January 15, 2012 "Tingling Anticipation"

I Samuel 3:1-20
John 1: 43-51
We come into every relationship, every circumstance, with expectations and preconceptions. When going into a meeting, we do not ponder what shall we do, there are anticipated motions with a Yes or No answer, in fact we would not have placed the item for discussion if we did not expect: Yes. In the Courtroom, a lawyer does not ask a question that they do not know the answer to. In education, business, in politics, in investing, expectations are valid, even critical, and we pay for the expertise of professional expectations, but in faith/life our ears need to tingle with anticipation for what we might encounter.

Adopting these Scriptures for our lives, we need to hear the inscription that undercuts these stories... The WORD of the LORD was rare in those days, visions had ceased to be seen and miracles ceased to be heard. According to fossil evidence, Millions of years ago, Dinosaurs roamed this earth. Thousands of years ago, Miracles were so common as to be the hallmark of faith experiences. If you want to know if a faith encounter is real, look for a burning bush! There was a Pillar of Fire that led Israel and a Column of Smoke that hid the nation from the rear. Great Seas opened up, fish swallowed prophets and spew them where God needed them to be. But that was long ago, and I Samuel describes that the eye of the Priest Eli had grown blind and dim, though the flame of the lamp in the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was stored and where the child Samuel slept had not yet gone out.

This morning's Scriptures are not about Manna from Heaven, or the Dead coming back to life, not about the fingers of a leper being restored, or walking on water. Instead of expecting miracles, the invitation this morning is to listen, to allow your ears to tingle, your heart to beat with anticipation.

I Samuel comes after the time of Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Joshua and the Judges. When the people of Israel had settled in the land of Canaan, the Promised land of milk and honey. But life was not all promise and blessings. There were long years of war and fear of terrorism, there were hard economic times, times when peoples' dreams and expectations became dull. Samuel is the last of the Judges, the last of the Priests (for God had determined to end leadership by Priests), and Samuel becomes Kingmaker who would ordain Saul and David, setting up the Monarchy of Israel. This generation had lived with reality so long, that even the Priests of God had given up believing; the sons of the priests had perverted everything sacred in the Temple. As a Preacher's Kid, who married a Preacher's Kid, and as a Pastor who had kids of our own, I know the trouble Theological Offspring can get into, trying to prove you are more human than holy. But Eli's sons went far beyond this and Eli callously allowed it, for he no longer anticipated anything, Eli no longer cared.

This is not a Miracle Story. This is not a cute bedtime story. In order to hear this experience, we have to understand that Hebrew names have Meaning. ELI was the old Priest, the name Eli means “MY God.” Recall the dying words of Jesus on the Cross “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani” My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me. Eli represents a self-righteous faith that we know who God is and can call on our God when we want. So in the telling of the story, every time you hear the name Eli, we are to respond “My God.” Whereas the name Samuel means “God has heard.” “Samuel” is assurance that God lives, and listens and God cares, so when you hear “Samu-el” we are to respond “God has heard.” In biting commentary, the Bible describes that no one expected to hear the word of God in the Temple, it had become like a museum, a place out of the past. When in the night, the boy heard “Samuel” (Congregation responds “God has Heard”). And the boy comes running saying “Eli, Eli” (My God), but Eli says “No, close your eyes.” And a second time the child hears “Samu-el” “God has heard” and replies “Eli”My God, but is again told “No, close your eyes and lay down.” Finally a third time, the child hears “Samu-el” God has heard, and is told to respond “Speak, for Your servant listens.” The Word of God comes to him vowing that God will no longer offer blessings through Eli's line, but instead God will provide a new form of leadership through Kings. As a figure of transition, the horrible tragedy of Samuel's own life, is that his children were no better, no more faithful than Eli's had been. It was only after Samuel has failed at being a father that he was able to ordain a righteous and good king.

Anticipation is vital. Our preconceptions and expectations can set us up for believing there is nothing new, nothing to believe in, nothing to live for; or anticipation can make us tingle with excitement. This Christmas we prepared for all the worship services, as well as having all the family at our home, where everyone would sleep, when and what we would eat. When suddenly the telephone rang. I had not seen my cousin's daughter in 25 years. She had been the first grandchild and was adored, and the last I saw her she was about 8or 9. The reality of today, is that families lose touch, we go our separate directions, not out of animosity or anger, but simply a lack of caring because life is too busy. This prodigal daughter described living in Manhattan, that she had a 2 year old child, and no where to go for Christmas. I think I was more excited at seeing this child and her child, than about anything at Christmas. Now remember this year, in the Lindsey household, we have two puppies. When the two year old saw the puppies, he began to shake and tingle with anticipation, you could see the giggles and screams begin at his toes and erupt through his head, which in addition to puddles on the floor created a similar reaction from the puppies at seeing a two year old. After trying to settle both down for half an hour or more, we would take the puppies to their kennels in another room, and for 20 minutes or an hour he would be fine. Then the 2 year old would realize the puppies were gone and let out with a blood curdling wail, until we took him in to peek at the puppies, which would cause them and him to squirm and wriggle and giggle all over again. How different that experience is, from our experience of worship, of prayer, of starting any day let alone the week or this first month of the year!

John's Gospel is different in describing the Call of the disciples. Mark, tells of the Call of Fishermen. But John's Gospel witnesses to the many names people have in anticipation for who Jesus is. Joseph's Son, Mary's boy, the Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Carpenter from Nazareth, Son of Man, Son of God, Fulfillment of Everything of Moses & the Prophets, Son of David, The Ladder on which People and Angels would descend and ascend to God.

Several of you have commented that the description I prefer for Jacob in the Old Testament, Jacob who deceived his Brother and his Father, and his Uncle Laban, is The Trickster. There is a nuance to Scripture, that Jacob is that Deceiver, that Trickster, always trying to win at someone's expense. But on the way to reconcile with his brother Esau, Jacob encounters a stranger at night wrestles with this one hand to hand and cheek and jowl without relenting all night long. For having wrestled with God face to face, Jacob is changed, no longer is he the Trickster, the Deceiver, who will do anything to win. Jacob is renamed as Israel, meaning one who wrestles with God face to face. When Jesus greets Nathaniel, his description is “Here at least is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit, no guile.”

But I think the most fitting words for today are those spoken by Nathaniel at hearing from Phillip that they had found the Messiah, Jesus from Nazareth... Nathaniel responded, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Prophecy and past experience had identified great cities... Alexandria, Cairo, Bethlehem the bread basket, and Jerusalem the City of David. There were cities of great business, cities known for education, others known for reverence and faith, some for terrible battles. Nazareth was an old city that everyone took for granted. No longer do we live in an age of Miracles, beginning in the 1960s we came to understand that the age of Christendom when the Church would conquer all the world and through great missionary enterprises evangelize everyone to be members was Over. Christianity became marginalized, much as we were in the early Church before Emperor Constantine. Seeking to resolve the problems of the world, we look to Wall Street, we look to Washington, we look to the re-emergence of Detroit, Texas and Florida, we even look across the oceans to Stabilizing the Euro, to new governments in Afghanistan, Iraq, a new Africa, Japan rebuilt after the Tsunami. Updating Nathaniel's question: “Can anything Good come out of the Church?” Does anyone in the world anticipate that the Church could be the source of World Peace, of Economic Stability and Growth, of New Dreams? In the Age of Christendom, the Church did make social pronouncements, about war, about power, about the economy. Today, when the Word of God has been rare, we need to question, whether what we are looking for is the Old Priest: ELI justifying ourselves (MY GOD), or whether like the child, we respond to life “Speak Lord for your servant listens” as God calls us SAMUEL “God has heard!”