3:1 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.
3:2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that
he could not see, was lying down in his room;
3:3 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.
3:4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I
am!"
3:5 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.
3:6 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."
3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD
had not yet been revealed to him.
3:8 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.
3:9 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.
3:10 Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel!
Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
3:11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something
in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.
3:12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken
concerning his house, from beginning to end.
3:13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house
forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were
blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.
3:14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of
Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever."
3:15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the
house of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.
3:16 But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." He said,
"Here I am."
3:17 Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from
me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me
of all that he told you."
3:18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he
said, "It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him."
3:19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his
words fall to the ground.
3:20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a
trustworthy prophet of the LORD.
It is only by truly listening to God that we hear what God wants and
asks of us. Too often even in our prayer we decide what God is going
to say or do and our prayer tries to force God's hand or make a
decision for Him. If in our prayer we listen and open ourselves up
to the Holy Spirit God will speak to us. But we must quiet ourselves
and must allow true prayer to happen in our lives. H in Iowa
Here I Am, Lord is 593 in the United Methodist Hymnal. Its refrain
says Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the
night. I will go Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my
heart.
It seems to me this was the answer to God's call by Moses and many
other ancient prophets and by Martin Luther King jr. and others in
our day. Manzel
"The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. . . . Now
Samuel did not know the Lord, and the word of God had not yet been
revealed to him."
Very interesting. Samuel was just a young fellow, yet he was already
ministering, even though he didn't yet have any startling revelation
or much experience--so niaive that Eli had to interpret the meaning
of the voice.
This says something positive about youth, and about going ahead in
ministering even if you don't have all the "merit badges" yet.
Jay in AL
Samuel was ministering because he was doing as his mother, Hanna had
promised. Yet, it is true this is an example of youth being open to
spirituality.
I know a few things about the ark and its beginning with Moses. I
have not usually placed too much importance on it but this passage
does seem to equate the ark with the presence of God. Wish I knew
more about the J and P traditions. Does one of those traditions put
more emphasis on the ark? Also is one of those traditions more
inclined to percieve wars as holy wars? Insight on this would be
very helpful thanks.
I was a guest priest at our Diocesan (Anglican) summer camp last
summer (and oh, how long ago that now seems...). This was the
reading for focus that day. The chaplain had a number of campers
(most of them about 10 years old) act out this story, and then had
the rest of the children talk among themselves about it. She then
asked them about their thoughts and impressions. The kids pretty
much universally thought that it was "cool" that God talked directly
to a young person, and particualrly that God chose a young person to
speak the word of God. This was especially so since, given the
choice of speaking to a young person or a well-respected and
faithful priest, one would think that God would go with the priest.
I don't know whether this is true in other churches, although I
suspect that it is, but young people really don't seem to matter all
that much in our congregations. We give lip service to youth
ministry, and if our churches are to survive, we all acknowledge
that we need some young people around. But how often are those young
people actually listened to? How often do we include them in major
church decisions? How often do we take their lack of interest in
what we do on Sunday mornings to be final, instead of perhaps a
prophetic word that what we're doing might need to be changed? "out
of the mouths of babes..." is a commonly heard refrain when we
relate cute stories about our children's talks on Sunday with the
little ones. But we're less interested, often, in what the teenager
in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt several sizes too big and the
baseball cap (gasp! not in church?!?) has to say. It's too bad. I
suspect they have quite a lot. It took Samuel a long time to
recognize that the voice he was hearing belonged to God. He couldn't
believe that God would want to talk to him. In fact, it took an
adult he respected and who respected him to tell him to listen, that
it was God's voice. How often to we miss the chance to tell our
young people that God is interested in them, that God does care
about them, and even more, that God does believe in them and that
they do have a ministry. "Youth ministry" isn't just about youth
groups or what we, the older church, do to and for the young people
in our churches. It's about the ministry those young people provide
for us. Often, as was the case with Samuel and Eli, we don't really
want to hear the message young people bring us. But if we can, like
Eli, recognize that that message is of God, we will do much better
in the long run.
