"Come and See"

I had been thinking about this homily for a week and a half. Of course I hadn't put anything down on paper -- I seldom can, ahead of time. But when I did, I was able to spend more time than usual with the individual words I would use, and how to say them -- inflection, pausing, etc.

The two paragraphs at the end are in brackets because they refer to two parish activities that I wanted to highlight at the end. The homily probably works OK without them.

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)

Today I’d like to focus on two different spiritual movements, movements that go together as naturally as breathing in and breathing out. The first movement is very well characterized by today’s First Reading and the Gospel. The former passage tells us that young Samuel was being called – “Samuel, Samuel.” But Samuel “was not familiar with the Lord,” so he kept running to the old priest, Eli, “Here I am; you called me.” Finally, Eli figures it out and with the old priest’s instructions Samuel listens attentively to God’s voice… and after that, things are never the same in his life. In fact, they are never the same in the land of Israel.

The Gospel story takes place shortly after John’s baptism of Jesus, and when John points him out as the Holy One, “the Lamb of God,” Andrew and another of John’s disciples follow Jesus, and after a brief exchange about where Jesus lives, Jesus invites them to “Come and See.” And clearly, these words are more than invitation to physically see where Jesus lives; they are rather an invitation to know who Jesus is. And after that, just as in the first reading, things for Andrew are never the same again; nor for the apostles, nor for human history.

Come and See. Rabbi, where are you staying? Come and See. Do we want to understand who Jesus is? Come and See. Would we want to learn how to be more loving?…to forgive and heal others like Jesus did?… Would we like to be less worried or afraid…more grateful and trusting… Come and See. Know Jesus, study the scriptures, pray over them, worship and gather to share the Eucharist. Come and See.

DO BELIEVE that our God calls to us. I believe God’s calls to us all the time. There are times in our lives when we act like Samuel did at first, as if we were unfamiliar with the Lord. We may have a restlessness in our heart; it might keep us awake at night. We may have a yearning that we just don’t understand. We might feel that we’re…not in the right place. Those might be signs that God is speaking to us.

It’s difficult sometime because God’s Word to us is different from ordinary words. We often take the Voice of God to be something else, something that might be a little more familiar to us. Or we respond to what we hear by turning to the people we already know or the places we’re already accustomed to, or maybe we turn to something shiny, like a new toy or a new opportunity, and we say “Here I am, you called me.” But it was God who was really calling us – we just didn’t recognize the voice.

But instead, if we have become a bit familiar with the ways of God, or if we have a wise person in our life to whom we can turn for advice, we might instead say, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” And God WILL speak to us. God is not silent; God never abandons us, even if we feel lost and in the shadow of death. Our God is a God of Love and Consolation. And yet truly, what God has to say to us can cause the ears of everyone who hears it, to RING, so that things will never be the same.

I spoke when I began, of two movements. The first is to hear God’s voice, to come to know to heart of Jesus. But there is another movement. Once we have heard and have come to know… it takes us somewhere. God’s Word to us is a Holy, creative word, and that Word changes us – joyfully, gloriously, and sometimes even frighteningly or dangerously!

How can that be? What might those changes be? We might already have some inkling of that if we are speaking of our individual lives. If we ask God where to walk, God WILL show us the paths that we can walk together. If we offer our lives to God, God WILL help us determine our professions, opening some doors, closing others. If we open our hearts for God to show us love, God CAN help us find our spouse, and WILL help us raise a family. And if we’re sick or dying and we reach out for God, God WILL even carry us along our paths. Our God loves us all, individually and powerfully so.

But our God is also much larger than that, larger than any of us as individuals. Our God is not a personal, private God. God loves the whole human family. That’s why God sent Jesus to teach us and to show us how to live, and to announce the Reign of God. This Monday… is a special testament to that, because it is the special time of the year that we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King, we sometimes forget, was a Baptist Minister, and the title “Doctor” refers to his advanced degrees in theology.

To me his most moving speech was not the famous one that he gave to hundreds of thousands in our nation’s Capitol. To me it was a sermon that he gave about the night he almost gave up. After a long day and night in one of many troubled situations he had faced during the civil rights struggle, with death threats to him and others, and late that night, in his own home, he received one final hateful call that was, in his words, “a nasty voice” -- someone who threatened his little daughter’s life, his wife’s life and his own. It was not the first time; but that night, as he sat alone at his kitchen table, his head in his hands, he felt there was nothing anyone could do to help him. The police? They were on the other side. The federal government was too far away. His father lived in another city. He felt lost, alone, and in trouble, felt like he couldn’t go on. But then, that night, he heard the voice of God, telling him…”Stand up, Martin. Stand up for Justice. Stand up for Righteousness.” And he ended that sermon by proclaiming “There IS a Balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; there IS a balm in Gilead, to heal the sin-sick soul.” He went on from that night, and eventually died in the service of His God.

We don’t choose most of our life’s troubles; most of us naturally try to avoid them. But being part of the reign of God means announcing that reign to the world, and promoting ways of life that confound and sometimes confront earthly powers. Those powers are strong, persistent, interlocking, and hold much of the world in their grip. And in today’s world we see many people and places that cry out for God’s justice. And so you know, you know that God’s voice must also be very active these days; and as a people, as a Church, we should find ourselves saying “Speak Lord, your servants are listening.”

[There are many ways we might respond to that voice, and I would just like to call your attention to two of them this morning. On Tuesday morning, the annual March for Life will take place, down in Olympia. This is an annual event, held near the anniversary of Roe VS Wade. There are already several of us going. If you would like to go, and need directions or perhaps a ride, please contact one of us.

The 2nd is that next Monday, January 23rd, we will begin a parish program called “Living Solidarity – the Federal Government, the Budget, and the Common Good.” This program is particularly timely, because budget cuts everywhere are impacting the poor most of all. We already have 18-20 people who have already signed up, and if you are interested, this is a final opportunity, because we need to order books. There is a signup table in the main entryway.]

May you enjoy your holiday on Monday. But be sure to spend part of this time in prayer. Just say to God, Speak Lord…your servant is listening.

Deacon Denny Duffell, 1/15/12