Read 1 Samuel 3:1-20
This Sunday we are
beginning a sermon series titled, “Calling All Prophets.” This week up until
Lent we will look at different scriptures throughout the Bible to see how God
has called his people to service in so many different ways and what these
stories can teach us about how God is calling each and every one of us. This
morning we begin in the book of 1 Samuel with the story of Samuel and Eli. It’s
funny that this this text makes an appearance in the lectionary this week,
because only a month or so ago I was talking to Heather about this very text. I
said how much I love this text and yet I feel like it is one that we do not
often hear sermons about, and then vio’la
here it. I was excited knowing that in a few weeks I would get to preach
on this fascinating story. The story is one that is so easy to picture in your head, there is
Samuel lying just outside of the inner chamber of the Temple, when all of the
sudden he hears his name called, and he jumps up and runs to Eli, but Eli had
not called him. Two more times this very same thing happens with Samuel hearing
a voice, running to Eli only to find that Eli was not the one speaking to him.
Finally Eli realizes it is the Lord that is speaking to Samuel and gives Samuel
instructions of how to respond. Finally the voice cries to Samuel again, and
this time Samuel responds, “Speak, your servant is
listening.” And then God calls Samuel into service and leadership
I was so excited to be able to preach this text, I just
knew I would be able to talk about God calling and how sometimes we confuse
God’s call amongst the distractions of our daily lives. I knew I was going to
be able to talk about how we to should be willing to say to God, “speak your
servant is listening.” I was so excited to preach this sermon about Samuel and
so this week I got all of my notes and commentaries and scripture organized and
was ready to write when God called me a different way. As I began to read and re-read this
scripture, as I read commentaries about it, the more I was drawn to speak about
Eli in this story rather than my favorite, Samuel.
Samuel’s story is a story that is full of awe and wonder,
full of hope and joy, but Eli’s story is not.
Eli was one of the high priests of the Temple, called by God to be a
leader for the Israelites. While Eli
himself in scripture is depicted as an upright and noble person, the same
cannot be said about his two sons. His sons were notorious for taking food
sacrificed at the Temple and using it for their own pleasure. They would even
take food from the people before they were even able to offer it up as
sacrifice. These brothers were also widely known for sleeping around with the
women who served at the Temple entrance. Because of this the Eli’s family name
was tarnished, and worse than this the house of the Lord was tarnished as well.
Prophets told Eli about the destruction that faced he and his family if this
behavior did not change, and Eli rebuked his sons, but he could not stop them.
While all this was happening, Eli was also raising
another boy in his Temple, a boy who had been left at the Temple by his mother.
This is not because the mother did not want him, but rather quite the opposite.
Hannah had gone without children for so long and promised that if God gave her
a son she would dedicate it to the Lord. This is the state that Eli first found
Hannah in when he encountered her weeping in the Temple. Eli told her to go
back home, for the Lord had heard her petitions, so Hannah went home and was
conceived a son, and named him Samuel. And when Samuel was weaned, Hannah
dedicated this child to God to be a servant in the Temple with Eli. Whereas Eli
had failed in the raising of his own two sons, Eli instructed Samuel in the
ways of the Lord, and Samuel grew in wisdom and character largely due to Eli’s
guidance.
This is the situation in which we find Eli in our
scripture today. Let’s try to imagine this text from the perspective of Eli.
Samuel is now a young adult, while Eli is an old man, losing his sight. And
here comes the young chipper Samuel running up to Eli and asking what did he
call him for. Eli has been training
Samuel so it was probably not that uncommon for Samuel to come running up to
him often looking for directions, but this time he had not called him; no big
deal. But then it happens again, Samuel
thinks Eli has called him again; now it’s getting a little weird. Finally when
it happens a third time Eli know what is happening, it is God calling. When we
read this story from Samuel’s perspective this is a joyous and wonderful
occasion, but for Eli this is not the case.
I imagine this moment to be like
in Star Wars when Darth Vader feels the presence of the force for the first
time in a long time. Scripture tells us that the word of the Lord coming upon
people was rare in those days, it is probably something the Eli had experienced
in his youth but had almost forgotten what it was like. So when he finally
realizes that the Lrod is calling to Samuel, it is not joy he feels, but
probably some nostalgia. A feeling of this is what it used to be like, that
happened to me when I was more attune with God, how could it take so long for
me to recognize it. God calling Samuel was a powerful reminder to Eli of how
long it had been since he had felt God calling to him.
To make matters worse, Eli knew that what God had to say to
Samuel would not be good news for himself. Samuel had been told by God about
the fate of Eli and his household. This terrified Samuel, for Eli had been
nothing but good to him. Samuel did not know how to tell Eli about what the
Lord said to him. In a way Eli already knew. Eli sits with Samuel and asks him
what God said, and with such grace Eli says, “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.” Eli gives Samuel the courage and permission
to tell him the bad news that the Lord will punish him and his household. To me
what is so spectacular about Eli is that again he responds with such integrity
and grace saying, “It is the LORD; let him do what
seems good to him."
