January 18, 2015
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
First Reading: 1 Sam 3:3b-10, 19
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011815.cfm
Sleep is one of the weirdest things we do every day. We spend hours unconscious, lying on our beds, while our bodies recharge and our brains process our experiences. Missing out on sleep is unpleasant and deleterious to our health. But sometimes, our sleep is interrupted. In this Sunday’s first reading, we find a young prophet whose sleep is interrupted by the Lord.
Context
Our passage comes from the beginning of the First Book of Samuel. Samuel’s mother miraculously conceived the boy after praying to the Lord and so she dedicated her son to the Lord’s service. She sent him to the sanctuary at Shiloh to be apprenticed to the head priest, Eli. Unfortunately, Eli’s priest-sons were not behaving like priests should. They profaned the altar of the Lord, stole the sacrificial meat, and swindled worshippers. Their duplicity brought God’s judgment on Eli’s household, which is related at length by a prophet in the passage immediately preceding our reading. Indeed, in the verses cut out from the Lectionary (1 Sam 3:11-18), the doom of Eli’s house is re-told to Samuel. Samuel is only a boy at this time, sleeping in the sanctuary of the Lord. He represents the new and faithful generation which will supplant the rebellious sons of Eli.
Calling in the Night
The Bible often pictures God as the one who “gives to his beloved sleep” (Ps 127:2 RSV) or who “makes me lie down in green pastures” (Ps 23:2). We even invoke “eternal rest” on those who have parted. But in young Samuel’s life, God comes calling in the middle of the night. Why couldn’t he come during the day? Perhaps during the day, being busy with his duties at the sanctuary, Samuel would not have been attentive. In the night, things are quiet. The mind is focused. Darkness and silence lend themselves not only to rest, but to listening. When he has settled on his bed, Samuel can hear that little voice calling to him, “Samuel, Samuel.”
Missing the Moment
Samuel almost missed the most important moment in his life. The Lord came calling and he thought it was merely the priest, Eli. Only after coming to Eli for the third time does the priest realize what is happening. God is calling the boy! Samuel rightly seeks out the wisdom of the elderly man, setting an example for us and demonstrating the importance of mentors. Fortunately, Eli’s character is intact enough to offer sage advice and also fortunately, the Lord is patient enough to call out to Samuel a fourth time. Without his mentor, Samuel could have lost his greatest opportunity. We can take away two important points from this little episode.
Committing to Listen
First, God’s calling is not always as obvious as we’d like it to be. He does not always grant giant signs, an audible voice or miraculous revelations. And even in Samuel’s case, when God does speak audibly to the nascent prophet, he has trouble figuring out who is talking to him. If he did, then we will too. That means listening to God’s voice is not a one-step process, but rather, it involves a serious commitment. We must listen and discern. The message which God is granting to us may be hidden or difficult to understand. Our hearing of him requires patience and wise discernment.
The Patience of God
Second, God is mercifully patient with us fallen creatures. He could have given up on Samuel after the first time the boy misunderstands the voice. Yet God spoke again and again until Samuel responded the right way, with docility and readiness. He did not expect Samuel to respond the right way at first, but patiently repeats himself until the message sinks in. We too might need God to speak the same thing to us over and over until it absorbs. Some things are difficult to hear. Some lessons take time to learn. Our hope lies not in our own ability to hear God, but in his patience with us. That might mean confessing the same sin repeatedly or trying to cultivate a prayer life and failing many times. God does not give up on us, but as a gentle shepherd, helps us, bears with us and leads us. He knows we are limited and imperfect people who need a lot of support and he graciously gives it to us time and again.
Many times in the Bible, God visits in the middle of the night – the dreams of Joseph, Daniel, Solomon, Paul, and even Pharaoh attest to his nocturnal messages. Other biblical episodes show how divine encounters often happen at night: Adam’s rib, Jacob’s ladder, Gideon’s fleece. Samuel’s story comports with other biblical teachings about being prepared for God to require us at inconvenient times: the foolish virgins parable or the sleepy disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. We relish sleep as a welcome relief from the hard work of human life, but perhaps next time your head hits the pillow and you sink in to your mattress, you might let the silence come over you and allow yourself to listen in the dark. You might just hear the same voice that Samuel did 3,000 years ago.
image: Bas van den Heuvel / Shutterstock.com
