Beyond the Noise
Eugene Ver, M.D., M.Div.Community Christian Church
June 5, 2011
Today’s scripture is among my favorite passages from the Hebrew Scriptures. When Ron Strong suggested this reading for today, in conjunction with Youth Sunday, I was very happy to use it as a touchstone for today’s message.
It helps to give you some historic background. In the time of the ancient Israelites, Samuel was born to very pious parents, Elkanah and Hannah, who had not been able to have children. Hannah prayed to God that if she were allowed to bare a son, she would dedicate him to God’s service. The very name Samuel means “God has heard.” While still a young child, Hannah dutifully presented her son to Eli, the Priest at the Temple who in turn raised him to be God’s servant.
The visual imagery has a tender, but comic quality about it. We find the young boy, Samuel, trying to sleep in the temple, near the ark of God, the holy of holies. He hears his name called, and gets up and goes to Eli, thinking he had called him, not once, but three separate times. What must he have thought when the old teacher told him he hadn’t called him? Although aging, nearly blind, Eli was able to instruct Samuel to recognize the voice of God and to respond with openness and willingness, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
The Scripture tells us Samuel was ministering to the Lord, but the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Scholars believe Samuel was about 12 or 13 years old. It helps to remember, according to Jewish law, there is the tradition of bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, (meaning son or daughter of the commandment) when a youth is called to the Torah and comes to know the word of God around age 13.
This is a ceremonial rite of passage, or coming of age. Before that time, a youngster was not thought able to understand the word of God and was not responsible for his or her own actions. After this time, coinciding with what we today call adolescence, a young man or woman becomes responsible for him or herself in following the laws of the Torah and beginning to participate in the Jewish community as an adult.
This passage contrasts the aging frailty of Eli, even though he held powerful position in the temple, to the fresh, energetic youth of Samuel. While Eli was the High Priest, he was unable to control his sons who were corrupt. In contrast, Samuel was born to very pious parents and is therefore called by God to begin a new era for the ancient Israelites.
Certainly we can think of a lot of differences between the lives and times of the ancient Israelites and our lives today. In many ways, though, the similarities in our human condition, our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities and our struggle to discern good from evil persist.
The Scripture tells us “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” Many of us today may look at the world around us and wonder where God is amidst war, violence, injustices toward various people, political corruption, and scandal. It is a fact we see a steady, growing decline in the numbers of people who attend church as well as those who question the relevance of the Church in today’s increasingly agnostic and secular society. Indeed, some would say that the word of God is rare in these days and visions are not widespread.
Does this mean God has abandoned us? Does this mean God is somehow sleeping or indifferent to us? Some skeptics may believe this is the case, but I am reminded of a saying I once heard, “If you are feeling distant from God, who’s moved?” Likewise, if we are not hearing God speak, who’s not listening or able to hear?
We know who was able to hear in this passage. In contrast to the aging priest whose senses were growing dim, the young Samuel was not only able to hear, he was obedient and eager to do what was right as a servant of God. Meaningful education takes more than just a good teacher and it takes more than a good student alone. It’s a process, an exchange, a willingness to work together with mutual respect and communicate effectively. Samuel and Eli demonstrated this well.
Despite his flaws and defects, Eli not only was able to raise Samuel up in the temple to be a faithful servant, even in his blindness, he was able to guide him in recognizing God’s voice, even when he himself couldn’t.
Today, even with scandals in our churches, even with imperfections in the humans who make rules and decrees, even with the wrongs, injustices and atrocities committed in the name of Christ by misdirected followers, we can find guidance and relevance, like Samuel got from the aging Eli.
For it is God, revealed through Christ, who we ultimately follow, not a particular church, a religion or a pastor or teacher, or any other human-made power…..it is God who is our ultimate source of all that is true, the source of all that is love, and the source of all that is good. Christ is the true head of the Church, not a bishop, not a pope, not a committee or council.
Just as Eli was an effective teacher, Samuel was a model student. He answered immediately when summoned, even though he was confused. He demonstrated obedience to Eli by going back to bed without question. Most of all, he followed his teacher’s instructions in recognizing God’s voice and answering with humility and willingness. Finally Samuel was ready, willing and able to hear God’s call and to answer.
So how do we become ready, willing and able? Readiness comes through instruction and learning. We receive this through our parents, through our schools and through our churches. We learn about the teachings of Jesus and the ways in which we are called to act as followers of Christ toward each other. We learn about how we each play a role, as individuals and as a community in shaping the world around us as advocates for justice and wise stewardship of our planet.
Willingness comes from the heart. I believe we all are born with inherent goodness as wonderful creations of God who seek peace and happiness.
The biggest challenge lies in discovering the ability to listen. What stands in the way of our hearing God? Like it or not, our lives are filled with noise…lots of noise from various sources. We are easily distracted by the volume of sounds that surround us that mute the silence….sounds that keep us from thinking, from feeling, from communicating with each other….sounds that distract us and prevent us from hearing the voices, both within and without, that hold meaning.
If meaningful communication between each other is in decline, how can we expect our communication with God to be much better?
Just as importantly, is the noise within our own heads…..the busyness and pace of our lives that pulls us into many directions at the same time. We live in a world that values speed, that often requires us to multi-task, and juggle several things at once. Commercial and cultural forces constantly push and pull us, competing for our already divided attention. This is all noise…..noise in the world around us and noise within our own heads.
How do we get beyond the noise? How do we get beyond the distractions of life that keep us from hearing God? We can start by taking time out. That means time for relaxation, time for rest, time for vacation, time to refresh and restore our energies, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Get beyond the noise; consider making an effort to experience quiet, as uncomfortable as that may seem to some of us who are accustomed to a hectic world filled with sound. Take time for a walk, a bike ride or other exercise. Take time to be mindful of the beauty around us and look for God’s presence in the natural world. Take time to talk to someone without the distractions of loud noise. Turn off the TV, the computer, the cell phone. Sit down and share a meal at the table; learn from one another in meaningful conversation.
Get beyond the noise. Make quiet time to spend with God in prayer or meditation. We may feel our prayers are one-sided conversations because we don’t give God a chance to get a word in edgewise. Maybe we feel our prayers go unanswered because we haven’t taken the time to sit and listen for the answers. Remember the words we are taught, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Get beyond the noise. Just being present with God, in silence, opens us to hearing that voice which speaks to us and calls us each by name. We are called to be followers of Christ in all we do, wherever or however we find ourselves in life. We are called to practice our faith in relationship with each other and in relationship with ourselves.
As young Samuel was given guidance to listen for God’s voice, so we are encouraged to know God is calling us, too. As God saw in young Samuel the hope for a new beginning and hope for the future of Israel, so God calls to our youth as our promising, faithful leaders of the future with hope and anticipation.
When you get beyond the noise, you can, and will, hear God speaking…speaking through others and from within. Do your best to answer that call, become the best you can be, no matter how or where you find yourself in your life’s work. And when God calls, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
I invite you all to join me now for a few moments of silence to sit quietly in God’s presence. Open your hearts and your minds to the unconditional love and warmth of our God who calls us each by name with tenderness and grace.
“Word of God Speak”
by Mercy Me
I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is, it’s okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say
[CHORUS]
Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak
I’m finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet to hear your voice
[REPEAT CHORUS 2x}
I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is, it’s okay
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