Sermon
14th January 2018 Epiphany 2
Text:
1 Samuel 3:1-10 – Speak Lord your servant is listening
We
often hear comments that we live in godless times.
We
have this image that our country was once considered a Christian country but we
are slowly watching the census figures heading to below 50% of the population.
But
as we look at our Old Testament reading we find that periods of darkness in
relation to God’s presence are not new.
We
read in Samuel: The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not
widespread.
There
are periods where God seems to be absent but when we read further in Samuel we
read “the lamp of God had not yet gone out”.
We
might think at times that our world has become Godless but that is impossible.
As
we confess in our creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty – creator of
heaven and earth.
God
is the creator and sustainer of all that exists.
And
he promises through Jesus – I am with you always till the end of the age.
In
John’s Gospel we read that it is not an absence of God but a lack of our
recognition of God:
John
says: the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, but the world did not
know Him. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him.
In
Samuel we see that God is indeed active in communicating with them but they do
not understand his communication:
God
had called to Samuel 3 times but he didn’t understand who it was that was
calling him, as the reading says: Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the
word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
In
our world today it also seems that God’s Word is rare.
But
is that because God is silent or because we are not listening to God?
What
is going on in our world around us causes many to live in fear.
Many
fear what the future may bring us.
Events
happening at present makes us feel insecure.
One
minute everything seems fine.
The
next minute, it all looks threatening and scary.
We
long for a safe and secure place in our lives.
And
much of this is happening because people have turned their backs on God.
What's
striking about Samuel's experience of God's call is that it is so ordinary.
There
is no burning bush, as in the call of Moses;
There
are no angels and burning coals, as in
the call of Isaiah.
There
is just the quiet voice of God to a young boy that God has a special purpose
for.
But
Samuel is unable to sort out his call on his own;
He
needs the help of someone else, in this case, Eli.
And
that’s the connecting point in our 2 readings – The call of Samuel and the call
of the first disciples.
In
both cases there was someone there to help another person hear God’s call to
them and understand it.
For
Nathanael it was Phillip.
For
Samuel it was Eli.
In
both cases God is actively calling but it is a 3rd person that sees the call
and encourages – Phillip and Eli.
God
is always calling people and we need to be observant to see how God is working
in people’s lives and point out to them where we believe God is calling them.
Many
Pastors are serving God today because someone saw something in them that they
may not have seen themselves.
Many
are serving in leadership positions in the church not because they put up their
hand and said “I want to do this” but because someone gently tapped them on the
shoulder and said – I think you’d be a good at this.
So
there is just as much importance not just in the call – and the person being
called – but in us seeing how God is calling someone and helping a person to
discern that call.
But
it’s not just in the church where we can help people to discern the call of
God;
Perhaps
you’ve seen a friend or a neighbour who does not yet know about God.
Maybe
the Word of God is rare in their life at present but the flame has not gone
out.
Maybe
they are searching for something but they don’t know what it is that they are
searching for.
As
Matthew says in his Gospel regarding Jesus call: A bruised reed he will not
break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.
So
a really important role that we can play in a person’s life is helping them to
see where God may be reaching out to them.
Nathanael
would not have thought of himself following Jesus of Nazareth.
He
was very sceptical - Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
But
Phillip encouraged him with very simple words:
“Come
and see.”
Such
simple words but such powerful outcomes can be achieved.
When
we have a personal relationship with Jesus in our lives they should be the only
words we need to speak.
Come
and see.
Come
and see what a difference Jesus has made in my life.
So
there is also a responsibility on us to show the difference that Jesus has made
in our lives.
Both
in our lives and in the church.
As
Paul said; your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have
from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore
glorify God in your body.
If
our lives are filled with anger or jealousy or anything else that might be a
negative witness to Jesus.
Or
if our churches are filled with gossip or bickering or lack of joy or anything
that might be a negative witness to Jesus then there’s no point saying “come
and see” because they won’t see anything different to what they’re seeing in
the world.
When
we look at how calls work in Scripture there are some identifying features.
God
calls by name: He did so to Mary, to Peter, to Nathaniel, to Matthew.
In
the Old Testament he did it to Samuel, to Moses, to Adam.
God
will probably call when you least expect it, at the least opportune time, in
some unlikely situation like Peter in the midst of his fishing vocation – come
and follow me and I will make you fisher of men.
Peter
immediately dropped his nets and followed Jesus’ call.
God
may have to call you more than once before God gets your attention as he did to
Samuel and Jonah.
God
had to call Samuel three times before he started listening.
God
had to call Jonah again when he disobeyed the first call and went the opposite
direction.
There
are so many other voices speaking to us, we usually need our name to be called
a number of times before it finally sinks in.
And
no-one is too insignificant, too small, too inexperienced, too unimportant not
to be called by God.
Jeremiah
thought he was too young - But the LORD said to him, "Do not say, 'I am
too young.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command
you.
Peter
and Paul thought they were too sinful:
Peter
fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful
man!"
When
Paul spoke about the called apostles he said: Jesus appeared to James, then to
all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally
born.
And
we should never underestimate whom God may call:
The
disciples couldn’t understand God’s call to Paul - Ananias answered, “Lord, I
have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints
in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said
to him, “Go, for he is my chosen servant to bear My name before Gentiles,
kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must
suffer for My name’s sake.”
And
that is the most difficult call to understand when God calls us to a life of
suffering as a witness to our continued faith in him.
I
don't know what God is calling you personally to do...
But
as the church, as God’s community of faith, we are all called to encourage one
another in our calling.
To
keep our lines of communication with God open through fellowship , through
prayer and worship, through sharing together in the sacraments where God
constantly calls us.
The
question is - are you open to hear that call and are you willing to respond as
Samuel did:
"Speak,
Lord, your servant is listening"
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