Monday, March 5, 2007
Lent Reading Day 11
The Call of Samuel
1 Samuel 3:1-4:1

The story of Samuel hearing God's voice in the night strikes me as a tragic-comedy - along the lines of an episode of Three's Company integrated with ER. Eli - the chief priest - the one that is supposed to know God and to recognize God's voice is not the one that God speaks to. Instead the voice of God comes to the child Samuel, whose mother Hannah entrusted him to Eli to live in the temple in the service of the Lord. Samuel mistakes God's voice for Eli's who then is irritated that the boy keeps waking him up in the middle of the night. But then Eli realizes what is happening and teaches Samuel to recognize the call of God and to repsond to God's presence and purpose. The story challenges us about the voice of God...do we recognize when God comes calling? Or are we too busy?; too distracted?; too doubtful?; or maybe waiting for God to speak to us on our own terms - like in a podcast or a cell call.

God calls and his call of Samuel means that God is not calling the deliciously and seflishly gluttonous sons of Eli. The authority of being the priest of God passes from Eli to Samuel. God's call doesn't have to do with birthright, genetics, social standing, or even already being in a place of political power. Rather God calls the unexpected. God speaks to those that are listening for God's voice, not saying what they think God wants for others only to get ahead themselves. Samuel as we'll see in the subsequent readings for Lent becomes a great and wise priest of the Lord, leading the people, listening to God's Voice, obedient and in the service of God's will. In our own lives - and in our denomination - we often think that God most speaks to those with a Masters degree of Divinity, with a particular background, extensive knowledge of the Bible, or who are repeatedly in positions of power. Yet the story of Samuel reminds us that God calls according to God's vision - not our resumes, pedigrees, or power-hunger. The God we've seen so far in the readings of the Bible is one that is revolutionary, overthrowing the power structures by speaking to the people of the margins - the prophets, children, the barren, sick, excluded, overlooked and forgotten. In our own lives, and in our own church, who do we look to to speak for God? In doing so are we looking to those people or looking to God to speak?

"God calls Samuel"

by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1851-60. World Mission Collection