And Finally, The Sermon

After I posted last night, I got involved in conversations with a couple of friends online. As a result, I didn't finish typing the sermon and making edits until about 1:00 a.m. Thankfully, there were no 3 a.m. messages from the Holy Spirit, so I got a good night's sleep. This morning I woke up just before the alarm clock went off at 8:00, so I had time to review the sermon one more time, eat some breakfast, get dressed, and arrive at church in time for the 9:00 presentation of the 2009 budget. I did make a few more minor edits. However, I had not planned for the snow. In fact, I didn't even know it was snowing until I opened the door to the back hallway to leave for church. Even after cleaning off the car and driving very slowly on slippery roads, I was not the last one to arrive for the budget meeting.

So here it is, this morning's sermon:

Second Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year B: 1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20); John 1:43-51

Loving God, you call us to be your stories in the world. We come before you seeking to be touched by your story. Open our lips to share our stories with one another and to bring comfort, inspiration, joy and laughter to each other. Amen.

The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 1 Samuel 3:1]

To hear many of our evangelical brothers and sisters tell it, the Lord speaks to them frequently, most often to chastise liberal Christians and an increasingly secular world. To most of the rest of us, however, it does seem as if God rarely speaks. Not too long ago the United Church of Christ, probably the most liberal of the mainstream Christian Denominations, released an advertising campaign which said “God is still speaking,”. Their purpose was to say that part of their response to God’s call as a denomination is to be welcoming absolutely everyone; that everyone has a place at the table.

Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me. [3:4-5]

In a world where we do not often hear God speaking, we do not always recognize God’s voice. And if we do, our reaction may not always be what one might expect. Some us laugh, as Sarah did when the Lord told her and Abraham that she would have a son in her old age. Some of us try to ignore what we hear as Jonah did when God called him to go to Nineveh.

The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again”. [3:6]

When a call comes, we are not the only ones who have difficulty hearing it for what it is. We live in a culture—and often a church—that caused one comedian to comment, “Why is it that when we talk to God we’re praying, but when God talks to us we’re schizophrenic?”

The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. [3:8]

There are the times when those around us understand that God is calling us before we do ourselves. In a way, that’s what happened to Nathanael in today’s reading from John. Philip extended an invitation to Nathanael, who goes to see Jesus in spite of his reservations. As a result, Nathanael becomes one of Jesus’ disciples.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” [3:9]

If God is persistent, so is Samuel. He could have chalked the whole thing up to Eli’s old age, rolled over, and gone back to sleep. Once we do perceive that it is God calling us, we need to prepare to hear, not only from God, but from those around us in our faith communities as well. During Advent we prepare for the coming of Jesus, learning ways to open our lives for his message. During Epiphany many of our readings are about God’s call to different people, including Jesus.

Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said “Speak, for your servant is listening.” [3:10]

Opening himself to God, Samuel became a prophet. The Hebrew word used is nabi. Greek translators rendered it as prophetes, from which comes our word prophet. However, as W. F. Albright points out in From Stone Age to Christianity, the term is not restricted to our current understanding of the word prophet. “The origin of the word seems to have meant ‘one called to a task by god.’” Not just prophecy, but any task. “Samuel is called to be much more than prophet in the sense of oracle giver; he functions also as priest, and will become as well one part warrior, one part judge, and one part governor.”[1]

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears tingle.” [3:11]

And God proceeded to do just that. God continues to do that through people recognized and unrecognized by us. One such person was the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., commemorated by our nation this weekend and by the Episcopal Church on either January 15th, the anniversary of his birth, or April 4th, the anniversary of his death. Dr. King certainly stirred up our country and made a lot of ears tingle. Over the years he has been seen as an uppity black man, a trouble maker, a hero, and a prophet. He changed our nation and our world, and yet…

And yet…

Why is it that most congregations only drag out Lift Every Voice And Sing for Martin Luther King weekend and Black History Month?

Why is it that companies think one session of diversity training resolves all the issues in their workplace?

And how on earth can anyone believe that the election of an African-American man as President of the United States means that we as a nation have finally overcome racism?

When I asked a colleague at work these questions, she asked me, “How are you going to answer them?” My response was, and is, I can’t. I cannot answer them for you, for the Episcopal Church, for the United States, or for the world. I can, however, lift them before you both in response to God’s call and as a part of God’s call. My colleague also asked, not just of me, but of herself, What are the core values we can hold up for the coming days, weeks, and months? In our lives? And again, I cannot answer that question for anyone, but I can lift it before you both in response to God’s call and as a part of God’s call. Does that make me a prophet? Perhaps. While I do not perceive that as my call, there are those of my friends—and others—who tell me I am. It is a dangerous place to live, and like my friend who, when people around her tell her they perceive her call to be that of a prophet, puts her hands over her ears and says, “La, la, la, la, la, la, la,” I don’t want to go there. But I cannot let the questions go unasked.

Actually, there are times I also want to go “La, la, la, la, la, la, la” when I contemplate what I perceive to be my call to the ordained ministry. I don’t want to go there, but I cannot let the questions go unasked.

Are you hearing God speaking? Is there a call for you coming through? These probably aren’t questions to answer now. Neither are the ones I asked earlier. But they are questions we all need to consider, so if Advent is a time of preparation, and Epiphany is a time to hear stories about other peoples’ calls, then perhaps Lent may be a time to reflect on what we’ve been hearing. And Easter. And Pentecost. And next Advent. And, as I’ve said before, God is persistent.

You may, like me, feel that the call you’re experiencing is different from the call you’ve perceived. You may, like me, feel that your faith community is already answering its call in the world. For you, and for me, I have another question to raise up. Why do we think God only calls us once, or to only one task at a time? And if for you, as for me, the seed of a call germinates, seek out members of your faith community to form a discernment group. Remember that discernment is not just for those who perceive their call as one to ordained ministry. It is for anyone called to any task by God.

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. [3:19-20]

God IS still speaking.

Let all God’s people say, “Amen!”

[1] Education for Ministry Year One: The Old Testament. de Bary, Edward Oscar, Ed. 3rd Edition. Sewanee, TN: The University of the South, 1999. p. 336.

Postscript:

If I'd had a laptop, an LCD projector, and a screen this morning--or stumbled across this earlier than last night (although my sermon was very different until last night)--I'd have played this after I finished speaking.



It's based on the UCC campaign I mentioned, but I can't find it on the UCC's God is still speaking, (yes, it ends with a comma) site.

Peace,
Jeff