This story is about call…or in other words the vocation you were born to live. Which is ironic because this idea of call has been following me around like a storm cloud for the last couple months. It was the topic of the online course that I just finished where I wrote multiple papers on God’s call in my life, It was what my church planting coach decided she wanted to dig deeper about, it happened to be the topic of the scripture today which was randomly assigned to my week of preaching and then to top it off I came upon an article from Sojourners about how the fab 5 from Queer Eye may be answering a call to ministry through their show- so that pretty much sealed the deal on what this sermon was going to be about.
Samuel and I don’t have much in common about our call stories besides the fact that we were both young-I was 16, he was probably younger. I don’t know what kind of backlash Samuel got when he told everyone that he was on a special mission for God ( honestly it was probably much worse than the backlash I got- there was probably violence and danger involved) but I still feel like we could have bonded over these reactions. I was a 16 year old girl in high school telling people I wanted to be a pastor- some thought it was weird, some didn’t know what that meant and the catholics which was most of my high school could just not get it. They thought I was going to be a nun and no matter how many times I told them that was not the case- it didn’t work like that I would still get asked “ Aren’t you the girl who wants to be a nun?” I just gave up after a while. So maybe my life wasn’t threatened like Samuels might have been but I had to spend the last 2 years of high school with people calling me a nun… It’s still a high price to pay.
Before we unpack this a little more, I want to give some background of what is going on in this story. 1 Samuel opens up with Israel in a time of transformation. Israel is in a moral crisis because of the current leadership and at the same time God is working to bring about a prophet that will raise Israel out of their tribulation. The sons of Eli are corrupting the religious practices of the day for their own gain and God is angry about this faithlessness. Samuel is the prophet who will come to the rescue. Samuel’s mother hannah was barren but she prayed to God that if he gave her a son she would give him back to the Lord to do his work- and she bore a son. Samuel is the first of the three great men who God will use to bring about a new Israel. God initiated this transformation from a barren woman- one of the many portraits we see in scripture where God brings new life from places we thought otherwise impossible.
1st and 2nd Samuel tell of the rise of the kings and prophets of Israel. They tell the stories of God’s work being done through human beings- human beings who sin- and they did not hold back- murder, rape, adultery, corruption of power. It is messy and confusing but these are the people God chose to work through.
Two main things stand out to me in this scripture that I think are important for us to take note of- The first is how this story opens with the statement “ The word of the Lord was rare in those days” and the second is Samuel’s response when he is ready to listen to God, “Speak for your servant is listening.”
The first stands out because in my personal life and as I think about the current state of the world, nothing seems more true. The word of the Lord was rare in those days. In these days too in my opinion. The second statement stands out because very seldom do I think we have the courage to say “Speak for your servant is listening” and are actually open to what that might entail.
It is not accidental that the text tells us it is rare to hear the word of God and see visions both of which end up happening to Samuel. This shows us that a new time is coming- when things will be different. I think this verse is here to help us understand that this encounter Samuel had was both unusual and unexpected. The commentary I used put it this way-“ Samuel is called by God in a time of spiritual desolation, religious corruption, political danger and social upheaval.” Samuel hears the Lord but does not know it is the Lord because He does not know who the Lord is. Fascinating that God is calling samuel- someone who doesn’t even know God to do God’s work. But yet this is true of most prophets- they don’t know God, don’t want to know God or just don’t want to do the work of God.
All of this tells us that God’s call comes in unusual ways at desperate times to ordinary people.
Let us put ourselves in Samuels shoes- he is a child so let’s imagine we are a child again. I know we are all adults but let’s be real many of us act like children or at least feel like children much of the time. I’ll be the first to admit it. Samuel is being raised by the priest Eli- who is neither of his parents so he is away from home, away from his biological family. The rest of Eli’s sons are doing awful things in the name of God and so I imagine Samuel feels very much like he does not belong. In the middle of the night- he hears his name called three times. He must be groggy and confused. Each time he hears his name he goes to Eli, the one he knows and trusts assuming it must be Eli calling him and the first couple times Eli basically tells him that didn’t happen and you are probably just dreaming. The third time though Eli does have some wisdom to impart- he tells him to answer the voice. Samuel probably has no idea what this means and honestly might be kind of terrified- wouldn’t you be if you kept hearing someone call your name in the middle of the night? And now Eli tells him to answer the voice. And he does answer the voice- maybe because Eli told him to, maybe because he was so desperate to get some actual sleep, maybe because he was at a loss for options. And it is God that answers- which probably doesn’t even give Samuel comfort because the text tells us that Samuel doesn’t even know who God is. He might have known about God because he lived with a priest but the text tells us that he hasn’t yet encountered God.
This story tells me that when it comes to encounters with God we are all like children- out of our comfort zone, afraid of what’s to come, confused and tired and uncertain. This story also tells me that it might be awhile before you feel confident and comforted in what God is calling you to do. What God asks Samuel to do is incredibly difficult and scary and he is still just a boy.