Just some ramblings... Heather
I find it interesting that Samuel answers "here I am" to Eli, but
uses the words that Eli tells him to use with Yahweh. When did
Samuel realize that it was Yahweh calling as a opposed to Eli. I
know the answer seems obvious, but I'm not sure whether it was at
this point that he accepted Yahweh's direct conversation with him,
and not continuing to allow Eli to interpret for him. I will be
reflecting on this during the week. Do any of use this day herar
directly from God, or is it through others we revere? Is the older
genreation stymying the younger's one's messages from God? Are we
too critical of their lifestyle? Or are we being to easy on them as
Eli is told he was by Yahweh through Samuel? Howard Thurman and
Mahatma Gandhi were the inspirations for Martin Luther King's
Philosophy of Nonviolence. Who is the inspiration for our
ministries? So many questions?
Shalom
Pasthersyl
I've been thinking about how much Samuel acheived in his lifetime,
as God's servant. Somthing I read said that he was an agent of
change, both fro religion adn politics (KIngly rule). It raised
questions fro me about who are our change agents? Is GOd a God who
wants us to change? Does God change? Here is an example of God
speaking to and using a young person, who did not even know GOd very
well. How amazing. Woudl our church listen to our youth in such a
way?
Robyn in Australia
I see this passage as a critique of hereditary privilege and power.
It is an etiological legend of why and how Samuel became a
charismatic leader. Written by the Elohist in the 800's BCE (during
the monarchy); written about the pre-monarchy time, 1100's BCE, the
passage is a comment on that monarchy's centralization of power.
Trusting Yahweh, says the Elohist, means that you decentralize
power; means that we trust our own relationship with God and take
initiative toward God's work in the world based on that
relationship. DT in Philly
Some background -- since Dec. 26th I have had three memorial
services/funerals ... one for a full-term, very anticipated baby ...
one for a 22 yr. old in an auto accident ... and a third yesterday
for an 8 day old, very ill child. So -- as I exegete the
congregation as well as the text, these words cry out: v. 1 - "The
word of the Lord was rare in those days...visions were not
widespread" and v. 3 "The lamp of God had not yet gone out" ... I
think the hope for these wounded people lies in v. 3 ... joining the
Epiphany's magi -- daring to journey through the darkness, and
however dim the light -- trust that "it has not yet gone out" and
follow it. Perhaps a mix of imagery more than pure exegesis, but --
certainly words of hope to folks who need it. Thoughts? - meredith
in va
Meredith, just read your comment. My prayers are with you after the
experience of dealing with all that grief for the young--who
represent our hopes and dreams. glad in IL
Meredith...I too am keeping you lifted up in prayer. I have had the
opposite. 4 funerals in 2 weeks of vernerable saints of my church.
IT has made this a difficult season. LG in Mystic
To Meredith, LG in Mystic, & all others overwhelmed by grief. My
Prayers are with you as I write. Having lost family members around
Christmas, and gone through holiday seasons such as you have had, I
know the struggles. We cannot help but see that the world is not as
God intended. But this is the reason, the brokenness and pain, why
God sent his son. We need that baby, that 12 year old in the temple,
the one who died on a cross - was buried - and raised to new life.
And people who are grieved need to hear words of hope. May the
spirit grant you such words. mehrke in SD
Meredith, I messed up! Let me finish my thought. No matter what
happens to me, no matter how dark the night, I find comfort in God's
presence and God's will for love to prevail. That doesn't mean bad
things won't happen to us, as you know, it does mean that God
suffers with us when we suffer and that God works for love to
prevail in the midst of our suffering. My task is to look for God's
presence in the midst of my suffering and to take strength from
God's presence so that I might work to make something good come out
of the pain and despair. The best example I can give of this will
and hope that can make something good come out of despair is the
mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver who went on to
start MADD so that other parents would not suffer what she suffered.
The result? Our cultural attitudes about drunk driving have changed
and deaths have decreased. What a sign of hope in the midst of
despair! Peace to you and your congregation, Diana in Missouri
There are times when we enter into the heavy stuff of ministry, and
that is exactly when I find out that God has been present with me
and these families all along. If you do not have any thing to preach
to hurting ones then we do not have anything to preach at all.
A good friend of mine just lost her 25 year old daughter to a rare
and rapid disease. On the drive home from the hospital the mother
was hit by a drunk driver Have not heard how she is though.
I think this ties into the theme of calling because we may assume
that we have plenty of time to wrestle with God's claim on our lives
and we may not!
For comic relief I like to remind people that God called Samuel
while he was "asleep in the sanctuary."
A W-G rocky coast Me.
