Loud and Clear
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
What does God sound like? I mean the actual voice of God. What does it sound like? There are many passages in the Bible in which God speaks, like today’s passage from 1 Samuel, but more often than not the biblical writers don’t say much about the tone and quality of God’s voice.
The prophet Isaiah is an exception. In Isaiah 30:30 the prophet says that “the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard.” Okay, “majestic.” So, maybe like thunder? Or like a trumpet accompanying a royal procession? But in the previous chapter, Isaiah 29:4, the prophet describes God’s voice coming from the ground “like the voice of a ghost.” So, then, maybe more like a whisper? What exactly does a ghost sound like, anyway?
These descriptions aren’t all that helpful for pinning down what God’s voice actually sounds like. And if we don’t know what God’s voice sounds like, then how can we recognize it, presuming God still speaks to us today?
I will tell you what the voice of God sounds like because I have heard it loud and clear. Not in a dream, mind you. And not in some mystical inner voice that I felt within me. I mean that I heard God’s voice as if God were sitting across the table from me. Do you want to know what God sounds like? God sounds like a teenaged boy named Peter.
Peter was a student of mine back when I taught Bible study in a Korean American church in Paramus, New Jersey. That year (2009) I led a class of high school seniors. It could be a challenge to get half-asleep teenagers to engage with anything, let alone the Bible, on a Sunday morning. To get them to open up I would sometimes dispense with the curriculum, which could be a bit dry, and ask my own questions. The more open-ended the better. I didn’t want yes-or-no answers.
One day I asked, “What’s the greatest obstacle you face in living out your faith?” I got a range of answers, most of which I didn’t find all that thoughtful. But Peter took some time before answering. He touched his index finger to his lips while in thought and after a moment’s reflection answered, “My own comfort.”
I was sitting down, but I almost felt my knees buckle. Peter was of course speaking for himself, but the words could have come from my own lips. I had reached a point in my life where I was quite comfortable. My job as a copywriter afforded Sandy and me a comfortable life, plus Sandy was working part-time at the church, which gave us additional income. We lived in a brand-new four-bedroom townhouse in the suburbs. We drove a new car. Life was…comfortable. And then Peter had to go and ruin everything with his earnestness!
In all seriousness, I heard in Peter’s soft-spoken tone the voice of God shouting to me as if a great gong had just been struck beside my ear. I knew what I had to do. From that night I began praying for God to make me uncomfortable. I didn’t know what that meant or where it would lead, but that’s what I felt that I needed to pray. That prayer eventually led me to seminary, but that’s a story for another sermon. My point is that I heard God speak to me as clear as day. God sounded like Peter, a polite, soft-spoken Korean American teenager.
Today’s reading concerns how we recognize God’s voice. This is our first foray into 1 Samuel. Samuel is the central figure in both books that bear his name. He plays a key role in Israel’s transition from a tribal society to a united monarchy. He will anoint Israel’s first king, Saul, as well as Saul’s successor, David.
But that’s all down the road. In today’s reading, Samuel is still a boy. He is the only child of his mother Hannah, who bore him later in life after much prayer. In gratitude to God, Hannah dedicated Samuel to serve in the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a portable sanctuary that served as the central worship space in Israel before the Jerusalem temple was built. There Samuel assists Eli, who is a priest of the tabernacle. Samuel is a kind of altar boy or acolyte. He lights the candles, cleans the cups and bowls, and generally assists Eli in whatever needs doing.
While Samuel ministers to the Lord under Eli, we’re told that “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” God’s voice, it seems, is seldom heard. Actually, at least as far as Eli is concerned, it might be more accurate to say that the word of the Lord was not so much unheard as unheeded. While we’re told that Eli’s eyesight had begun to grow dim, he has also turned a blind eye to the corruption of his two sons who serve as priests of the tabernacle. They take for themselves offerings meant for the Lord, and they sexually abuse the female servants of the tabernacle. They are out-and-out scoundrels, and yet Eli does nothing.
It’s not clear to what extent, if any, young Samuel is aware of the situation. After all, he’s just a boy. Even so, what could he possibly say or do? Eli is his mentor and a father figure to him.
And yet, the Bible is filled with one example after another of God choosing the least likely candidate for one job or another.
And yet, the Bible is filled with one example after another of God choosing the least likely candidate for one job or another. Moses, who professes that he’s no good with words, is God’s choice to be his mouthpiece. David, the youngest and least impressive of Jesse’s sons, is God’s choice to be king. Matthew, a tax collector—a profession that was universally despised within Israel—is among those whom Jesus chooses to be his disciples.
So, of course, Samuel, despite his youth (or perhaps because of it), is God’s choice to convey the word of the Lord. And what is Samuel doing when God speaks to him? Is he fervently praying? Is he poring over the scriptures? No, he’s lying down waiting for sleep to overtake him.
God can, and does, speak to us at any moment…in our coming and in our going, in our work and in our rest, in our joy and in our sorrow. Anytime. Anywhere. To anyone. God calls us by name.
God can, and does, speak to us at any moment…in our coming and in our going, in our work and in our rest, in our joy and in our sorrow. Anytime. Anywhere. To anyone. God calls us by name.
And so, drifting off to sleep, the shadows growing dimmer as the light of the lamp of God recedes into darkness, young Samuel hears someone call his name. Thinking it’s Eli, he jumps out of bed and runs to him. Being summoned in the middle of the night, surely there must be an emergency. “Here I am, for you called me,” Samuel says to Eli.
“No, I didn’t,” the old man replies. “Go back and lie down.”
The same routine happens a second and then a third time before Eli becomes wise to what’s happening. Aware that the Lord is calling the boy, Eli tells Samuel that the next time he hears his name called, he should say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Although he failed to see the sins of his sons, Eli still possesses a keen insight into the ways of the Lord. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” is a powerful prayer. Eli’s instructing Samuel to utter these words blessed the young boy, for it was these words that enabled Samuel to understand that it was God who was speaking to him.
And God is still speaking. People sometimes wonder why they don’t hear God. Why is God silent these days when during biblical times it seemed that God always had something to say?
This is my challenge to you today. Let me rephrase that. This is my invitation to you. If you feel that God is silent, if you think that the word of the Lord is rare in your life these days, I invite you to pray the words: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Actually, you already prayed those words in the call to worship. But if you want to pray them again on your own, do so tonight before you fall asleep. Or in the morning when you wake up. Or in the middle of the day when you go for a walk. Or when you’re running errands. Like I said before, anytime, anywhere.
Because God is speaking to you. God has a word for you. And that Word is Jesus. In Jesus Christ, God says to us in no uncertain terms that God is for us. In Jesus Christ God says that you are beloved. Cherished. Treasured.
It matters not how young you are. Just look at Samuel. Nor does it matter how old you are. Remember Anna, whom we read about two weeks ago. She was eighty-four years old and a prophet, a woman filled with the Holy Spirit who praised God and proclaimed God’s salvation for his people. To young and old and everyone in between God speaks his word of truth, of life, of love.
Now, this I say from personal experience: You may not immediately recognize the voice that you hear as God’s voice. The voice you hear may sound like someone you know from church, your grandchild, a stranger you meet while waiting in your doctor’s office, or even like a polite, soft-spoken Korean American teenager. You may not recognize the voice as God’s, but the word you hear will be loud and clear.