Second Sunday After Epiphany, Year B 2023: Old Testament Passage – Being called by the One you are to come to know

“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. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 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.” (I Samuel 3:1 – 3)

It is hard to pinpoint how old Samuel might have been at this point. Perhaps not as young as some pictures show – barely past the age of a toddler. But neither into his teen years. Nine or ten maybe? Internships in the temple were far and few between, I imagine. With the families who came to Canaan by way of the exodus, temple duties fell to those men in the proper lineage and family line – again, I imagine. For Hannah’s husband perhaps it was an honor to him that his son served in temple and was under the tutelage of Eli. But Eli had not raised his boys, who inherited temple duties, well for they were a scourge to the priesthood and Eli could not reign them in. But with Samuel, he might have thought, he will do better.

“Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 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. 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.” Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” (Verses 4 – 7)

Not yet a teenager. Not yet ready in age to take on the mantle of a man and responsibilities of servant of the Lord – at least not up to this night. Was it because Eli was not properly aligned to the Lord, or more likely not sure how to instruct the boy as to who Yahweh was? Maybe, maybe the calling of Samuel was as much a call to Eli for a better relationship with his God as it was a calling to Samuel to be a servant of the Lord.

“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. 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. Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (Verses 8 – 10)

And Samuel did listen. He heard the hard new the Lord God Yahweh had for Eli, and told Eli about it. Samuel listened to the Lord, and the Lord spoke to him about many things over the course of his lifetime.

“As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD.” (Verses 19 – 20)

It was through Samuel that the age of the Israelite and Judahite kings came about – not that Samuel wanted that, but he proved to be the voice of the Lord cautioning the people of what this age would bring. For Samuel called out to Saul, then to David – by command of the Divine. And from David came the long line down to Joseph, and the to Jesus.

Who calls you, beloved reader? Have you listened? And then told what you have heard? Shalom & Selah!

Second Sunday After Epiphany, Year A in 2020: Epistle Passage – Knowing who the Messiah and being a faithful servant

[From] “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,                                                                         and our brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 1:1 – 3)

I could wish to address you, beloved reader, in the same way. Well, not the same way as Paul did, and only from me. But nonetheless, I greet those who read what I post – from what ever the source that you read it or that it comes to you.

Yesterday I ‘gave forth’ on my periodic and mild but ongoing diatribe against commentators as pertaining to some passages. If, beloved reader, my writings yesterday jostled your exegetical world, I am sorry.

Often in the midst of such written back-and-forths I will research the topic and allow it to modify my stance. And think back on it, reviewing in my mind my position and the commentators. After doing that, where I came out at is . . . . recognizing Jesus Christ, the Lord God, the Divine, and the Holy Presence can be a challenging thing. Prophecy, by its very definition, looks ahead to where things may not be clear and attempts to put clarity to it while filling in the details. Sometimes prophecy is accurate; but more often it is incorrect. At times it and depending on the need & purpose of the prophecy, the incorrect portions are overlooked or smoothed over so that the prophecy can stand as a connection between the ‘then’ and ‘now’. That seems to happen a lot in the bible. Humanity loves connections and a feeling that what was said in time past is pertinent and informative to our ‘now’. And that we are not alone in our beliefs.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Verses 4 – 7)

Do you remember back to King Herod and the three Wise Men? That Herod had the scribes and religious leaders scour religious writings and prophecies to try to discern where the infant Jesus might be have been born? Jesus was there, but his human father Joseph hurried his family away to Egypt and thereby fulfilling another prophecy that God would call the God-self’s Son out of Egypt.

If one had access to all of the religious writings and prophecies that abounded, would it have been possible to recognize Jesus as the Messiah? Here is another thought – do you think Saul who become Paul has access to those writings and prophecies? He is said to have been an Old Testament scholar who made his living as a tent maker. And yet it took a Divine encounter on the road to Damascus for his mind to be opened.

Some come to faith by slow dawning awareness of the Divine. Others need a push, a prphecy, or a revelation to realize the Deity who is the Author of the universe. In the end it does not matter how we have come to faith, but that we have come. Because our future depends on it!

“He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Verses 8 – 9)