– The
Rev. Zach Sasser
Before reading the Old
Testament lesson, Jeff asked you to think about the roles of Eli and Samuel in
listening for and receiving God’s calling. For those who may not know the
backstory, this took place in a town called Shiloh, and it happened before the
time of Kings in Israel.
Shiloh was a central meeting
place for the 12 tribes as they divided the promised land and began to expand
their territories. It also became a source of power to compete against in the
internal struggles between tribes. In the midst of that a barren woman named
Hannah, Samuel’s mother, made an oath to God – which was blessed by Eli – that if
given a child she would dedicate her child to God.
Samuel was eventually brought
to the temple, and Eli became kind of a father figure to him. Samuel was still
young enough that he would listen to Eli – which was important given that Eli’s
own sons were abusing their authority as priests. They took more than their
share of offerings, and they gave no consideration for the poor.
Now, all that said, I want
you to keep thinking about who has been like Eli in your life. Who is someone
who helped you to be still and know that God is active and present? Think about
Samuel as well. Who could God be calling you to help in that same way right
now?
You’ll notice that Eli did
not tell Samuel what to expect. He didn’t give him pat answers or doctrines or
platitudes. He just said to listen and to let God know he was listening.
Wouldn’t it be great if God
would speak to us today like God spoke to Samuel? Of course, we could do
without the whole prophecy of destruction thing. Maybe that’s why Eli couldn’t
hear God, though. Maybe Eli was refusing to listen to what he knew God would
say. Maybe that’s why we who are older need the voices of younger ones to
correct and challenge our faith.
The really challenging part
of all that is that God did not call Samuel to say, “repent and be made new.”
God called him to say, “The results of your sin are in, and there’s nothing
that can be done to stop what you’ve already put in motion.”
Fortunately, we have received
a different message. We have received a message of repentance and renewal! We
have received the message that Jesus did not come to condemn but came to save.
This message of hope was our
central foundation this last week at Camp Agape, and I want you to know that
over 70 children and 20 adults (paid recreation staff and volunteers that paid
to serve) not only heard that message but proclaimed it unto the hills at the
top of their lungs!
The theme for the week was
“Super Hero Training”, but I’m pretty sure that they trained me every bit as
much as I trained them. By “Super Hero Training” we meant that they were being
prepared to follow in the way of Jesus, the one came to save us all. We used
modern super heroes from movies and also example of people doing ordinary and
wonderful things to lay down their lives in service to others. We talked about
the power of God to save. We talked about sin and grace and love and the gifts
we receive at God’s hands.
What we experienced was
something more than words. We experienced the presence of God. We experienced
it in a covenant community of forgiven sinners that asked for and offered
forgiveness again and again and again.
We experienced God in nature with a baptismal renewal in the dew of
every morning, and we experienced God in the inclusion of people of different
needs, races, and orientations.
I know that sounds great and
all kum by yah and such, but it’s real and true at camp in a way you rarely see
in the world. One of my favorite examples is a young man named Will. He has
down syndrome, and Will comes to camp with his brother (who has the patience of
Job). Although Will can be a handful, he can get anyone to do anything, and he
often does.
During the last night the
older kids were staying up late and playing some games with the Recreation
Crew, and Will had a bit of a meltdown. Everything stopped, and no one minded. All
we cared about was Will – for in the body of Christ “If one
member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all
rejoice together with it.”
Now, what we told
these kids over and over was that what they were experiencing was a model for
the church, which is the Body of Christ, and that they had a part to play in the
life of the church – not just in the future, but here and now.
My hope is that,
as we continue to grow in faith, that we can be open to the voices of children
and youth even as we seek to raise them in the faith that we have received.
Just don’t tell
me, and don’t tell them, that they are the future. They are a part of the
present church, just as you and I are right now. The elderly hold memories and
wisdom from the past, but they are not in the past. Neither are the children –
who will be here when we are gone – waiting for us to leave in order to
proclaim grace and mercy!
The really
confronting question in all of this is whether or not we are going to be the
church we’ve prepared our heroes to be part of. Are we like the church of
Shiloh that allowed internal struggles for power to create neglect for others,
or are we the church that Paul instructs toward greater unity? Are we the
church that is willing to believe that Jesus came to save and not condemn?
Are we the church recognizes the claim of Teresa of Ávila, who said “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands,
no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion
on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the
hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are
the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth
but yours.”
Beloved
of God, I believe that we are, because there is no other way that we could have
responded to the call to open a freeze shelter in 2017. There is no other way
that we could have responded to the floods of 2016. There is no other way that
we could have been part of the founding and ongoing service of organizations
like C.U.P.S. and the United Christian Outreach and the Wesley United Campus
Ministry. There is no other way that we could be working toward clean water in
Cuba, and because of these things and many more I need you to know that in one
way or another you have all been heroes of faith who have demonstrated God’s
presence to me.
Yet
I also believe that we must continue to examine our role in this community, our
attitudes toward others, and our ability to be a priesthood of believers in
this town at this time, so that we might be that safe space of forgiveness and
restoration where burdens are born, and joys are multiplied. Good works are
great, but unless they glorify God they can become shallow pools for us to
drink from. Our works must be part of our living, dying, and rising again as
followers of Jesus. They must be responses to Grace that transform us as much
as anyone else.
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