Listening for God
Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-11
Some people call it “clueing in.” Others call it “when the penny dropped.” I think each of us has a different name for it... the light comes on, getting a clue, or waking up smell the coffee! These are all ways of describing moments in life where we learn something new. It can be a small “aha!” moment where something becomes slightly clearer, to those profound revelations where our whole perspective is changed. Regardless, learning is a part of life, a part of being human.
When we think of learning, we tend to simply think about school. Appropriate, given that our children have returned to class this week. It is true that children are learning machines, right from birth they are hard-wired to absorb the world around them. They learn at an amazing rate. While this is true, relegating learning to just the young is not helpful. Learning is more than simply soaking up the so-called three “R’s”. Learning is interacting with life itself and our meaning and place in it... Learning is one of the ways we interact with God. If we assume that there is a point in life that we stop learning, we stop growing...
It’s not to say that learning is an easy thing. Educators often talk about a “learning curve;” the more difficult something is to learn, the steeper the curve. Sometimes, a fresh perspective or the wisdom of another can smooth it out, making it less steep… allowing for a learning moment.
The story of Samuel that we heard today is about one of those... And so we begin...
“The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.”
Once upon a time...
The tale we hear this morning is the type that is told around campfires to amuse children. Yet like the best of campfire stories, its lessons contain many layers and speak to all ages. Samuel is the student, the one who learns from another about responding to God’s call. Eli is the voice of experience and perception. As a mentor he is the one who perceives God working the life of another. Underlying all of this is God, who is persistent and patient in calling us to understand ourselves...
Enter Samuel. We know him as the great old prophet. The one who would anoint both Saul and David to the throne of Israel. The stories portray him as wise and patient... a tireless servant of God who witnesses both triumph and tragedy. The stories portray him as wise and patient... calling Israel to be faithful to God in a time of great transition. These stories portray Samuel as wise and patient... in almost every story except for the one we hear this morning. Here, he is not the wise and patient old man, but an over-eager clueless young boy.
As much as Samuel is respected as one of the early great prophets, the story of his call is not exactly flattering. As a boy, he hears the call of God several times... but doesn’t quite know where it’s coming from... He responds, thinking his mentor Eli needs him... Three times he wakes up hearing someone calling his name, and three times he dashes into Eli’s chamber ready to tend to his every need. Three times the aging Eli tells the eager Samuel to go back to bed and quit pestering him. Through the story, Samuel does not seem to get the point. Finally, old Eli thinks that it might be God calling young Samuel.
“Wake up and smell the Coffee Samuel! It’s God calling you... not me...” Eli tells Samuel “Next time you hear your name called, say ‘Speak, for your servant is listening...” Sure enough, Eli was right...
It took the perception of another to give light to Samuel’s calling or meaning in life.
While Samuel is the central figure in this story, there is also Eli. The mentor who “perceived” that God was calling the boy. While we don’t have a detailed description of Eli, the image that comes to mind is one typical of aged wisdom. We might picture a leathery, weathered face, with lines reflecting many years of personal experience. Eli’s wisdom and perception springs from life itself, with all of its joys and sorrows. His is a wisdom that springs from years of continuous learning, some of it very painful. Much of Eli’s own hopes were invested in his sons. He had entrusted them with the traditions of the faith, and yet was disappointed in them. They had abused their power, betraying both their tradition and Eli.
Through this, Eli himself learns something new. Perhaps God had not called Eli’s sons to be religious leaders... yet cultural tradition demanded it. Eli discovers that God works outside the box… even outside the warehouse. Eli would soon see God working in the life of someone unexpected: the young and eager Samuel. He not only sees God working in Samuel’s life, but is able to respond and be a guide to the young boy.
The other major character, of course, is God. While this text is a fine example of good storytelling... rife with hope and expectation... it also shows us cxzGod’s persistence. God does not simply call Samuel once and then leave it to the hapless boy to figure it out on his own. Instead, the story tells us that God calls to Samuel several times... even when the young servant eagerly heads off in the wrong direction. God does not give up on Samuel. Instead God waits patiently for him to come around. God persistently yet gently pushes Samuel to respond to the call in the night. When it takes Eli to point Samuel in the right direction, God is there waiting for him.
This story is a glimpse into God’s nature. God acts with complete freedom, stepping outside tradition to call young Samuel into life as a prophet. God does not give up on Samuel, nor does God give up on us. God consistently pushes us to learn something new, and often in new ways. God continually inspires us to see ourselves in a new light. God calls us to respond in faithfulness to these moments of revelation... to see where we can reflect the love of God to those around us —no matter where we are and who we are with. In spite of the shortness of the story, we see that lessons in life are not always instant. They often take years of experience and slow growth before that “something” clicks into place. Like Eli, sometimes these lessons are painful. Yet God continually calls us to learn from any experience, good or bad.
We may not hear God calling us as a voice in the night. We are far more likely to hear God in the voice of another; perhaps in the comments of a loved one; in the remarks of a friend, or in the guidance of a mentor. Responding to our calling in life is to be whole people in the service of God.
It is discovering our meaning in life... Using whatever gifts that we are given in God’s service... no matter what it might be... Too often we have seen “calling” as limited to professional ministry, and not in terms of what each of us offers to society. If anything the story of Samuel’s calling shows us that God works beyond what we imagine.
We often hear God’s call in life, but we seldom realize it... Like Samuel, God patiently pushes us to respond in the right direction. But we need those conversations like the one between Samuel and Eli. We need a safe place to explore and nurture our faith. It allows us to draw on the experience of others, to hear new ideas and fresh perspectives on life. It allows us to perhaps hear the Word of God in a new way, and for us to respond and say to God “Speak for your servant is listening.”
