Called By God: A Community Process

1 Samuel 3: 1-10 & John 1: 43-51

Roger Lynn

January 19, 2020

(CLICK HERE for the audio for this sermon)

In the movie “Crocodile Dundee” there is a scene near the end when Mick is leaving. He is on a crowded subway platform, waiting for the train. Meanwhile Sue has finally come to her senses and realizes that she is going to lose him forever if she doesn’t go after him and tell him how she feels. She finds herself standing on the stairs at one end of the platform, separated from Mick by a sea of people filling the entire platform. She calls to him, but there is just too much noise. There is no way he can hear her. But then something happens to turn the tide. Other people get involved. Someone who is within range to hear her voice passes on the message to someone else further down the platform until finally it catches Mick’s attention. The ensuing conversation, passed back and forth through the participating intermediaries finally results in reconciliation and a mutual declaration of love, accompanied by the cheers of an entire platform full of onlookers.

Sometimes, life is a little bit like that. We’re busy living our life, not paying much attention to anything in particular, when God tries to track us down to tell us we are loved. But we live in such a hustle and bustle, noisy and distracting world, that God’s voice frequently gets lost. It’s not so much that we’re ignoring God. It’s just that we don’t hear the call. We’re busy doing other things. Fortunately, we do not live in isolation. Connections, relationships, and community are intricately woven into the very fabric of life. The life we share with those around us is not simply a sometimes pleasant, sometimes frustrating by-product. It is an essential and central part of what it means to be human. And it is an essential and central part of what it means to be faithful. There is no such thing as an individual Christian. There are only Christians who are a part of community. It was no accident that Paul used the term “The Body of Christ” to describe the Church. So when the noise of the world drowns out the call of God in our life, there is still hope because God will speak through those around us, using whatever means necessary, for as long as necessary, to get our attention.

Case in point – Samuel. Young Samuel was at a serious disadvantage for hearing God’s voice and comprehending the significance of what he heard. His was a world not inclined to pay attention to such things. Thoughts of God tended more towards the distant and abstract. “The word of the Lord was rare in those days and visions were not widespread.” (1 Samuel 3:1) He had no particular frame of reference from which to make sense of such matters. So when God does, in fact, speak, Samuel has no way of understanding what it is that he is experiencing. It is only with the guidance and assistance of Eli that he is finally able to perceive God’s voice for what it was and then truly begin to listen. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10) 

We live in a world something like that. “The word of the Lord was rare in those days and visions were not widespread.” It’s not that we are unfaithful (although there is plenty of that as well). But all too often our experiences of God tend towards the distant and abstract. People who hear voices and see visions and have conversations with God can make us nervous. We simply do not have the frame of reference from which to make sense of such things. But sometimes we are fortunate enough to have an Eli in our lives – someone who will see what we do not, hear what we do not, understand what we do not, and will help bring us to a new awareness of God’s call in our lives. A colleague of mine was busy working in downtown Seattle, oblivious to any particular call in his life. It was only when those around him began to say, “Have you considered ministry?” and “When are you going to seminary?” that he began to sit up and pay attention.

Another case in point – Nathanael. Jesus is in his neighborhood, but he isn’t paying any attention. His friends are discovering the extraordinary presence of God in Jesus’ life. But Nathanael remains oblivious. When his friend Philip tells him about Jesus personally, Nathanael is openly skeptical. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” He has seen too much of life to be easily taken in by some smooth talking charlatan from the wrong side of the tracks. God is speaking, but Nathanael is not listening. But the gentle persistence of God ultimately wins out. “Come and see!” (John 1:46) That’s all Philip said in response to Nathanael’s skepticism. No arguing. No persuading. No scolding. Just a gentle invitation. “Come and see!” And once again God’s voice is heard within the context of relationship and community.

Sometimes in life we are Samuel or Nathanael. And sometimes we are Eli or Philip. Sometimes we are the one having a difficult time hearing God’s voice. And sometimes we are the one in a position to help someone else hear that voice. Sometimes the voice of God is speaking a dramatic and powerful message – come be my prophet, my minister, my missionary. Sometimes the voice of God is speaking a quiet and gentle message – you are loved, cared for, cherished. Always God is active and present and speaking in our lives and in our world. Will we listen? Will we help others to listen? Will we respond? We’re in this together. Together let us hear what God is saying to us!