The Sound of God’s Voice
1 Samuel 3:1-10
What does the voice of God sound like?
In the 1950s and 60s the best-known voice of God was that of a man named Alexander Scourby. He was a native of Brooklyn, New York and had a British accent. His voice could be heard on documentaries and commercials at the time. And his voice was also used for the first recording of the entire Bible in the 1940s.
Who is the voice of God today? It may be a draw between James Earl Jones and Morgan Freeman. Jones is the voice of CNN and Darth Vader in Star Wars. He also made a recording of the King James Bible that has sold over 400,000 copies. Someone has said that Jones is the Old Testament God, fierce and forbidding. On the other hand, there is Morgan Freeman. He has been call the New Testament God, all wise, all knowing, and understanding. Freeman’s voice can be heard on commercials for Listerine and the VISA card. And he also plays the role of God in the movie, Bruce Almighty. So what does the voice of God sound like? We might say Alexander Scourby, James Earl Jones, or Morgan Freeman.
The story about the call of Samuel can also give us an idea about how God’s voice sounds. Samuel would tell us that God’s voice often sounds like the voice of the person in the next room. For he heard a voice calling him in the middle of the night and he thought it was Eli the priest calling him. Samuel heard the voice calling him three times and twice he went to Eli and said, “Here I am.” But the second time Eli realized that it was probably God who was calling Samuel. So Eli told Samuel that the next time he heard the voice, he should say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
This story about Samuel is about listening for God and saying “yes” to God. We can learn some things from this story that will guide us as we listen for God’s voice and as we respond to God’s directions for us.
One of the things that this story tells us is the God is at work in all the events of life. In the Old Testament times we read that God was at work in the nation of Israel, and in the lives of Eli and Samuel. Throughout the Bible, events unfold, often gradually and naturally. The faith of God’s people ebbs and flows. At times God’s people have great faith and act in extraordinary ways. At other times they have little faith and they wander away from God and God’s great plan for them. In the middle of all the ordinary events of life, God is acting. God is always calling people to have faith, calling leaders to lead, and calling people to serve.
In the Samuel story we see the beginning of a transition in the nation of Israel. The old leadership under Eli is being replaced by a new leader. The new leader is Samuel and the change is God’s doing.
Something else that this story tells us is that God uses people to get the work of God done. When one leader is not getting the job done, God calls another leader to respond. In this story, God calls Samuel to lead the nation of Israel and to provide the faithful leadership that His people need. We should remind ourselves that if we are faithful, that God will call us to make a difference. Even though we are imperfect people, and may feel unqualified and unprepared, God still calls us and can still use us.
If may also be helpful to note that God does not work as quickly as we would like, nor does God always work in ways that we understand. As the Scriptures say, “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and God’s ways are not our ways.” God seems to have a lot more patience than we do. God is always able to see the big picture and seems to know that if you rush things, it is not usually as effective as letting them unfold gradually.
One example of this is when God sent His son, Jesus into the world. Jesus came as a baby and was born into a blue-collar family. It was years before Jesus began to preach and heal. And if he had been born into a wealthy family, he would have had more financial resources and access to a better education. Samuel was just a boy when God first called him. Years passed before he assumed his leadership role. Unlike us, God is patient. We want instant results and don’t like to wait. But God’s ways are not our ways. God may have begun something years ago, that is just begin realized now. And God may begin something today that may take years to develop and unfold.
The bottom line is that when we hear God’s call, we can respond and go with God’s plan, or we can go our own way. Samuel hear a voice calling in the middle of the night and thought that it was Eli calling. But Eli told him that it was the Lord calling, and that he should respond by listening to hear what God would say.
God calls us in several areas:
1) There is a general call to respond to God in faith. God calls us to believe and be saved. We are called to gratefully accept God’s gift of life and grace.
2) There is a general call to respond to God’s grace with service. Each of us is called to identify our gifts, and to use them to serve God and one another.
3) There is a specific call to a task, job, or profession. We may be led in a certain direction, or called to make a change, or called to stay right where we are.
But how do we know what God is calling us to do? The best test I know is the end result. Do we accomplish something good? Do we do more good than harm? Do other people benefit from what we do?
It takes faith to respond to God’s call. Faith doesn’t eliminate our uncertainties, doubts, or reservations. It can help us to overcome our fears of acting. And faith can give us a healthy fear of doing the wrong thing, or doing the right thing at the wrong time. Faith allows us to balance assertiveness and caution, action and waiting.
