by Bishop Bill Gohl
This homily was preached for the Second Sunday after Epiphany and in observance of the Commemoration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Renewer of Society & Martyr at the Church of the Nativity and Holy Comforter in Baltimore. It borrows heavily from a portion of a powerful sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Stephen Paul Bouman, then-bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod, ELCA in the Bronx, NY for the 2006 King Commemoration. Dr. Bouman now serves as the Executive Director for the Domestic Mission Unit of our ELCA Churchwide Organization. +bg
When the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, Stephen Bouman writes of the life and times of Eli and Samuel: "After a time of spiritual depth in the time of the Judges, Israel now wanted to be ruled by kings with political power just like all the nations around them. The people were poor and oppressed by their leaders. But the malaise was not primarily economic but spiritual. And Eli's sons with their greed and hypocrisy had made a joke of the spiritual life of the land and corrupted even the sacrifices of worship."
When the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, Bouman continues, "[Samuel and Eli] rest by the ark. In times when God appeared to have withdrawn and grown silent in the face of his people’s idolatry, in a time when the spiritual leadership of the people was bankrupt, Samuel and Eli were close by the Ark."
When the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, we come to the Ark, to the Word of God and the body and blood of Jesus, to find renewed strength for the day and rest for our souls.
"Through years of slavery people of African Descent slept by the Ark. They nurtured a spiritual vision of God’s grace and presence, a God who confers dignity and hope in the midst of hell. Eli and Samuel slept by the Ark which accompanied God's pilgrims on their journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. People staying close to the Ark, close to the presence of God, spawned and nurtured the civil rights movement. [Dr.] King's letter from [the] Birmingham jail was testimony from within the shadow of the ark. It was from the pulpits, churches and synagogues that the energy and vision propelled people who grasped for vision when there was none."
When the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, we stay close to the Ark, we attend to the Word and feast at the Table where there is enough – plenty – and to share.
When the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, "God keeps calling. God’s pursuit of justice is a restless, relentless vision. Before Samuel's dream, and King's dream is God's [dream.] God had [– and has –] a dream. The first words of God’s dream were 'Let there be.' God dreamed this beautiful world. God dreamed you and me. It is a dream of abundance in which every human was called to bless all creation by acknowledging the Creator, by partaking of it as life from God."
Paul misses that dream in our epistle lesson, with its cries of fornication and prostitution. He deconstructs the dream and diminishes the life between those who love and covenant with one another, for the end of loneliness, was also part of God's dream. "Our life together was meant to be communion with the Creator. Life is sacramental, with every moment, every morsel of food, every surprise of beauty leading directly to the Creator ... We have sold our birthright of abundance for the mess of pottage known as scarcity. [Indeed, the ongoing and largely unchecked institution of] slavery may be the most obscene corruption of God's dream. Still, throughout history God has kept on calling on behalf of the creation God loves. God’s call raises up prophets, [God] raised up God’s own son on the Cross." Even when the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, God keeps calling.
Eli understands. Eli knows his time is past. He knows the horrible retribution awaiting his faithless sons. But all that matters to him, this flawed mentor for Samuel, is that the Lord is calling. In the midst of his weakness and spiritual desert he can yet place the hand of this boy into the hand of the One calling him to be a prophet. It must have broken his heart to say this: 'Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.''" Even in this world when the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, can we imagine our congregations as Eli, helping the next generation hear the call?
"In a church in Montgomery, Alabama, when he was twenty-six years old and drafted to lead the protest in the wake of Rosa Parks' arrest a latter day Samuel faced a crowded room of Eli's, close to the Ark, and said: 'As you know, my friends, there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression.' The church erupted. 'If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong! If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer and never came down to earth! If we are wrong, justice is a lie.'"
Even when the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, God had – and has – a dream. God will not be without a prophet in this world. Like parish pastors, deacons who bridge the gap between the church and the world, congregational leaders, and even bishops; "Dr. King had to walk a tight line when he was not at all certain that the voice calling him in the night was the Lord's. He had to maintain the movement's momentum while maintaining hopes of strategic alliances with the government. He had to reconcile the demands of the grass-roots with larger, national agendas. He had to mediate between more radical figures and conservative ones. He had to find a balance between faith and the public square. As he arrived in Memphis he was weary and depressed, moving in his spirit from Samuel to Eli. The anti-poverty drive was stalled. The war overshadowed everything. His inner circle was consumed by infighting.
"I tell you I can sometimes feel that weariness in my bones today, can't you? All of us wonder what has become of our visions in a time when the word of the Lord seems rare and there are no frequent visions. But King, weary and worried, went to Memphis because where any person is not free, no one is free. And, in Memphis the searing vision of God's dream of justice, the flaming truth of the Word of the Lord burned brightly for him again. He spoke to us and for us in our own time. He reminds us of the power of staying near the Ark, of confidence that God will call again and again and raise up prophets among our own Eli's."
In these corrupt and overwhelming times we are living in, when discourse has become decidedly uncivil, when the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty, we come to rest by the Ark. We turn back to the Word for vision and hope, we feast at the Table seeking strength for our journey towards justice. We remember Dr. King's prophetic Eli-like vision: "I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promised Land;" and we continue live into God's still-unfolding dream with renewed courage and the faith of Samuel, "speak Lord, for your servant is listening."
When the Word of the Lord seems far-off, and the vision of our leaders seems small and petty; though weary, we rise anew, to be the Body of Christ – the Church – alive in the world.
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Then the Lord said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever." Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am." Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you." So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, "It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him." As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. – I Samuel 3:1-20