2nd Sunday after the Epiphany

Epiphany 2B

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Once upon a time there was a young fish that heard other fishes talking about the sea. One day it thought, “I will go and find the sea.” So it set forth to find the sea. It searched for a long time, but could not find it. Then it met another fish, and asked, “Can you tell me where I may find the sea?” And the fish said: “No, I have often wished to see it, for I have heard much about it, but I do not know where to look.” The young fish met another fish, an old and wise fish, and asked, “Can you tell me where I may find the sea?” And the old fish said, “Why, this is the sea; you are swimming in the sea; you have been in it all the time.” So do we look for God, thinking that He is far from us and difficult to find when “in him we live and move and have our being.” God is in and near and all around us. (Hallock, G. B. F. New Sermon Illustrations for All Occasions. Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953, pg. 149)

How much are we like that fish? When I first read that fable, I really got to thinking about how many times in my life I have looked for God and thought “where is God right now?” I’m sure most of us have wondered that. None of us are going to have the voice of God calling to us out of a burning bush. Well, probably none of us. I learned a long time ago to never say “never” with God. I just won’t expect that any of us will see a burning bush. It’s not likely that any of us will see the Holy Spirit descend on anyone like a dove, or dance over someone’s head “like tongues as of fire”. In this post-Ascension age, we typically don’t see God act in those kind of overt ways.

But I think we still expect that. At some level, we expect God to act “big”. We are looking for God to step in and do something huge and plainly observable. Boy, that would sure make this whole “faith” thing a lot easier, wouldn’t it?

“God, please let this whole election mess be resolved, and let the one I voted for come out on top.” <Zap> and it’s all taken care of.

“God, please let me win the $750 million MegaMillions lottery.” <Zap> and your numbers are picked. (New doors, parking lot and HVAC for the church please…in that order…)

How about a smaller scale: “God, please let this maniac in the car behind me get off my tail in the next 10 seconds...” <Zap> and the car turns off at the next intersection.

Ok, so my examples are a little ridiculous, but be honest - sometimes we think this is how God acts…or at least we HOPE this is how God acts. We don’t see Him, and so we start to form in our mind an idea of who God is. Not who God says He is, but who we make Him up to be…because we don’t see Him.

So when I read the story of God calling Samuel, it really makes me think. Samuel was young, and he didn’t know what God’s voice sounded like. To be honest, Samuel probably didn’t know that God would speak to him like that. But certainly Samuel at least knew *about* God. Remember, his mother Hannah didn’t have children and prayed to God for a baby. God gave her Samuel, so she gave him back to God when he was old enough, and Eli - who was the high priest - took Samuel under his care.

Samuel was just a boy. That he didn’t know God’s voice wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t bad that he didn’t realize it was God speaking to him; he simply didn’t know any better. He was very responsive - each time his name was called, he went to his master Eli. Three times he went to Eli in the middle of the night, responding to this mysterious call. And then we have the high priest who also doesn’t put it together that God was speaking to the boy. You know, the boy who is sleeping in the same place in the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was kept…the box that contained the tablets of the 10 Commandments, which were written into the stone by the very Finger of God. It was a holy place where Samuel slept; a fitting place for God to speak to him.

But the chapter begins by telling us that “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” This tells us that the people just didn’t hear from God. Of course, the high priest’s sons were abusing their positions in the Temple, and Eli wasn’t exactly living up to his responsibilities…so those who had been entrusted with teaching the people about God’s Word and His Law had been corrupted. No wonder it was hard to hear God.

So how did Samuel overcome the barriers he had to recognizing God’s voice? Samuel didn’t do anything to help that. First and foremost, God was persistent. He called and called. Normally, we would expect in a story like this for God to call three times. That’s a logical number to arrive at a resolution. But not in this story. Here God calls four times. Eli figured out on the third time what was happening, and God called again, so that He could achieve His purpose in Samuel. It seems likely that Samuel might not have ever come to the realization of what was going on if Eli hadn’t finally figured it out.

Look again at verse 2: “At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.” Certainly the author here is talking about Eli’s biological eyesight. But I can’t help but think that it might not only mean biological but also spiritual. Eli had been drifting away from God and ignoring his responsibilities both as a father and as the high priest. His spiritual eyesight had also begun to grow dim. We might even say that it was becoming increasingly more difficult for him to see God…or at least it was becoming increasingly more difficult for him to see God’s Way for his life.

But then God gives us - and Eli - verse 3: “The lamp of God had not yet gone out...” Now the Lamp of God was a golden candelabra lit every evening to provide light in the Temple until the doors were opened in the morning. So this verse is helping to describe how far into the night this all takes place. Again, I can’t help but notice the symbolic parallel here with Eli. He was a man of God who had arisen to the office of high priest, but he had failed in many of his responsibilities. But “the Lamp of God had not yet gone out.” He wasn’t COMPLETELY separated from God. And God would be able to use that light still in Eli, weak though it was, to accomplish His Divine Purpose - to call and raise up a great prophet, one who would ultimately anoint one of Israel’s greatest kings. The lamp of God had not yet gone out. It was late…but it wasn’t *too* late.

