The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

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. 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 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. 4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" 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. 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." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 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. 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. 10 Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 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. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 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. 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." 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. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am." 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." 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." 19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD. (1 Samuel 3 NRSV)

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49 Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." (John 1 NRSV)


“CALLED AWAY”


Communication has changed. There is a two-day workshop I’m hoping to attend soon and registered for it. I got confirmation for the event. They sent GPS coordinates. It will be at N 43 56.016' W 089 34.507'. Those are precise. Remember when they used to send a map? Those funny little pieces of paper with lines? Directions? Those words which tell you where to go? On the completely opposite end of the spectrum, I remember stopping once, years ago, and asking for directions on the way to preach in Henrytown. I asked an Amish man. He was very nice but not that helpful. He said I should turn at the old Miller place. I didn’t know where the Millers live now, let alone where they used to live. Other forms of communication have changed as well. A few months ago I was watching a “Columbo” episode. Remember him? He was the detective, played by Peter Falk, who kept coming back to ask questions (“Just one more thing.”) until he caught the murderer? Well, in this one, he stopped at a pay phone and called the precinct, saying that he was not able to get to the phone until then. “Not able to get to a phone.” It almost sounds quaint. Most people now are never away from a phone, as they carry theirs with them at all times.
There are many changes, many genuine improvements. I remember party lines, and when phones were on the wall and only came in black, and when you had to rent the phone from the phone company, and when there was only one phone company. What were they telling us, “Reach out and touch someone?” Now there are so many ways to communicate it is almost baffling. We do not even need to talk on the phone; people can send pictures, even send words, across the miles. Communication has changed much over the years. Even how much we talk has changed.
The passages from Scripture for this morning are about God calling. God does not always use the phone. The first is the familiar story of Samuel. Since he was a gift from God to parents who were childless for a long time, his parents, Elkanah and Hannah, gave the boy to God in service at the Temple. Samuel was in the Temple and heard someone call his name. He assumed it was the old priest Eli and he went and asked him what he wanted. He had not called him. Then it happened again and again, and, no, Eli still had not called him. Eli finally figures out that the voice that is calling Samuel might be the Lord’s and instructs him how to answer. The voice calls again and Samuel answers, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” And he becomes God’s prophet as God tells him the word that he is tell others for God.
The Gospel reading is of how some of the first of Jesus’ disciples were called. Jesus told Philip to follow him and when Philip saw Nathanael, he told him that they found the Messiah, Jesus the son of Joseph from Nazareth. Nathanael has doubts. He figures the Messiah should come from a place with a better reputation. He is not impressed by Nazareth. When Jesus meets him he already knows him. He knows that he is outspoken and knows that Philip spoke to him. He is impressed by this, but Jesus tells him that this is nothing. He will see greater things than this. He might even see heaven opened and angels coming and going.
Both of these incidents give us a picture of how God calls people to service. What they have in common is that they heard God’s voice and obeyed. God starts all this. Also, their service included giving others the message they have received from God. And their messages will do tremendous things. Samuel will give a message that will make all the ears in Israel tingle. Also the disciples of Jesus will see things they have never seen before, will see heaven come to earth. And God knows both Samuel and Nathanael. This message is to them. Both Samuel and the disciples would be speaking for God, sharing the good news of the gospel. This call will change the direction of their lives. God begins by giving it to us. It is God’s plan that we share it, like Philip shared it with Nathanael.
While how we have communicated has changed over the years, we still do it for many of the reasons people long ago did. It still needs to help us in some way. Much of it is routine, sometimes important, sometimes not, Where are you, pick up this or that from the store, when should we be there? How do I get there? What should I do? My grandmother didn’t talk on the phone if it was long distance. I don’t know if she thought it was special, or expensive, or associated it with bad news. But it is how we get news, especially news from far away, and it is someone telling us something.
Phyllis Hobe talks about a dilemma she encountered when a florist mistakenly delivered five azalea plants. She wanted to keep them, but reluctantly she set about the task of figuring out how to share them. A friend suggested that she share them with a local nursing home. When she brought them in she found that some of the residents wanted to plant them in the courtyard and take care of them. She also found joy in sharing. It is God’s plan that we share the goodness we have found, or the goodness that has found us, with others.
There is something, for me, that texting, sending words over the phone, will never replace, as important as that can be at times. It is the voice. Behind the voice is a person. Behind the text is a person, of course, but it is so much clearer with a voice. Samuel and the disciples were called by a person, God, not an organization or a set of principles or rules, or sense of duty. They began their ministry because God wanted them to do something. This is not impersonal; this is deeply personal. It is that God who created us wants to continue to guide and shape our lives. It is not that we just want to hear about Jesus; it is that we want Jesus to know us. It is that God wants to touch us, and we want to touch God, as Mary Lou Carney was babysitting for three-year-old Michael, the son of a neighbor. He sat in her lap, reading a Christmas picture book together. He asked her if she could find the baby Jesus. She nodded. Then he asked the question more loudly. She said “Yes.” He grabbed her index finger in his little hand and put it down on the picture of Jesus in the manger. “See,” he said, making me actually touch the tiny likeness of the baby Jesus. “You found Him.”

Much has changed in our world, including how we communicate with others. But God still calls women and men to serve God. That has not changed. God still has a message for the world. It is that the Savior of the world has come. That has not changed. It is that God knows us and cares for each of us deeply. The calling is to share that message. That calling started the disciples into a ministry which changed the world. It is a calling which will change our lives. Amen.