“The
Call of God”
1
Samuel 3
Introduction:
I don’t know what many of your
childhoods were like, but I grew up hearing today’s passage a lot. Maybe it was
because the story was featured prominently in the children’s books I had. Maybe
it was because it was an easy lesson for my Sabbath School teachers to draw on.
Yes, that’s right I didn’t go to Sunday School when I was little. As a Seventh
Day Adventist, I went to Sabbath School on Saturdays. Fortunately, I found my
faith in a little Baptist church in Arcata, California not too long after I
left Adventism.
In any case, this story may seem
familiar at first. It certainly did to me. But isn’t it strange how the Bible
has a weird ability to come at you in entirely new ways every time you go back
to it. The passages you remember as presenting simple lessons from childhood
still do that, but it’s as though flakes have fallen away from your eyes when
you read them again later in life. You realize that there’s depth, complexity,
and ever abundant messages hidden within – all meant to help you grow.
So
when I approached this passage again this week in preparation I was startled by
one of the first phrases in the whole passage. It states, “The
word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.”
Doesn’t that sound like our world? Isn’t it strange how something so seemingly
far removed from our time, culture, and context breaks through and startles us?
It startles us because of its relevance. I think this passage is as relevant to
us today as any passage in the New Testament.
Sunday School
Lessons:
If you
remember this story from your childhood, as I do, I’m sure you may remember
some of the lessons that accompanied it. Lessons like:
·
Go to church
(after all Samuel was in the Temple)!
·
Obey your elders
(Samuel did exactly as Eli instructed).
·
Open your heart to
God (Samuel invited God to speak to him).
These are accurate and meaningful lessons. The make
the gospel real to the hearts and minds of children. That’s not only valuable,
it’s invaluable. Many of us have probably been imprinted with those types of
lesson and grown because of them.
Dream – Not
ready for that Visitor
Now I
have a question for you. If you’re like me, you probably fret over the thought
of having company over. I get excited and actually enjoy entertaining, but I
have to make sure everything is just right. When I was married I didn’t do the
cooking, but I did manage setup, cleaning, and organization. I was even
responsible for polishing the silver. To summarize, I got stuck with all the
odd jobs associated with entertaining. To be honest, my cooking isn’t all that
great.
But if
you’re like me you may worry about the details that go into things like
entertaining, your yard, or even what you may have said – or not said – in that
business meeting. You may have had dreams where you felt unprepared for
whatever it was on your mind. You may have even woken up and been unable to go
back to sleep until you revised those last few lines on that report.
I met a
pastor once who had been having the same dream over and over. Her spare bedroom
was a mess and she kept on dreaming that she had company over that needed to
sleep in it. Then one day she had a revelation. Maybe, just maybe, her
subconscious was telling her that she needed to work on herself spiritually
because that spare bedroom deep inside of her was where Jesus was staying.
Insider’s
Knowledge
I don’t
think it’s a coincidence to draw a connection between Samuel and pastor’s kids.
Like pastor’s kids, Samuel literally grew up in the church. He slept near the
Holy of Holies. So he knew a lot about religion, about church life. He probably
even knew some of the gritty details.
But as
the text says, Samuel “did not yet know the
Lord.”
He had an intellectual understanding of the rituals associated with church
life, but he didn’t have a life encompassing relationship with God yet. He had
an insider’s knowledge of religion, but not of God.
True
Relationship
But
here’s the thing. God didn’t give up on calling him. God kept at it and waited
for Samuel to figure out what was up. God does the same for us. He gives us
time to figure out what new thing we’re being called to. Like a patient parent,
God nudges us along even if the signs and message are all too clear.
Keeping God at a
Distance
If
we’re really interested in growing spiritually, we have to practice at it and
make it a priority. Religion has, all too often, played a role in keeping God
at a distance by designating only certain spaces as “sacred” – as though God is
only present there. But these types of separations tend to interject
separations into all of life: we separate bodies from our souls, individuals
from communities, and humanity from the natural world. It
seems to me that all these forms of segregation isolate us from creation, from
one another, and from God. We experience God in the world we inhabit, in other
people, in creation, and through the presence of the Holy Spirit who unites us
all in love.
True
Spirituality has to be Cultivated
We all have the opportunity to
integrate our lives more fully into the freedom and joy and exuberance of God’s
Spirit, but it takes effort. True spirituality is something that has to be
cultivated. It’s not just something we default back to when religion gets weird
or difficult. Genuine spirituality is something you practice, which of course
makes it religious. For some, the traditional ways of doing things are enough –
Bible Study, prayer, and tithing are what feeds their soul. For other people,
innovation might be necessary. Different practices aren’t bad, they’re just
different. What matters is finding a time and a space for God in our lives.
Creating a Place
for Focus
I know
that many of you have found places in your lives for cultivation. You may have
a garden, a prayer life, or a hobby that enriches your soul already. But I also
fear that as a society we don’t spend enough time cultivating anymore. Rather
than acting like Tevye, the poor Jewish milkman from Fiddler on the Roof who constantly talks to God, we sometimes have
a tendency to treat our spiritual lives like a drive through window. We
check-in and out without always taking the time to digest or schedule out as
much time as we should.
But if
we want to live in God’s presence and God’s life and love, we need to be
intentional about seeking to integrate our lives into our faith. I sometimes
find it helpful to just turn off all the distracting noises and devices we use
to escape reality and instead focus more on what’s going on inside of me. But I
also know that I can’t make my spiritual practice all about that. I have to
make sure there’s a communal element to it too. Practicing faith alongside
other people is incredibly important.
Do we
ever achieve much of anything if we strike out on our own? Not really. We all
know how hard it is to lose weight, quit an addiction, or make exercise a
regular part of our lives without community support and accountability.
Churches exist to provide that communal element to our spiritual lives. When we
practice our faith, God energizes us for everything we could face. We find
ourselves embedded in God’s peace and presence because we realize that God’s
sacred space isn’t confined to any one room, but to the whole of creation –
including us.
God Calls Until
We Learn to Listen
When we answer God’s call we submit
ourselves to God’s unyielding work of renewal and restoration. We find
forgiveness for our sins and peace in the knowledge that all things will
eventually be bound up in love. God’s voice may at times seem like a distant
breeze rustling through the forest, but it is incessant and always ready to be
heard if we will only listen. God doesn’t give up, despite our lack of
attention. God is calling and he wants you to listen for the word he has for
your life.
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