Persistence of Listerning: 1 Samuel 3:1-20 - Second Sunday after Epiphany

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 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.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. 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.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 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. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.’

Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’

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. (NRSV)

https://flic.kr/p/3PbyhN

 

When you were a child, what silly things did you believe?

 

That your teachers live at the school?

 

That chocolate milk comes from brown cows?

 

That coffee stunted your growth?

 

Perhaps you heard it on television, or someone told you it was so. You believed because these things made sense to you.

 

Have you ever considered just how much your life has been influenced by words?

 

Words matter, because people listen to them. Words shape attitudes, worldviews, and civilizations. Your personality, your hopes and fears, and your relationships with others are all influenced by the words you speak and year. At the same time, you are just as influenced by the words you do not hear. That is the subject of today’s Old Testament reading from 1 Samuel.

 

Chapter 3 begins ominously: “The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread (1 Samuel 3:1).”

 

Indeed, this was a time of moral and spiritual chaos for Ancient Israel. Everyone did their own thing and paid God little thought. But that doesn’t mean that Israel was spiritually dead.

 

A woman named Hannah dedicated her firstborn son Samuel to the Lord’s service. From infancy, he was raised by Eli the priest in the house of the Lord.

 

As a priest, Eli wasn’t worth much, but he kept the lights on. His sons Hophni and Phineas, however, were complete scoundrels, gorging themselves off the offerings of the faithful.

 

One night, the boy Samuel is sleeping, and the Lord calls out, “Samuel! Samuel!” He immediately wakes up and runs to Eli, thinking he’d called him. But Eli sends him back to bed, only for him to return moments later. Samuel didn’t know God was calling him, because Eli the priest hadn’t bothered to teach him about God. But when Samuel wakes up a third time, Eli finally clues into the fact that God may be speaking—because, finally, there is someone who will listen. Not a priest nor his sons; but a little child who didn’t even know the Lord.

 

And even though God’s word isn’t good news for Eli or his sons, Eli does not deny what God has spoken. Perhaps he is encouraged by the fact that God still cares to speak to a people who rarely bothered to listen.

 

And what is it that God wants to say? It’s not what you might think! Yes, the people had forsaken God and done as they pleased. But God never stopped loving them! God wants to be known and worshipped; God wants to love and be loved.

 

Our problems are not the result of God’s failure to speak, but our failure to listen—as well as our failure to speak love to those who need to hear or who do not hear the good news of God’s love.

 

Unfortunately, God’s Word has fierce competition, thanks in large part to pervasive advertising, and our cultural addiction to 24-hour cable news and social media. Who else’s words compete against God? People whose words build themselves up by tearing others down. Even the voices speaking inside your mind complete with God—your pride and ego puffing you up; your fear and self-doubt tearing you down.

 

What I need now; what you need now; what the world needs now; are life-giving and life-saving words—the most important words you will ever hear; the very words God is always speaking: “I love you.”

 

“I know your failures. I know how you’ve turned away when I’ve called you; how you’ve listened only to voices that tell you what you want to hear. I know you’ve used your words to hurt people and worship other gods. But I created you, I love you, and I will not stop loving you.”

 

Every hour of every day, you need to hear God’s Word of love. If your life isn’t built upon that truth, you aren’t living.

 

Just the same, there are people in your life struggle to hear God’s word of love because of all the pain they suffer and the shame they bear. But when you to say, “I love you,” and you have loving deeds to back them up, God will do amazing things.

 

With all the conflict and division surrounding us, if two or more gather and agree that God is love, and that God loves you as God loves me, that is enough for healing to begin. Suddenly, God’s world is a lot less scary.

 

The times we live in demand that you exercise extreme care in the voices you hear and the words that you trust. Even now, the name of Jesus is being invoked for agendas seeking power, domination, and revenge—but not love.

 

Jesus is dying for you to hear and believe the ultimate truth: “I love you—just as you are, and not as you should be—because you’ll never be as you should be.” Answer God’s persistence of loving with a persistence of listening. To live a life free from fear, shame, and the despair, go forth and let God’s love live through you to give new life to someone God loves just as much as you.