Answering The Call

I Samuel 3:1-10

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

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In our reading this morning, we hear that something was wrong in the land of God's people. The people were no longer able to discern the voice of God or receive prophetic visions. Notice I don't say, "God didn't stop talking to the people or stopped sending them prophetic dreams. Something was amiss with the people God called. Instead of calling out the injustices, corruption, and spiritual bankruptcy, they were running around like children with their hands over their ears. God is still calling out to us today. The voice of God is calling us to be bearers of truth and life, but will we hear the call and be transformed by it? 

Eli heard the call at one point. For those who may not be familiar with this biblical narrative, Eli was a high priest. But he became complacent and tolerant of the abuse and injustices perpetrated by his sons and mistook Samuel's mother's prayers as drunkenness. I'm sure that Eli heard God's voice ringing in his ears when he was younger, but in our reading, we find that Eli was nothing more than a dull old man who allowed the people of God to go astray. God would eventually punish Eli for his ignorance and apathy, which are opposite characteristics we find in Samuel. Unlike Eli, whose senses had become dull, Samuel was ready to hear the voice of God. 

Samuel had a monumental task ahead of him. If he were to be the next prophet that would lead God's people, then he would have to pass judgment on Eli, who sat idly by and let abuses of power and injustices go unchecked. The prophets were supposed to speak out against corrupt leaders who lied and champion the causes of the oppressed, yet Eli didn't do any of that. Perhaps Eli didn't want to rock the boat. Still, faith, true faith, means that we must address public and private areas of life that make us uncomfortable, especially if it means protecting the vulnerable and oppressed. If Samuel was going to reform the prophetic role under Eli's reign, Samuel needed to know who would commission him. 

God often speaks to us at the moment we least expect it. And many times, God will keep calling out to us until we respond. In this story of call and response, Samuel hears the voice of God calling out to him, yet Samuel doesn't know who's calling him. Though Samuel goes to Eli, it shows that Samuel was ready to serve. In Hebrew, Samuel responds by saying "hineni," which means "here I am," but in the Bible often indicates the start of a long, challenging journey. In the middle of the night, God calls. In the light of the day, God calls. Calling us to repent and turn from the complacency we have embraced. And if we don't? God will raise a new generation of hope to replace our stubborn souls.

Take a moment and reflect on the past. Is there a moment that you can recall hearing the call of God? I can remember when my childhood church asked me to serve as a ruling elder when I was a high school student. Of course, I didn't fully understand the role of an elder, but looking back, I'd say this was a pivotal moment in how I responded to the voice of God. Eventually, it led to my ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament. How will you respond when you hear God calling your name? Will you call out, "Here I am," or will you stay within your own insular world and sit on your throne as Eli did? The choice is ours. 

It's almost been fifty some odd years since another one of God's prophets was slain while answering the call to challenge corrupted powers and advocating for the poor. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the Samuel of his time. He challenged us, he challenged churches, which had become accessories to mandated racial segregation. Dr. King spoke words that were hard to hear but necessary words nonetheless. Since the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we find that we have a choice to make as well. Will we be idle and sit back in an insulated bubble, or will we be brave, courageous, and speak and act like Samuel, who heard the call of God? Fifty some odd years, we find that there is still much work to be done, and our lives of faith compel us to be a part of the work of confession, repentance, and reconciliation. 

For many years, the church has been a place of comfort, a respite from the harsh realities of the word. However, the church has also acted like Eli, sat idly by and did nothing while the powerful oppressed the poor and discarded truth for baseless lies. In his "I Have A Dream Speech," we are very familiar with the dream of Dr. King, which is good, except we ignore the truth that the struggles of Dr. Kings time are still the struggles of our world today, and the only difference is that they've evolved and taken new or worse forms. You and I are called to be visionaries, people who dream, and people who act on those dreams. The voice of God is ringing from the steeples of every church and every rush of wind, beckoning us to follow. 

So let us follow and embrace the call to be the people of God. We aren't the first, and we certainly won't be the last people to embrace this vision of actionable love and justice. And when we grow in years or find that our spirit has dulled, may our hearts not grow jaded to the prophetic visions of the next generation who will show the way. There is a beauty to this cycle of the proclamation of God's word to us. I wish that I had an answer as to how we know we are hearing God's voice. In the end, it comes down to how you discern where the Spirit of God is leading you. Is it pushing you to the life-giving pathway of God? Is it calling you to care for the poor and the oppressed? Then you might take the next step and say, "Hineni," "Here I am." Amen.