How could Eli says these words? How could Eli hear news
that not only will he die, (that’s not news really, he is late in his life,)
but that both of his sons will die? How
can he simply say let him do what seems good to him, when that will be the downfall
of everything he has ever known or lived for? These are questions that are hard
to answer when we view the words of God as just some sort of punishment for the
behavior of Eli’s sons. If we view it simply as a moralistic, or legal cause
and effect, then we miss the power of Eli’s response. Eli doesn’t say let God
do this because I deserve my punishment; he says let him do what seems good to
him. The downfall of Eli’s family is less about punishment and more about God
leading his people. The Temple had become defiled under Eli’s watch so much so
that whatever good ministry had occur before was no longer fruitful. God
casting out Eli and his family and establishing Samuel is about restoring God’s
ministry to the world. That is why Eli’s words are so powerful, because he
yields his desires to the will of God. He says if that is what is best for God,
for this Temple, and for the Israelites, then let God do what he deems to be
best. Eli is turned down by God, but turned down for what? So that God’s ministry
may flourish.
So often we want to be called by God in the same way that
Samuel was. We want to hear the voice of God calling us, using us to do great
things for the sake of the Kingdom of God, but sometimes we are called to be
more like Eli. Sometimes God is not calling us to do, but calling us to stop.
This is a difficult message for most anybody to hear, but especially for us who
love the Lord and want to serve the way we know how. The founder of the
Methodist Church John Wesley knew this truth all too well. John and his brother Charles grew up as
members of the Church of England where their father was rector of an Anglican
church. John attended oxford and was ordained in the Anglican Church. Together
with his brother and some of their friends, John started a movement within the
Anglican church nicknamed the Methodists, because of their strict devotion to
their prayer life, scripture reading, and service. This Methodist movement
became very popular, but John always envisioned it being a part of the Anglican
Church. Due to his success John came to Georgia on a mission to set up churches
here in the Colonies, but these were not nearly as successful. People did not
like John’s style, and frankly John didn’t do much to help himself. After the
girl he loved married another man, John refused to serve her Communion. Add
this to the growing animosity for the British, and John realized he had to step
aside. John returned home, and set up other leaders here in the States such as
Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury who went on to help spread and grow the
Methodist Church in America in a way that Wesley was unable to. When God calls
us it is not always a call to do something new, but sometimes it’s a call for
us to allow room for God to work in different ways. As Wesley developed a
covenant prayer for us to say as a way of answering God’s call in our lives, I
can only imagine that his time in Georgia influenced these words. “I am no longer my own,
but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit,thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth,let it be
ratified in heaven.Amen.
It’s a lot easier to be employed for God than
be laid aside for God, but in our lives and in the lives of the Church there is
time for both. Like Eli, so often we hang on to a feeling or an experience that
we felt long ago, but have not really felt for some time since. Things that
once served a great purpose and function in the life of the Church may no
longer be fruitful ministries anymore. There is nothing wrong with this, in an
ever changing world with and God of endless possibilities, ministries sometimes
die. The question is in instances like these, are we willing to be as brave as
Eli, are we willing to lay these ministries aside for God, are we going to say,
“It is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him.”
Because sadly every year at Annual
Conference we the names of more and more churches that close all around our
conference. These were loyal, compassionate churches, who loved God, who had
done great service for years and years, but many of whom were afraid to change,
afraid to try something new. This year at Annul conference there was something
new though; yes more churches closed, but we also heard the story of people who
were willing to step aside and let God work in their midst. There’s the story
of Basic UMC, ( no that’s actually the name) who in a small town decided
something had to change and began a Hispanic ministry in the church that has
now begun to boom. There’s also the story of what is now the Vine UMC, which
started when a church with only 8 members left, all in their 70s or older
decided that God was calling them to close their church and start over again.
With the effort of those members, the conference, and the new pastor, The Vine
which now worships there is used to seeing 200 people on any given Sunday. Things don’t even have to be as drastic as
that, I remember at Duke Memorial, the
church I attended when I was in Durham, members of a Sunday School class made
the tough decision to end the class. This class had been going on for 100
years, throughout the years those members had been active in the life and
mission of the Church but now their numbers had dwindled and they decided it
was time to stop. The church had a great celebration for the class, prayed over
the remaining members, and then those members joined other classes, helping to
teach and mentor other members of the Church they had not known as well before.
These are all
examples of how sometimes the way that God calls us into service, is by calling
us to step aside. When things are no longer fruitful to the ministry of God’s
Kingdom, then sometimes we are called to end it, and make room new and exciting
ways for the Spirit of the Lord to work in our midst. Nobody likes ending
ministries, especially since these ministries once served such an important
function, but as we will see through this sermon series, when God calls us to
something it is rarely easy. There are
many great ministries here at _______________ that serve and glorify the Lord,
but maybe there are also new and powerful ministries that God is calling us
into, if we only were to allow space for it to happen. Let us have the attitude
of Eli and be willing to say, “It is the Lord, let him
do what seems good to him.” Then
whether we are employed for God or laid aside for God, we know that it is all
for God’s glory. That even if we are called to step aside, it is because we are
allowing God to step in.
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