I really wish this story would tell us more about Samuel in all this. Some scholars think Samuel was 12 or 13 when God called him. I can’t imagine a 12-year-old being too pleased about being summoned at 4:00 am, only to find out the master doesn’t remember calling him. But this 12-year-old didn’t know his master’s voice. You’d think he’d have known that it wasn’t Eli’s voice…but who else would be sleeping in the Temple? And who else would know Samuel’s name?

I can’t help but wonder - would any of us recognize God’s Voice if He called us in the middle of the night? Or how about the middle of the day? Would we come to the realization that it was God? Or would we keep going to our boss or spouse or neighbor with, “hey, did you call me?” I imagine after the third time, that boss/spouse/neighbor might get a bit annoyed. So would we hear God’s Voice then? Could we hear God’s Voice?

I imagine most of you are, like me, very concerned about our country right now. Last week, with the violence in our nation’s capitol, was a pretty dark day. But frankly, we’ve had a pretty dark year leading up to that. And with so much uncertainty, so many people disgusted with our government, fed up with our media, distrustful of our elected officials, and angry about the general state of things, do you feel like your faith is being tested?

Be honest. I’m worried. I’m angry. I’m concerned. I’m wondering what God is going to do about it. I have doubts. I know I’m not the only one. I’ve talked to a few of you about this stuff. I’ll bet most of you, whether you and I agree politically or not, are just as worried and doubtful as I am. You’re probably wondering what faith can do in the face of all this utter chaos.

The first thing I would say here is that we have to be open to listening for God’s Voice. And let me tell you where we’re NOT going to hear God’s Voice: it won’t be on the morning news or the evening news. And if all we’re doing is turning to the news channel to hear what’s happening next, how likely are we to hear God’s Voice above that noise?

Then I have to ask this question: is God calling me/you/us in the middle of all this? Absolutely. God calls each of us for His purposes. You may not know what that is right now. When it’s time, He’ll find a way to let you know…if you’re open to it. Are you open to it? Now here’s the real kicker: for some of us, we might be Samuel - hearing someone call, but not really understanding it or knowing where it’s coming from. For others of us, we might be Eli - someone responding to a calling and looking to us to give instruction. Are you ready to recognize God’s call in someone ELSE’S life?

Things are SO crazy and violent and chaotic right now, some days I feel like I’m constantly spinning around in different directions, trying to see what’s going on, looking for some sign of God at work, hoping He’ll show me that He’s got things under control, and it’s going to be resolved shortly. Reading this passage from Samuel helped me to realize that I’ve thought far too little of who God is by thinking of Him in that way.

The first thing to do when you’re looking for God is to remember where you can always find Him. Where’s that? Well, it’s where He told us to find Him. Obviously, in His House: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20, ESV) And it’s important to remember that means not just in THIS building, but where we, His children, are gathered. And then there’s His Word - God can ALWAYS be found there. That’s why it’s so important in these troubling times to be reading your Bible more frequently - so that you’re spending time with Him and listening to His Voice as He has given it to us. We don’t have to look any farther than the pages of this book when we want to find our Lord. I think the most tangible way for us to find God is in the Sacraments, especially the Lord’s Supper. Not because Baptism isn’t important - of course it is - but because we don’t do it very often. And that’s part of the reason that I asked the church to increase the frequency that we have Holy Communion: so that we could experience the mysterious revelation of our Lord and Savior that He gave to us so that we might be able to tangibly receive Him. We can not only see Him but hold Him in our hands and, quite literally, drink Him in.

This, brothers and sisters, is the season of Epiphany, which is all about how God reveals Himself to us in Jesus Christ. And these that I’ve just listed are a few of the more obvious ways that God tells us that He reveals Himself to us. But these are not the only ways. There are other ways that God comes to us, that He speaks to us, and often it is unique to the person God is speaking to. It can be, as it was with Samuel, difficult to know if it’s God or not. But sometimes, when you want to see or hear God and you’re not having a Samuel moment, and you look around wondering where God is… it can be very frustrating. You can’t see Him when you need Him. It can test your faith. So first, remember where you KNOW you can find Him. But then I want you to think of this:

Remember the fish story at the beginning? “‘this is the sea; you are swimming in the sea; you have been in it all the time.’ So do we look for God, thinking that He is far from us and difficult to find when ‘in him we live and move and have our being.’ God is in and near and all around us.” If He really *is* all around us, and we don’t see Him, is that because He isn’t there, or because we’re not looking? I heard Bishop John once preach that when we think God is far from us, if we take the time to look for Him, we’ll soon discover that He’s always been right beside us, close to us…we just weren’t looking for Him.

In these troubling times, it’s more important than ever that we remember who God is, and what He has done for us. He does not leave us. He has promised to always be with us. And most importantly, He reveals Himself to us in many ways, even if it’s not the way we want or expect. Most of all, He reveals Himself to us in His Son, Who gave Himself up for us, so that we would not perish, but have eternal life. That is God’s promise to all of His children. Let us all listen and be open to hearing His Voice, so that when He calls us, we will be ready to respond like Samuel: “Here I am. Speak Lord, for your servant hears you.” And then watch and see what the Lord can do with you and through you.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.