The good news is that God is at work in our lives, calling each one of us to faith and to service. God has great plans and wants to do great things, and God wants to use us to do them. God wants to breathe new life into us, our families, our communities, and our world. If we will only listen, we can hear God calling us and leading us to listen. Like Samuel, our best response is, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Epiphany Thoughts
Epiphany Thoughts
Phillippians 2:10-11
It usually feels like the Christmas holiday ends around New Year’s Day. After New Year’s Day people are getting back to their normal routines. It is time for back to school and back to work, and most of the decorations have probably been packed away until next Christmas. It feels like Christmas is over.
But in the church calendar, the Christmas season continues until January 6, the day of Epiphany. This is the day that celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, the story told in the 2nd chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. So, in the church calendar there are twelve days of Christmas, beginning on Christmas Day and ending on the day of Epiphany. This reminds me of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, but I’m not sure that there is any connection between the song and the Christian calendar except the number of days.
The day of Epiphany reminds me of an email note that I saw several years ago. The subject was the Wise Men and the question it asked was: Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men? The answer: They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.
Everyone has probably heard something about the Wise Men. The story says that it is unlikely that they were at the stable where Jesus was born, because Matthew records that they entered a house when they came to see Jesus. The story also tells us that it may have been as long as two years after the birth of Jesus that the Wise Men made their visit, because Matthew records that King Herod ordered that all Hebrew boys two years old and younger be killed. The story also doesn’t say how many Wise Men there were. Tradition says that there were three, but the story only says that there were three gifts.
So who were these Wise Men? Studies tell us that they were a respected class of scholars devoted to study of the natural sciences, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and astrology. They were scientists, and academics. To say that they were astrologers is probably a stretch. For Matthew they represent the most powerful, wealthy, and educated people. They were also the most likely to doubt. But they were not kings, even though the best known song about them is “We Three Kings”. Although they were not kings, they did represent the world’s power and wealth. And they came to bow down before the new king of Israel.
As we recall the story of the Wise Men, we may also note the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians. He writes, “…every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” The Wise Men tell us that Christ came not only for the religious and chosen people, but for the outsiders, the undeserving, and those not chosen. Eventually everyone will bow before the King as the Wise Men did. Their story tells us that Christ is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. The story calls us to come and offer our gifts and ourselves to God and to Christ. Today is a good day for us to bow and worship God.
Phillippians 2:10-11
It usually feels like the Christmas holiday ends around New Year’s Day. After New Year’s Day people are getting back to their normal routines. It is time for back to school and back to work, and most of the decorations have probably been packed away until next Christmas. It feels like Christmas is over.
But in the church calendar, the Christmas season continues until January 6, the day of Epiphany. This is the day that celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, the story told in the 2nd chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. So, in the church calendar there are twelve days of Christmas, beginning on Christmas Day and ending on the day of Epiphany. This reminds me of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, but I’m not sure that there is any connection between the song and the Christian calendar except the number of days.
The day of Epiphany reminds me of an email note that I saw several years ago. The subject was the Wise Men and the question it asked was: Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men? The answer: They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.
Everyone has probably heard something about the Wise Men. The story says that it is unlikely that they were at the stable where Jesus was born, because Matthew records that they entered a house when they came to see Jesus. The story also tells us that it may have been as long as two years after the birth of Jesus that the Wise Men made their visit, because Matthew records that King Herod ordered that all Hebrew boys two years old and younger be killed. The story also doesn’t say how many Wise Men there were. Tradition says that there were three, but the story only says that there were three gifts.
So who were these Wise Men? Studies tell us that they were a respected class of scholars devoted to study of the natural sciences, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and astrology. They were scientists, and academics. To say that they were astrologers is probably a stretch. For Matthew they represent the most powerful, wealthy, and educated people. They were also the most likely to doubt. But they were not kings, even though the best known song about them is “We Three Kings”. Although they were not kings, they did represent the world’s power and wealth. And they came to bow down before the new king of Israel.
As we recall the story of the Wise Men, we may also note the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians. He writes, “…every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” The Wise Men tell us that Christ came not only for the religious and chosen people, but for the outsiders, the undeserving, and those not chosen. Eventually everyone will bow before the King as the Wise Men did. Their story tells us that Christ is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. The story calls us to come and offer our gifts and ourselves to God and to Christ. Today is a good day for us to bow and worship God.
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