01/17/2021 Sermon

E2B 2020 1 Samuel 3:1-10 [11-20]
Just this week I saw a picture of a coffee mug with that pretty, swirly script on the
side that is often used for inspirational quotes. Except this one said, “I can do all things
through a verse taken out of context.” That’s hilarious to me, and true, because when we
lift up bits of inspirational scripture, we have a bad habit of leaving behind the darker
parts of the story that require us to do the hard work of discipleship.
Our first reading today picks up the story of Samuel after his mother Hannah left
him at the temple to be brought up as Eli’s assistant; this was the bargain that she had
made with God, that if only she would be blessed with a child, she would give him back
in service to the Lord. Samuel is still a boy when he hears the voice of the Lord calling
his name in the night—but Samuel doesn’t realize it is the Lord. Three times he hears his
name and runs to Eli, thinking it is Eli who is calling to him. Eli figures out that it is the
voice of the Lord that Samuel keeps hearing, and instructs him to answer and to listen to
the Lord’s response if he hears his name called again. This time when Samuel hears the
call, he answers, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
It would be great if the story stopped right there: a heartwarming tale of the Lord
calling this young servant by name. But when Samuel invites the Lord to speak, the Lord
does speak—and the speech is not at all what Samuel would have thought was good
news. The Lord is about to punish Eli’s family, because Eli’s sons, who would have been
expected to fill their father’s place after his death, have been taking for themselves more
than their rightful share of the sacrifices. Eli had already been told that they were doing
this, but he didn’t do anything to stop them. The punishment against Eli’s sons will
become Eli’s punishment as well, as the line of the priesthood will no longer continue
through his name. So the message Samuel hears in the night is that death and destruction
are about to befall his mentor’s household.
It is no wonder that Samuel is afraid to tell Eli what he has heard. But Eli teaches
him an important lesson—that is, not to be afraid to do the hard thing the Lord asks.
After all, what Samuel has heard is not news to Eli—Eli is already aware of the Lord’s
judgment against him for not intervening to stop his sons’ injustice. When Samuel tells
Eli what he heard, Eli recognizes and reassures Samuel that it was the Lord speaking to
him, and the Lord will do what the Lord sees fit. Although this is bad news for Eli and
his sons, it is good news that the Lord is restoring justice. As Samuel grows up, he gains
a reputation as a trustworthy prophet of the Lord, as opposed to the false prophets whom
the people prefer because they’d rather be reassured—even when they are wrong—than
hear the truth.
This is the conflict so often found at the heart of Israel’s troubles: the people stray
from what the Lord has commanded, and in the process, someone gets hurt, exploited, or
abused. The prophets who speak for the Lord condemn those whose actions hurt others
—bad news for those doing the exploiting. Yet at the same time, it is good news for those
who have been exploited, that God is coming to their rescue. Still—speaking truth to
power can be dangerous. That this truth-telling should be part of Samuel’s job is
foreshadowed in the song his mother Hannah sings when she dedicates him at the temple
—and repeated in the song Mary sings when she becomes the mother of God: The bows
of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired
themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. This reversal of
fortunes is repeated throughout scripture—God lifts up the lowly and brings down the
mighty who have misused their power—comfort for the afflicted, but affliction for the
comfortable.
When we talked last week about Jesus’ baptism, we noted that Jesus wasn’t doing
anything new; Jesus lived the way God always commanded people to live. The same is
true here as Samuel conveys the word of judgment against those who have abandoned
God’s command; the command was always there—it was the people who stopped
following it. Ironically, or maybe completely predictably, the pattern will repeat again
when Samuel’s own sons turn from his righteous example to take bribes and pervert
justice. That is when the people demand to get rid of the judges and have the Lord anoint
a king to rule over them. But, just as the Lord and Samuel warn, the kings end up
exploiting the people, too, and the Lord sends one prophet after another to call Israel’s
corrupt society, particularly the leaders, back to the way of the Lord.
You might remember Paul Harvey telling us that now we know… The Rest of the
Story, and that is what a faithful reading of scripture requires of us as well. When we are
called as servants of the Lord, which all of us are in baptism, it is not only that we are
called to what we think of as the good stuff—the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
We are also called to the work of discipleship—disciplining ourselves to follow Jesus in
the kind of life God always commanded—creating a community of justice, peace, mercy,
and love. When we have to confront the ways in which our world is not practicing those
ideals, it is difficult, sometimes even dangerous to speak out for a better way—even more
difficult to live that better way. But even though that isn’t easy, that, too, is good news—
for those who need it the most. May we not only be bold enough to invite the Lord to
speak to us, may we also respond courageously to what we hear the Lord say.