Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-10, the Old Testament reading for Epiphany 2B
Beloved
in Christ, I know the sort of sermon you are expecting to hear today, for I
have heard countless people expound on this particular passage. The sermon
should go something like this: “Are you living in obedience to the voice
of God? What are you doing to recognize His voice so that you can
then follow His instructions? If you need help, here are three sure-fire ways
for you to discern God’s will.” And then the sermon would go on to outline the
plan. The preacher might recommend such things as blocking out all external
stimuli and hushing all thoughts until you finally hear the voice of God
speaking to you.
Mystics
and other legalists have a field day with this passage. Those who live by the
law rather than by the gospel are quick to use this passage as proof positive
that we must strive toward God so that we can have this wonderful, intimate
experience as Samuel did. But, as always, the mystics and other legalists miss
the point. This is not about Samuel shaping up and getting his life together.
It is about God coming to His people.
His
people were a total mess at the time. The active priests were vile and corrupt.
They stole from the sacrifices and seduced women who came to worship. The
retired high priest, Eli, was too old and tired to do anything about it. The
judges, who should have stepped in, had offered only limited help. Each judge
seemed to be a tad weaker and less devout than his predecessor. Most of the
people, consequently, lived in ignorance and idolatry. There were some godly
people, to be sure, such as Samuel’s parents, but even they suffered under the
horrible spiritual conditions of that day. But worst of all was the fact that
God was silent. God had nothing to say to wicked people who had spurned His
repeated call to repentance. And so “the word of the Lord was rare in
those days.”
But
who broke the silence? God or Samuel? Who breaks the silence today? Does God or
do we? The answer from 1 Samuel is clear: it is God who speaks first. He
searches us out when we do not even know how to look for Him. He speaks even
though we do not know how to respond to His words, even when we confuse His
voice with the clamor of the world around us. But He keeps speaking, because
that is what He has been doing since the dawn of time, ever since He called the
world into existence by His voice.
By
Samuel’s day God had already spoken through Moses and ordered the first five
books of the Bible to be written down. Other than that, there was little in the
way of divine revelation. But, oh, how God has spoken to us! “In these
last days He has spoken to us by His Son.” The Word did not remain a
mere whisper from heaven, but took on our flesh and dwelt among us. He was
God’s full revelation to us, not just when He preached lofty words on a
mountain, but when He took on our frailties, was wrongly condemned, was
crucified, and rose on the third day from the dead. And He is still present
with us, “even to the end of the age.”
Consequently
we cannot say that “the Word of the Lord” is “rare”
in our days, for our Lord has given us an abundance of His words in the
Scriptures. We do not have to do what the mystics do and try to find God
through some effort of ours. No, He is near us, as near as near can be,
wherever His words (the Scriptures) are read and proclaimed. Therefore, let us
learn from Samuel what to do whenever we hear the words of the Scripture. In
other words, let us join Samuel in saying, "Speak, for Your servant
hears." In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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