1 Sam 3: 1-20; John 1:43-51   Your Answering Machine is Blinking  Jan.15/06

1. Last week we were reminded, as Epiphany began, to rise and shine for your light has come.  God is present with us even though it seems pitch black, and no darkness can ever put out that light.  God starts out the year assuring us we don?t do this alone.  And then says, ?And I don?t want to do it alone either!  I need you.?  I can just hear the wheels turning!  ?But surely not me, God.  I?m too young, too old, too busy, too tired, not good enough, my life too messed up right now.?  What do our scriptures say about God calling and leaving messages?

2. First Eli - far from perfect - eyesight failing, aging and wanting to just coast to retirement, he had failed to control his sons.  They had blasphemed God.  That is they had not given the respect and love and honour every Israelite knew was God?s due.  And they were priests.  They had stolen from the people?s sacrifices, greedily gobbling what was not theirs and making a mockery of relationships with women.  That?s where Eli needed to set aside his role as father and act as priest to remove them.  Eli was unable physically to carry on and his sons were unable spiritually.  Could God still use Eli?

3. What about Samuel?  Samuel was young and in training.  We are told this is before Samuel knew the Lord.  He knew about God, obviously, as he went about his business in the temple, learning the trade so to speak.  The word of God had not yet been written on his heart, as the prophet later said.  It was still out there.  Not inside.  He went about his business in a rote way, the fire and passion of God not yet flowing through him.  We hear that the word of the Lord was rare in those days - visions were not widespread.  The vision that later informed Samuel?s ministry - of a people who would return to God with all their heart - not yet seen.     No one ever expected him to be called!

4. And Nathaniel?  In a somewhat rude response to Philip transmitting the call, Nathaniel asks, ?Can anything good come out of Nazareth??  A rather loose translation could be, ?You gotta be kidding!  You think the Messiah could come from that hick town!?  On the Holy list of call responses, it?s hard to imagine that wouldn?t make the top ten!

5. In answer to our early excuses, our Biblical stories are very clear!  You don?t need to be perfect to answer the call.  Things don?t need to be going well.  You can?t be too young ? or too old!  You can really blow it big time. God will keep calling.  We are all called to serve wherever we are ? at home with children, in the barns and fields of our farms, as students or staff in schools, as medical personnel, engineers, in customs, in business or retired from paid work.  It?s about how we live our lives wherever we are.  But in our busyness and sense of ?Who me?? it?s easy to keep the distractions turned loud, to turn off the ringer, to not take call waiting or check for messages.

6. That?s why our Bible stories are so important.  To remind us that God does not give up.  Eli had failed to control his sons and there would be those of us who would understand that very well.  We feel incompetent, disappointed, with a deep sadness.  What can we possibly have to offer any one?  But Eli was still a good teacher. God still loved and needed him.  For Samuel who was willing to be taught and who saw the wonder and the holiness in what he was doing, Eli was an excellent mentor.  Eli had enough sense to recognize who was calling, and to get out of the way.  He had enough courage to ask for the hard truth the next day that he didn?t want to hear, but knew was coming. And as we read on, Eli continues to serve for many more years.

7.  Because of Eli?s mentoring, Samuel could answer, ?Here I am.?   He was willing to be open to God, as Eli told him, and went back to listen.  When God called his name this time, he answered, ?Speak for your servant is listening.?  And God?s word became real, and the relationship became personal.  Inside.  And he received the courage to speak the hard truth to his mentor.  It?s hard enough to speak the truth to a friend!  But a mentor!

8. In Nathaniel?s case, it was his friend who persisted, wasn?t it?  Philip wasn?t put off by Nathaniel?s first discouraging response.  He thought of saying, ?Come and see.?   He recognized that Nathaniel was the kind of person who needed to experience discipleship and community first hand.  He of course still needed to choose to go.  But because he participated and his friend didn?t give up, he became a disciple.

9. Thank goodness for persistence!  Changing hearts and minds requires patience.  What if God had stopped calling?  Some of you have heard about my call.  It started when I was a child.  I felt God was calling me to be a missionary, something a girl could do.  When I was in University and a young woman with children, there were still lots of obstacles to women entering ministry.  There was no school to train for UC ministry near-by.  But God was very persistent.  When my children were well into school I studied religious studies and became a Staff Associate in team ministry.  Then a training program was introduced that allowed me to study and work in my community and be ordained.  Twenty-five years after I accepted my call.  What if God had stopped calling? 

10. Sometimes we still think we know better than to follow the road signs!  Roads around here are very easy to follow.  Not so in my last charge.  They angled off in all directions.  I was trying to go to Rosser, a near-by town.  I knew approximately where it was.  The sign pointed one way, but I was sure that wouldn?t work!  I got there, but found a much easier way on the way home ? following the signs!

11. Answering the call requires trust.  There was a little girl who liked to go to an old hayloft to read, be alone, get out of chores!  One day she fell asleep, and didn?t hear people calling.  When she awoke, it was very dark.  Crawling on her hands and knees, she found the ladder, but in the darkness, she accidentally kicked it off.  She was left hanging on by her fingernails.  Her mother heard her desperate cries, and came running to the old building without stopping for a light.  Calmly her mother asked her, ?Keep calling.?  Finally she knew she was underneath.  ?Now let go!?  It?s pretty scary also when God says, ?Now, let go!?

12. My guess is that there?s a call waiting for us.  It?s not just about the great big calls.  It?s also about the daily calls to help others hear the call, to speak the hard truth, to come and see ourselves, to change hearts and minds, to follow the road signs of God?s way, to let go and trust God.  And when we answer God?s call ? small or large, it makes all the difference.