So why should we answer the call? Why would we choose to be uncomfortable and scared and uncertain? Why would we choose to do something dangerous or something that has the power to change our lives in a way we are not sure we want? Why would we do something that may make people not like us or judge us or question our every decision. Frederick Buechner, a theologian and ordained minister has some pretty compelling things to say about why answering the call might be something we want to consider :
He says, “ Vocation is where the world’s greatest need and your greatest desire meet” – I think this might be my life quote and he also says, “Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention,” “They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not, God is speaking to you through them.”
What I believe Buechner is getting at, is purpose. We should answer the call because we all have a purpose and God wants to give it to us. We were all created for something. I think we were created to work, to enjoy work and to feel fulfilled in our work. I think when we do the work we are meant to do it is life-giving. We are all Samuel- being called by God. This is an invitation for us all to have a conversation with God about what our purpose is- what is it that gives us passion everyday- that gets you out of bed in the morning and helps you sleep well at night?
So, are we willing to say to God, “speak Lord for your servant is listening?” It is vulnerable and terrifying because it opens the doors to the unknown- to things being different than you thought- to your life looking different than you imagined it would. It takes us out of the center of the equation and puts God’s mission in the center and that is a humbling task. But if we can do this the it creates opportunities- imagination- creativity- new life.
I am again in a “speak for your servant is listening” phase of life. Some of you might have heard but if you didn’t Concord, the church I was working at had to let me go because of their financial situation. Sometimes like Samuel we have to answer the call many times before we end up where God really wants us. We might get confused about who is calling us or what the call means but if we keep answering it I believe we’ll eventually get it right.
And it can look many different ways. Earlier a I referenced an article I found about how the five guys from the Netflix show- Queer Eye are really doing ministry in the most unlikely of ways. Queer eye for those of you who don’t know is a tv show where these 5 gay guys go and for a week makeover the life of normally a straight guy who has lost his way. They aim to help this man regain confidence in who he is- his personality, his body and style, his home, his skills- essentially they want this person to learn to appreciate how great they are and to treat themselves as such. The article said this,
“Queer Eye is more than uplifting reality television. At this moment in culture, the fab five’s weeklong makeovers have taught us what it means to minister to a hurting person, reveal their value, and help them open up to joy and love.This show’s ministry isn’t typical. It isn’t summer camp with the youth group; it’s not your church’s annual men’s retreat. Just like Jesus’ story about the Samaritan, the least likely characters –– not the pastors or counselors or prayer team volunteers, but a group of out and proud gay men –– bring such light into people’s lives it’s difficult to describe their work as anything other than holy.”
I love everything about this story- that 5 gay men- men who the church have hurt and have made feel less then have decided that what makes them happy is making other people feel worthy. This is the work of God.
Living our purpose means we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. I want to leave you with one more example of the beauty of answering God’s call. This past week on Wednesday I got the news that a guy named Dennis who started coming to the Table in March passed away. At first the news was very sad and it still is but then I thought about the last 4 months he has been coming to the Table and I can’t help but feel that God was working there.You see, Andy, a man who used to live upstairs back when Hot Metal was a bar stumbled in here one day asking if he could volunteer. So of course I said yes and for a couple weeks that’s what he did- but then one day he asked me if he could bring a shut in named Dennis- and he would spend his time sitting with this man. He felt bad that he wouldn’t be as much help now and I assured him that him sitting with Dennis was a much more valuable use of his time.
Dennis I learned had been a lawyer. Way back in the day Andy was a bartender here in Pittsburgh and Dennis and all his lawyer friends got to know Andy pretty well when they would frequent his bar. Over the years they had lost touch but for some reason recently Andy had gotten wind that Dennis wasn’t doing well. He had lost his job due to alcoholism, and was living alone in his basement drinking himself to death. He would go days without eating or talking to anyone when Andy reconnected with him. Dennis loved the Table, he would tell me and Andy how excited he was to come down here- it was the only thing he looked forward to all week. It was the only human connection he received. Throughout those months Andy worked countless hours to get Dennis health insurance and food stamps and try and get Dennis on his feet again. That didn’t happen but what did happen is that Dennis died knowing that people loved him- if only me and Andy. He died hopefully feeling more worth than he had a few months before and he died hopefully understanding a little more of God’s grace. I don’t know what compelled Andy to find Dennis and do all this for him- but I think it was purposeful and that it made a difference.
Making someone feel loved and worthy is what we are called to do- it is what gives us purpose. It is what God asks of us when He asks us to continue to do his ministry here on earth. Samuel is woven into the story of Israel as a prophet who brings God’s word no matter how much sacrifice and pain sometimes that might bring. I think we are all woven into God’s story of humanity and we are all invited to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves.
Whether that looks like that of the guys from Queer Eye or it is helping someone know they are loved and worthy before they leave this world or even if you don’t know what it is yet- I think we owe it to ourselves to keep putting ourselves out there and continually saying to God “speak for your servant is listening.”
Floundering With A Purpose 