his own terms, Goliath was a formidable opponent, a champion unbeaten in close-quarter hand-to-hand combat. But when David runs at him from a distance, taking aim with a sling, Goliath could not judge the depth of the trouble he was in.

Goliath sees a boy with two sticks. And, indeed, a shepherd boy would habitually carry two sticks. A long, narrow rod, pressed against the flank of a wayward sheep, to steer it along a safe path. And a hefty staff, with which to attack predators, lions and bears. (There is a verse in the Proverbs that says, ‘Spare the rod, and spoil the child.’ It has been used to justify corporal punishment as a form of discipline. In fact, it means that without dependable loving-presence and consistent guidance, a child cannot flourish and may even go off the rails.)

But we are informed that David was only carrying one stick, when he approached Goliath. The staff, for facing predators. Though Goliath, in his double-vision, saw both the rod and the staff, David had laid his rod down. Had laid down his identity as the shepherd of the sheep. Had laid down his life; only to later take it back up again. In this, David is a type, a fore-telling, pointing us to Jesus, the Christ, who laid down his life for his sheep and dealt the enemy of our souls a mortal blow.