Have You Heard God Speaking?     Samuel 3    The second Sunday After Epiphany     January 15, 2006

The lesson tells us about a young boy, Samuel who heard God’s voice in the night calling him. He went on to be a great prophet. In fact of all the people in the Old Testament, Samuel was the most faithful. More than even Moses and Elijah. He never said or did anything against God’s will.

Does God still speak to us? That a question that I’d like to ask you today. Is God still speaking, like in the time of Samuel. Have you ever heard God speaking to you? If so, I really would like to hear about it.

I have never heard God speaking directly. But one time, I felt the unmistakable presence of God’s love and comfort. I was just turning seven years old. My brother, who was three, died that year. It was terrible for me and my family. When Mom or my family visits, we hardly ever talk about it. When we do, it still hurts. A few months after he died, I remember the time and place where I knew God was shining love on me. I didn’t hear any voices. But it felt like a warm light had come, and I knew it was God.

I was a little scared, being six years old, but it also felt good. Ever since then, I have never doubted that God the Creator made me the whole universe, that Jesus really conquered death and that Jesus is taking good care of my brother. All I’ve learned about God since then confirmed those basic believes. That experience was a huge gift.

Indeed we are always praying for God to heal us, forgive us. Do we ever hear God’s answer? I also wonder why God isn’t answering our prayers for rain. You don’t need me to tell you it’s been dry, and the wildfires are destroying property here in Texas and in Oklahoma. Why doesn’t God hear us?

Now there are a few ministers that say they know what God is saying, but I don’t always trust them. Recently, the Reverend Pat Robertson has moved to the bottom of my list. On his television show, the 700 Club and he said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory to Palestine. He said Sharon was "dividing God's land," even though the Bible says doing so invites "God's enmity." Robertson said God's message is, "This land belongs to me. You'd better leave it alone."

Later a spokesman said Rev. Robertson was citing the prophet Joel. The prophet Joel was talking about the Babylonians and Persians that had invaded Judah about 450 years before Jesus, not what is happening today in today’s politics. I really don’t care about the politics of the 700 Club or Rev. Robertson. But the sad part is, many who are not Christians believe Rev. Robertson speaks us and all Christians. It’s very important for us to let people know he does not. It is imperative that we speak the gospel message, which is God loves both the Jews and the Palestinians, as well as all people. God wants all people to live in peace with justice. God is concerned about those who don’t have power or wealth, children and women and the poor.

The greatest enemy is those misinterpret or misuse the Bible for political means. The second greatest enemy is those who say that God has nothing to say, people who stop listening altogether.

The story of Samuel tells us that God knows when people stop listening. In the time of Eli and Samuel, that’s what happened. The first verse in our reading says, “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. In those days, Israel was in a period of political anarchy when "every person did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6 = 21:25). The two sons of the priest Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were "wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:12). People were not listening for God, and God stopped speaking. Visions of were rare, and the leaders were blood thirsty to fulfill their own desires.

I’m not trying to scare you, but surly you must realize that God does get angry at times, and stops speaking. A theologian named Dan Clendenon said, “ It is a chilling thought to realize that God might grant humanity's request for autonomy, that God could honor our insistence that He leave us alone, or that He would stop speaking as a consequence of our not listening. Perhaps His last terrifying word to us might be, "I have answered your prayers and now grant you the horrible freedom you have craved.”

Is God doing that today? Is that God’s response to us? I ask you, are we living in times when people do what is right in their own eyes? Are we living in a time when many political leaders are using God to advance their own political agenda? Are we living in a time when eve our religious leaders are corrupt with their own desire for wealth and power? Are we living in a time when visions are rare? I think we ought to consider that possibility. God may be answering our prayers, “Telling us, I’ll give you the freedom you crave, which not freedom at all. It is really slavery to our own self interests and desires.”

But here’s the good news. One person can make a difference. In those days, Samuel proved to be the exception in his day. He was dedicated to the Lord by his mother Hannah at an early age. He "continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people." God spoke to him three times as a little boy, and he responded with his famous words, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." In contrast to the priest Eli and his two degenerate sons, "the Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground." "Samuel's words came to all Israel" (1 Samuel 3:19, 21). Eventually Samuel would crown Israel's first king, Saul, but not before warning the nation about the oppression inherent in political power. When Saul faltered, it was Samuel who picked David, a young shepherd boy, to be Israel’s greatest king.

In our day, Christ is calling us when we read the scriptures with open ears. The book of Hebrews says, in the former days, the days before Jesus came to the world, God spoke through the prophets. But in these latter days, God has spoken to us through his Son. We are in the latter days, and God is still speaking to us through his Son. Jesus spoke once and for all when he went to his cross and rose from the dead. He is now with God the Father, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is speaking to each one of us. It only takes one man, one woman to make a difference, to speak God will, God’s love, God’s power to the world.

Yes, we live in a world where few are listening for God. When we have had people with a vision, we have killed them. Martin Luther King had a dream that one day, all God’s children would live in peace. That each would been seen not by the color of the skin or the wealth of their possessions. He dreamed that each of us would been seen as a child of God, with God-given gifts to share with us. That vision was rejected by many people, and the killed him, too. The dream has not yet happened. But God still waits for all people to dream that dream, and work for justice and peace in the world God has given us.

Today, you are going to hear the voice of Jesus Christ, inviting you to his table. He is saying I am here, under this bread and wine. I am forgiving your sins, and sending you into the world to live a new life with a vision of my kingdom in your heart and mind. Jesus is sending us out, knowing that people like us can make a difference for all people in the world. All we have to do is hold up a mirror and look at ourselves. Amen

Amen!