Called

14 January 2018 – Epiphany 2 – Wingrave Methodist Church

Old Testament I SAMUEL 3

The Lord calls Samuel

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

² One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³ The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. ⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁵ And he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’

But Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down.

⁶ Again the Lord called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’

‘My son,’ Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸ A third time the Lord called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’

Then Eli realised that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’

Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’

¹¹ And the Lord said to Samuel: ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. ¹² At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family – from beginning to end. ¹³ For I told him that I would judge his family for ever because of the sin he knew about; his sons uttered blasphemies against God, and he failed to restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, “The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”’

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶ but Eli called him and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’

Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’

¹⁷ ‘What was it he said to you?’ Eli asked. ‘Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.’ ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, ‘He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.’

¹⁹ The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognised that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.

Hymn 2

663 I the Lord of sea and sky

Gospel John 1

Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’

⁴⁶ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.

‘Come and see,’ said Philip.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’

⁴⁸ ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig-tree before Philip called you.’

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’

⁵⁰ Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than that.’ ⁵¹ He then added, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see “heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on” the Son of Man.’

Sermon p132—12

‘I was ready to give up. With my cup of coffee sitting untouched before me, I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward. In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud.

The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory. “I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I've come to the point where I can't face it alone.”

At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced God before. It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying: “Stand up for justice, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.”

Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.’ Stride towards Freedom—Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr. was changed by this epiphany—often referred to as his ‘vision in the kitchen.’ Nathaniel’s epiphany, in which he suddenly could see clearly who Jesus was, changed Nathaniel—just as Samuel’s vision in the Temple changed him.

Today—Epiphany 2. Readings describe two manifestations:

1. Eli could not perceive God—like others in his day—like our day? But the boy Samuel could.

2. Jesus first called Philip—Philip immediately called Nathaniel—‘we have found the Messiah.’ In response to his objections—‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’—Philip does not engage in debate, does not persuade, does not argue—“Come and See.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’

⁵⁰ Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than that.’

Characteristics of Vocation

1. God’s call may not be audible or obvious to us—very often may not be what we want or choose to hear—like Eli who was condemned, and all his family with him, by what God imparted to Samuel

2. We may have to rely on intermediaries—those people might not be obvious either—like Samuel

3. For many people in ordination training—call not clear—relied on doors opening and doors closing

4. God sometimes seems to be laughing at our detailed and personal planning of our lives

5. Call may be nothing like what we had in mind—God does not seem to micromanage our lives—we must remain openminded like Nathaniel and Eli. God may not answer in the way we expect—unlike Martin Luther King’s testimony.

6. God’s response might have no logical basis we can understand—how did Nathaniel jump from doubt to total affirmation of Jesus as Messiah?—there was no logic to his thought process or the reason why he came to his startling conclusion.

7. Our response to God is

a. Personal (‘Come and See!’)

b. Faith-based (gradual or immediate)

c. Having the potential to bring transformative change

How can we prepare?

Samuel and Eli were unprepared. It took 2 calls by God to Samuel before we read:

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Eli clearly had not prepared Samuel—this same Eli mistook Hannah’s prayers for her being drunk—and it took Eli 3 attempts to recognise the voice of God in what he says he heard—yet God persisted, and so did Samuel.

This same Eli had sons Hophni and Phineas who were scoundrels and had scant regard for their priestly duties—Eli’s eyes were growing dim—not perhaps only physically, but spiritually too.

Eli had several opportunities and attempts to put matters to rights—but failed each time. Eventually he was left with no alternative but to accept God’s judgement on him and on his entire family.

¹⁷ ‘What was it he said to you?’ Eli asked. ‘Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.’ ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, ‘He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.’

In the end—God’s will will be done—regardless of whether or not we respond to his call. That is a comfort in dark times like this. But we are the hands, feet and fingers of God—how can respond except by hearing and discerning how we can obey his call with all the gifts of grace he has given us?

Nathaniel was a naysayer—who can blame him for doubting Philip’s belief he had found the Messiah? Yet he was prepared for his preconceptions and prejudices to be challenged. What else but an epiphany could have turned Nathaniel round so completely?

Scripture is full of such moments—many of us are able to look back on such manifestations of God’s work in our lives. All we need do is keep an open mind—just as Nathaniel did—and follow where he leads us. Amen

God’s marvellous plan–for the Gentiles and for us…

Wingrave – Epiphany – 7 January 2018

Ephesians 3:1—12

God’s marvellous plan for the Gentiles

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles –

² Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia.

Christ was revealed in flesh, proclaimed among the nations

and believed in throughout the world.

All   Alleluia.

Gospel Matthew 2:1—12

The Magi visit the Messiah

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ ‘“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.”’

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Sermon

Epiphany is a ‘manifestation.’ The Greek word literally means an ‘appearance.’ The feast day falls on 6th January, but is normally transferred to the first Sunday after New Year’s Day.

What is being manifested at Epiphany? It depends who you are. For Christians, God’s glory is revealed to all people in the birth of Jesus Christ, incarnate in the world.

Children focus on the story of the Kings and the significance of the gifts they bring. They seem to love the mystical exotic flavour. Pub quizzers polish up their answers to the questions: “How many magi were there?” and “What were their names?” For the church, Epiphany joins the other major festivals of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost which together signify God’s revelation of salvation for all people through his Son.

Technically God’s self-revelation is known as a theophany—like the Transfiguration, the Annunciation to Mary, Moses and the burning bush, Mount Sinai, and of course Jesus himself. God’s presence extends from lowest to highest: from the uneducated shepherds in the fields, to the priestly caste of Zoroastrians, who paid close attention to the conjunction of the stars, had an international reputation for astrology, and were honoured by Herod.

God’s glory reaches all people regardless of faith. The Wise men from East—are different in faith and background—yet God reaches out to them, and through them to the world. Birth of Jesus—was inauspicious—in a manger in Bethlehem—yet this birth was revealed through the stars to men of great learning. Only those in the know could interpret the announcement. It was persuasive enough to overrule the degradation of the event, as far as the Magi were concerned.

Through unlikely and mysterious, almost magical means, God’s revelation grows and reaches out. Jesus touches untouchables—eats with sinners—heals the sick—mixes with those who suffered disabilities—brought dead back to life—and was lifted up on the cross. All this demonstrates that no one is beyond God’s embrace.

The Magi spent months studying the star charts, and followed their leading over a long and dangerous journey. Herod had access to the same knowledge through his own advisors—yet failed to see God’s presence and glory and was not brought within God’s embrace. He was threatened by it. He was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him.

The lesson of the Magi might well be to reinforce the fact God moves in a mysterious way. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians did not boast of his decision to be baptized, or to become the foremost evangelist of all time, personally choosing to face danger in order to found and nurture fledgling churches around the Mediterranean. No, Paul boasted that it was God’s plan for his life, and he merely responded to the call through God’s grace. Paul rejoiced at the call, and ascribed to got whatever success he had as an evangelist and minister.

As he said in our reading from Ephesians:

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

What is our response to Epiphany? Are we like Herod—blind to the signs—blinkered to our part in furthering the gospel—not heeding the likes of the Magi as unconventional, and the shepherds as unfit for our society?

Or can we do our part in fostering a new openness? Can we allow God’s embrace to expand once more in our day and time, despite falling attendance at church and an ageing congregation? Will we leave the work to others, and look for God’s glory only in comfortable areas we understand—like Herod, frightened and threatened by what we find?

A new revelation—a new year—a new resolution. Paul uses the language of service and submission to God’s call. May we this Epiphany heed and hear God’s call for us—and submit to his plan for our lives through grace. Amen