To marry or to tarry, that is the question. How to know what's best for me, for others; what's God's plan? Discovering God's will is a major issue for serious seekers of God. Happiness, fulfillment and living meaningfully come down to that discovery, and living accordingly. The story of the call of Samuel in this Sunday's first reading will help us in the subtle art of listening. If you have a bible, you'll find this intriguing tale in the third chapter of the First Book of Samuel.
'Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the Ark of God was.' The early Christian scripture scholar, Origen, said that every detail in sacred scripture is meaningful. The boy Samuel is asleep. Sleep, the scripture scholars tell us, is one of the great spiritual themes signifying inattentiveness to God. The scene in the garden of Gethsemani after the Last Supper immediately comes to mind. The gospels show us Jesus struggling and sweating to discover his Father's will, while his disciples were busy 'sleeping.'
Today, we find Samuel asleep in the presence of the Ark of God, the Holy of Holies. We are usually wide awake regarding the practical things of life. But as regards matters of faith, matters of the soul, the things of God...? Wake up! This story is telling us not to be sleepy or slothful about the spiritual dimension of life. It's drawing attention to the vital reality of the spiritual. Augustine sees Samuel as symbolic of all of us. Advent is an annual wake up call to the whole church. The Magi, scanning the night sky for their star, are symbols of attentiveness. All of us, in this story, are being called to wake up and listen up.
'The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."' Samuel thought the voice was that of Eli. Eli was the chief priest of the temple, a bad egg who turned a blind eye to the wrongdoing of his two sons, assistant priests at the shrine - cf. I Sam 2:12-17.
We've had instances in recent years of bishops who turned a blind eye to the wrongdoing of their priests! God's voice is mysterious and can sound ambiguous. It can be mistaken for wrong advice from friends. Like the new missal and all its relative clauses, God's voice is often difficult to understand. It took Eli nearly all night before he realized the Lord was calling to Samuel.
In his struggle to hear God's voice the prophet Isaiah cried, 'Truly you, O God of Israel, are a hidden God.' God is very ambiguous. If I made a list of every entity, every item on the planet, God would not be on that list. God is not just another entity or being or item. God is being itself, the creative energy behind everything. I've deliberately dropped this pretty abstruse concept on you in an attempt to convey the mysteriousness of God and the puzzle it can be to interpret his word properly.
God is no mountain, some impersonal force, bumbling out there and waiting to be churched. God called Samuel by name - like he called Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah....Peter, James, John and Paul.... God's call runs like a refrain throughout the bible: God calls people by name. Despite his mysteriousness, God gets very personal. God is after us in a most personal way. God wants to communicate to YOU. Expect it! When Samuel finally realized the Lord was calling, he answered, 'Speak, for your servant is listening,' - accepting responsibility for himself and for whatever task God would impose upon him.
The divine voice is hard to discern. We have to work at it. I remember spending about three hours one day trying to work out a Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle!! We've got to give God that kind of attention, time and effort in order to figure out what he is saying to us. It took Samuel a long sleepless night to realize, through Eli, that the Lord was calling to him personally.
We need guidance in the ways of God. Samuel didn't understand the nature of the call he heard in the night until Eli interpreted it for him. A guide is basic to the spiritual life. According to an old saying, 'to be your own guide is to have a fool for a guide.' A guide should be a person who is spiritually alive - someone who listens well, speaks wisely and has a decent grasp of the bible and Christianity. Even Dante needed Virgil to guide him through hell!
What did God want Samuel to do? We're not told in this Sunday's reading, but if you continue reading chapter three and on to the next chapter you will see that God asked him to confront Eli with some horrible news; his imminent death and that of his wayward sons. God's call usually involves a challenging and painful choice. Samuel's role was not an easy one. Neither was Andrew's nor Simon Peter's nor Francis' nor Mother Teresa's a call to the easy life. The call we have all received to take up our cross daily and follow Christ will involve our saying 'No' to many of life's goodies in order to follow a more excellent way.
PASTOR EMERITUS
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