1 Samuel 3:1-10
Listening for God
James Sledge January
14, 2018
The word of the Lord
was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. When I was young, and even sometimes as
an adult, I’ve thought that it would be great to have lived in biblical times.
How much easier faith would I’d been
there to see God act, to hear Jesus teach, to encounter a prophet filled with
God’s Spirit and speaking directly to me.
But
the opening of our Scripture reading this morning doesn’t sound much like that. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not
widespread. Sure, people knew
stories of God acting in the past, but there wasn’t much current activity. I
wonder if people at the time of our reading wished they had lived in an earlier
time, when God’s activity had been more vivid and obvious. But for them, God’s
word was rare. No dreams or visions to share. No prophets speaking God’s word
directly to them.
The
opening of our scripture doesn’t sound so different from today, although many
of us were alive when one of God’s prophets did speak. I was just a child, but
I remember. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prophet if there ever was one. God
called him and gave him a vision to share. If Dr. King had lived in biblical
times, I suspect his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial would have been written
down with an introduction something like, “The vision that the prophet Martin
was given about the things to come.”
Dr.
King used the term dream instead of vision Perhaps he thought that would work better
with both religious folks and more secular types who don’t think much of
prophetic visions.
I have a dream that one day
this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We
hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on
the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave
owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day
even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice,
sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of
freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four
little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by
the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
Our culture doesn’t know much of prophets and visions.
Even many who admire Dr. King seem not to realize that his dream, his vision,
arose from faith, that it was divine prophecy. Perhaps that’s why many don’t
recall the last part of the “I have a dream” speech, or if they do, they don’t
realize King borrows it from another prophet, Isaiah.
I have a dream
that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be
made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be
made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together.
But
how do prophets see visions? How is it they are able to pick up a divine
whisper and share it with others? How was it that Dr. King glimpsed what God
would bring, a vision that would be costly for him to share. Prophets are
rarely well received. Jesus once said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills
the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Status quo and power
don’t take well to prophets who tell of the new day God brings. What was it
that allowed Dr. King to glimpse and boldly share a vision from God that many
did not want to see, that many still resist?
I’m
reasonably certain that Dr. King had a lot of help in learning to hear God, in
knowing how catch a glimpse of a fleeting vision. He had been schooled in the
church, learning the language of God. He had been steeped in scripture and knew
the strange rhythms and patterns of divine speech. He had been schooled in
prayer, the sort of prayer that spends at least as much time listening as it
does talking.
The young Samuel in our reading this
morning had not yet had such instruction, and so when he heard something, he
could not recognize it for what it was. It must be Eli, he thought. As far as
Samuel knew, there were no other options. Eli, who did know the strange rhythms
and patterns of divine speech, had to help Samuel hear.
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Do
you know how to recognize a divine whisper? Have you been steeped in scripture,
learning the strange rhythms and patters of divine speech? Have you been
schooled in prayer? Who is your Eli, the one who helps you to understand what’s
happening when God intrudes unexpectedly in your life?
I’m
not sure many modern people think in these terms. Hearing God speak sounds like
an anachronism. Surely that sort of thing doesn’t really happen. The word of
the Lord is rare. Visions don’t really occur.
Not
that we’d likely notice if they did. We’re surely some of the most distracted
people who ever lived on earth. We’re constantly inundated with noise and
information from our TV’s, laptops, iPads, smart phones. We rarely are still,
even more rarely experience silence.
Many
mystics have said that the first language of God is silence. If that is so, no
wonder the word of the Lord is rare in our day. We’re in no position to hear it,
much less recognize it.
But
what if we were? What if we took a cue from Samuel and Martin Luther King? What
if we read scripture regularly and became better acquainted with the strange
rhythms and patterns of divine speech? What if we set aside time each day to
unplug, be still, and become silent? What if we committed to taking advantage
of classes and groups that help us learn about our centering prayer or
contemplative prayer? Or what if the problem isn’t that the word of the Lord is
rare, but rather that we’re not much interested in hearing it?
God
is still speaking words of life… if we
have ears to hear.
All
praise and glory to the Word of God who became flesh for out sakes, that we
might hear and see. Thanks be to God!
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