Rev. George Miller
Jan 14, 2018
1 Samuel 3:1-11
This is one of the hardest sermons I’ve ever written. Last Sunday I began planning a light-hearted character-based message to carry on the feeling of good will from last week’s wonderful worship service.
Then Thursday happened-
It was reported that President Trump, during a meeting with lawmakers, referred to the entire continent of Africa, as well as the nations of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Haiti, as cesspool countries.
And my heart broke.
It’s been broken ever since.
I have too many friends of African descent, love too many people from these countries to not feel as if they have been personally hurt.
If the reporting of this statement is true, and if it was truly stated, then…
…What is a pastor to do?
To not acknowledge it in a pastoral manner means I am complicit or in agreement with the spirit of the statement.
To acknowledge it and challenge it head on in a pastoral manner means the possibility of rubbing people the wrong way.
There are those who believe all manner of politics should be left out of church.
But today, today we are not talking about policies, or programs, or who to vote for, but to admit, before God, that we all heard with our own ears, and read with our own eyes what our nation’s president supposedly said in regards to
1 billion, two hundred and 48 million people, not counting those who call these nations their ancestral home.
It’s supposedly been said, it’s been reported, so what do we do?
We could talk about how almost all of us have ancestors who came from places that were once deemed to be cesspool countries.
We could talk about how no one is perfect and how we have all said and done things that were hurtful and could’ve been damaging if someone else shared them.
We could talk about the reality that there are nations filled with people living in less than choice conditions and what does Christ call us to do.
This morning, we will turn to our scripture, realizing how timely this story actually is, as it deals head on with the very themes of hearing and seeing.
It’s about 3,050 years ago and it is turbulent times for the nation of Israel.
They have been struggling so much as a people. They’ve lost sight of who they are. Morale is low; frustrations are high.
Their main place of worship hasn’t been helping the matter.
Eli, the chief priest, has lost his zeal for ministry. He’s become more worried about the whos and whats of ministry as opposed to the whys of what he’s called to do.
Eli’s sons are also priests, but they have become the most corrupt group of men you can meet.
They steal the best parts of the sacrifices. They threaten people to increase their offerings.
They are having sex with women right in the doorway to the sanctuary.
Eli is complicit in all of this. He knows his sons are scoundrels. He has heard about their antics but he fails to stop them and eventually turns a blind eye.
No wonder we are told that the word of the Lord was rare; no wonder people were barely able to dream dreams.
But…there was HOPE, as there is always hope when one is worshipping the God of New Beginnings.
Turns out that Eli has an apprentice-a young boy named Samuel, a child conceived against all odds who was generously offered by his mother to be a servant to the Lord.
What happens next no one could have expected.
In the dark of night, as the light of God barely burns, the Lord calls Sleepy Samuel 3x, and 3x Sleepy Samuel goes to Eli, assuming it is him.
In the dead of night, as the light of God barely burns, Eli, the supposed spiritual leader of the nation, proves to be so blind and so spiritually deaf, that he fails to realize God is STILL SPEAKING and capable of calling out to this child.
Finally, Eli realizes what’s going on and gives Samuel the proper guidance of what to say.
So the next time God speaks to Sleepy Samuel, and stands right over the boy’s body, Sleepy Samuel with strength and wisdom beyond his years says “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
And God of Creation, Liberation, and THE Resurrection, says “See- I am about to do a new thing that will make all ya’ll ears tingle!”
And with that, new hope enters into the nation of Israel and the people of God…
This deeply spiritual scripture is about so many things:
-The dangers of turning your eyes from current realities so much so that you literally become blind to what’s around you.
-The sad soullessness of a nation that occurs when corruption and abuse from leadership is allowed.
BUT- today’s scripture is also about HOPE. Hope that brings about new beginnings and goes beyond popular expectations.
Yes- Eli has done a horrible job as head priest.
Yes- Eli’s children have abused their power by taking from the common person and having illicit affairs.
Yes- it appears as if the word of God is rare, dreams are rare, compassion is rare, but God is not completely absent, God is not at all defeated, and God is most certainly not gone.
As verse 3 states- when today’s story begins, the lamp of God had not yet gone out.
Some will interpret verse 3 literally, seeing this as a temporal reference to fixed time on a clock.
But others see verse 3 as a metaphor, a symbol, a poetic way of saying that the light of God has not been fully extinguished.
Though the nation seems to be in darkness, though the leaders were blind to corruption, though the house of worship was no longer just, kind, or humble, God-
Well God still shone.
Though the eyes of those who should have seen were dim, God’s light still burned on.
Though the ears of those who should have known what they were hearing appeared confused, God’s light still burned on.
Though darkness covered the land and unjust ways seemed to prevail, God’s light still burned on.
Though dreamers seemed non-existent and dreams were few or forgotten, God’s light still burned on.
Though every sign pointed to things coming to a very, very sad end, God’s light still burned on.
In what seemed to be a certain dead end, God found a way, once again, to create a new beginning and speak words that could change creation, this time through a child called Samuel.
Today’s scripture begins in a place of despair, but brings us to hope.
Hope for the individual.
Hope for the community.
Hope for the world.
Hope for all of creation.
Hope ablaze with the reality that GOD STILL SPEAKS.
Hope ablaze with the reality that even in darkness, God’s light still burns.
Hope ablaze with the reality that even as our eyes grown dim and our ears lose their ability to hear,
there is always someone, somewhere, who will be able to listen, willing to hear, able to speak, and willing to see.
Hope ablaze with the reality that any of us, at any time, can be a means which God’s message is acquired, and God’s message is discerned.
In conclusion, my heart still hurts, and will hurt, over the supposed comments attributed to our President.
But I know that the word of God is more powerful than anything one person can say.
My heart still hurts, and will hurt, for the nations who have been made to feel “less than”, but I know that the compassionate love of God is large enough to comfort all.
My heart still hearts, and will hurt, because it seems like dreams are being drowned.
But my heart swims with delight knowing that the light of God can never be put out, will never go away.
And that God will always call the faithful who are willing to see and ready to hear.
Amen and amen.
A UCC Pastor's walk through the spiritual waters of Scripture, pop culture and life.
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