Amen
Some people call it “clueing in.” Others call it “when the penny dropped.” I think each of us has a different name for it... the light comes on, getting a clue, or waking up smell the coffee! These are all ways of describing moments in life where we learn something new. It can be a small “aha!” moment where something becomes slightly clearer, to those profound revelations where our whole perspective is changed. Regardless, learning is a part of life, a part of being human.
When we think of learning, we tend to simply think about school. Appropriate, given that our children have returned to class this week. It is true that children are learning machines, right from birth they are hard-wired to absorb the world around them. They learn at an amazing rate. While this is true, relegating learning to just the young is not helpful. Learning is more than simply soaking up the so-called three “R’s”. Learning is interacting with life itself and our meaning and place in it... Learning is one of the ways we interact with God. If we assume that there is a point in life that we stop learning, we stop growing...
It’s not to say that learning is an easy thing. Educators often talk about a “learning curve;” the more difficult something is to learn, the steeper the curve. Sometimes, a fresh perspective or the wisdom of another can smooth it out, making it less steep… allowing for a learning moment.
The story of Samuel that we heard today is about one of those... And so we begin...
“The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.”
Once upon a time...
The tale we hear this morning is the type that is told around campfires to amuse children. Yet like the best of campfire stories, its lessons contain many layers and speak to all ages. Samuel is the student, the one who learns from another about responding to God’s call. Eli is the voice of experience and perception. As a mentor he is the one who perceives God working the life of another. Underlying all of this is God, who is persistent and patient in calling us to understand ourselves...
Enter Samuel. We know him as the great old prophet. The one who would anoint both Saul and David to the throne of Israel. The stories portray him as wise and patient... a tireless servant of God who witnesses both triumph and tragedy. The stories portray him as wise and patient... calling Israel to be faithful to God in a time of great transition. These stories portray Samuel as wise and patient... in almost every story except for the one we hear this morning. Here, he is not the wise and patient old man, but an over-eager clueless young boy.
As much as Samuel is respected as one of the early great prophets, the story of his call is not exactly flattering. As a boy, he hears the call of God several times... but doesn’t quite know where it’s coming from... He responds, thinking his mentor Eli needs him... Three times he wakes up hearing someone calling his name, and three times he dashes into Eli’s chamber ready to tend to his every need. Three times the aging Eli tells the eager Samuel to go back to bed and quit pestering him. Through the story, Samuel does not seem to get the point. Finally, old Eli thinks that it might be God calling young Samuel.
“Wake up and smell the Coffee Samuel! It’s God calling you... not me...” Eli tells Samuel “Next time you hear your name called, say ‘Speak, for your servant is listening...” Sure enough, Eli was right...
It took the perception of another to give light to Samuel’s calling or meaning in life.
While Samuel is the central figure in this story, there is also Eli. The mentor who “perceived” that God was calling the boy. While we don’t have a detailed description of Eli, the image that comes to mind is one typical of aged wisdom. We might picture a leathery, weathered face, with lines reflecting many years of personal experience. Eli’s wisdom and perception springs from life itself, with all of its joys and sorrows. His is a wisdom that springs from years of continuous learning, some of it very painful. Much of Eli’s own hopes were invested in his sons. He had entrusted them with the traditions of the faith, and yet was disappointed in them. They had abused their power, betraying both their tradition and Eli.
Through this, Eli himself learns something new. Perhaps God had not called Eli’s sons to be religious leaders... yet cultural tradition demanded it. Eli discovers that God works outside the box… even outside the warehouse. Eli would soon see God working in the life of someone unexpected: the young and eager Samuel. He not only sees God working in Samuel’s life, but is able to respond and be a guide to the young boy.
The other major character, of course, is God. While this text is a fine example of good storytelling... rife with hope and expectation... it also shows us cxzGod’s persistence. God does not simply call Samuel once and then leave it to the hapless boy to figure it out on his own. Instead, the story tells us that God calls to Samuel several times... even when the young servant eagerly heads off in the wrong direction. God does not give up on Samuel. Instead God waits patiently for him to come around. God persistently yet gently pushes Samuel to respond to the call in the night. When it takes Eli to point Samuel in the right direction, God is there waiting for him.
This story is a glimpse into God’s nature. God acts with complete freedom, stepping outside tradition to call young Samuel into life as a prophet. God does not give up on Samuel, nor does God give up on us. God consistently pushes us to learn something new, and often in new ways. God continually inspires us to see ourselves in a new light. God calls us to respond in faithfulness to these moments of revelation... to see where we can reflect the love of God to those around us —no matter where we are and who we are with. In spite of the shortness of the story, we see that lessons in life are not always instant. They often take years of experience and slow growth before that “something” clicks into place. Like Eli, sometimes these lessons are painful. Yet God continually calls us to learn from any experience, good or bad.
We may not hear God calling us as a voice in the night. We are far more likely to hear God in the voice of another; perhaps in the comments of a loved one; in the remarks of a friend, or in the guidance of a mentor. Responding to our calling in life is to be whole people in the service of God.
It is discovering our meaning in life... Using whatever gifts that we are given in God’s service... no matter what it might be... Too often we have seen “calling” as limited to professional ministry, and not in terms of what each of us offers to society. If anything the story of Samuel’s calling shows us that God works beyond what we imagine.
We often hear God’s call in life, but we seldom realize it... Like Samuel, God patiently pushes us to respond in the right direction. But we need those conversations like the one between Samuel and Eli. We need a safe place to explore and nurture our faith. It allows us to draw on the experience of others, to hear new ideas and fresh perspectives on life. It allows us to perhaps hear the Word of God in a new way, and for us to respond and say to God “Speak for your servant is listening.”
Amen
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