Hebrew Testament Text for Sunday 14 January 2018

1 Samuel 3:1- 20     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. 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. 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.” [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. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 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. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”

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. But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 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.” 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.”

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.

Reflection        “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” How many of us could actually say that without crossing our eyes and wanting to hide? Do we really want to hear the Word God speaking to us? Do we really want to hear what the Word God might have to say to us regarding our priorities, ethical dilemmas, relationships and life choices?

Do we want to take the chance that, like Samuel, what we hear might be very hard to live into or pass on? In any case, how do we know if we are listening to the Word God and not the internalized voice of our culture, upbringing or our imagination?

Assuming we do want to hear the Word God, let’ s consider the last question, “How do we know what we think we hear is the Word God?” A couple of clues are nestled in the wisdom tale of Samuel and Eli. First of all, the boy Samuel, the listener, is not the one who identifies the voice of the Lord. It is the wise old man Eli who “perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.”      

                 

1. Affirmation that we are hearing the Word God generally comes through other people, particularly those who have devoted their lives to listening for God. 
2. Even the duly wizened, such as Eli, do not immediately presume the Word God has spoken. It is not until the Lord’s invocation to Samuel is repeated three times that Eli counsels Samuel to listen for the Lord. If it is the Word God, we will hear it repeatedly.
3. As was the case with Samuel, sometimes what we hear in not easy to swallow and even more difficult to pass on.  Samuel had to stretch, put his faith in the Word God  with him rather than in his human mentor Eli. There comes a time when each of us must quit second guessing and privilege the Truth of the Word that rises from within us. 
4. Finally, if we want to hear the Word God, we must listen. Like Eli we must incline ourselves toward God; body, mind and spirit. Like Samuel we must orient ourselves toward God and listen. But we do not have to be priests, prophets or special holy people. All we need add to our ordinary lives is a practice of holy listening, meditation, centering prayer or even ballet because this kind of discipline contributes to the cultivation of wisdom which enables us to see past the external appearance of things and make good judgments.  (See Meditation and Ballet Associated with Wisdom*) Eli, a high priest and a prophet, was able to discern the call of the Lord because throughout his life he consciously and conscientiously directed his attention toward God. Samuel redirected his attention away from his mentor and toward God - and heard the Word God. We can do so as well, if only we will practice listening.

* http://wisdomcenter.uchicago.edu/blogs/news/archive/2016/03/08/meditation-and-ballet-associated-with-wisdom-study-says.aspx

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Gospel text for 6 March 2016

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."

So Jesus told them this parable: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.

"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

    

Reflection        The most hopeful and glorious thing about this story for me is the overabundant  and unconditional welcome home the father gave to his estranged son. As soon as the profligate son admitted to himself,  (“came to him self”), that in violating his father’s trust he had also violated his relationship with God, harmony was restored. But the son did not know this. He thought his shameless actions condemned him to be of lesser value to his father. He thought he would have to beg forgiveness and assume the role of a hired hand. And those very thoughts changed everything. The son’s humility coupled with his desire to return home turned him from disorientation to reorientation. His choice to return to relationship with his father aligned him with the will of his father and with God. No groveling. No payment.

When the father “put his arms around his son and kissed him,” any concern for lost property, social stigma or irresponsible behavior was eradicated. The father immediately reinstated the son in the family and community. The father’s unrestrained welcome is the natural response to restored relationship, it is the grace filled, God given response.  

Here is the thing. In God’s economy what is primary is love and relationship. Action may be called sin in as much as it fails to enhance love or undermines relationships. The traditional understanding of sin as private acts that require explanation, amends, satisfaction or restitution fails to acknowledge the grace of God  that, “…does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…” (1Cor 13.6-8a) 

In an imagined conversation between the father and returned son Louis Savary writes, “Let’s not focus on the past, my son. Stay focused on my love and my grace. Never let others discourage you concerning your past. There is much work to be done in the present and the future and you can best do your part in that work as my forward-looking free son…” This is recovery. This is resurrection life, given by grace to all who choose to change their minds and turn toward God. 

 Savary, Louis M. The New Spiritual Exercises: In the Spirit of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. NY. Pallets Press, 2010. p33.

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Gospel text for Sunday, 7 February 2016

Luke 9:28-36       About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Reflection      Isn’t this what we all want… to peek behind the ‘veil,’ have a mountaintop experience, catch a glimpse of the unseen? When Moses descended from his forty day mountaintop experience Aaron and the Israelites saw “the skin of Moses face was shining… because he had been talking to God…” (Exodus 34.30,29) They saw beyond the ‘veil’ that separates humanity and divinity. Likewise, when Jesus took his companions “up the mountain to pray,” Peter, John and James, were awake and witnessed that “…while (Jesus) was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white…” The ‘veil’ separating humanity and divinity was lifted and the three disciples heard a voice from a cloud that left them speechless,  a fitting response to encountering the divine.

When we hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration generally our attention is glued to the supernatural spectacle of neon Jesus glowing on a mountaintop.  If we reorient our attention to the disciples, our eyes are opened to see beyond the extraordinary to the presence of God with the ordinary. When, like the disciples, we wait with Jesus in prayer, our hearts and minds are open to see beyond the ‘veil’ and experience the transforming glory of God with us, with all of us, right here on earth.

As long as we allow our attention to be captured by the supernatural details of Jesus’ transfiguration story (arguing pro and con, did this really happen? is this hyperbole?) we hold the radically transforming power of the story safely at arms length. But when we choose to turn away from the noise and distractions of neon signs and debates, follow Jesus up the mountain and give our attention to God in prayer, there is every chance our hearts and minds will be opened to experience the radically transforming presence of God with us. I wonder if this is what Paul is thinking when he writes to the Corinthians, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit?” (2 Cor 3.18) The veil between humanity and divinity is torn. Nothing is hidden when we stay awake and follow Jesus.

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