This
Sunday, June 16th, is Father’s Day. It
also marks the beginning of my summer sermon series at Christ United Methodist
Church. This summer our focus will be on
“Supporting Cast Members in the Bible.”
With this focus, we will be learning about some of the lesser Biblical
characters—as opposed to major figures, such
as Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, Peter, and Paul.
For Father’s
Day this Sunday, I intend to look at the supporting cast around the birth and
nurturing of Samuel, who went on to become a major figure in the history of
Israel. As an adult, Samuel lead Israel through
a critical situation when it was threatened from outside by the neighboring
Philistines, as well as being threatened from within by a total moral and
spiritual breakdown. This story appears
in 1 Samuel, chapters 1-3.
The story
begins with Hannah and Elkanah, who are married. Unfortunately, Hannah has not been able to
become pregnant, even though she desperately wants to have children with
Elkanah. The couple has tried and tried
to become pregnant—but, to no avail. Elkanah
is a kind and well-intentioned man.
However, the situation becomes so desperate that—even though he deeply
loves Hannah—Elkanah takes and marries a second wife, Peninnah. (The practice of polygamy was socially and
religiously accepted in the time and culture of the early Hebrews.)
Peninnah
and Elkanah were able to have numerous children together. And, Peninnah’s fertility created an intense
rivalry between the two wives. The
scripture says that Peninnah used to provoke Hannah severely because “the Lord
had closed her womb,” causing Hannah to weep and grieve her inability to have
children. Hannah’s depression was
especially harsh during a certain time of the year, when Elkanah and his family
made an annual religious pilgrimage up to Shiloh, a major sanctuary where the “ark
of God” was kept.
On the pilgrimage one year,
Hannah went up to the temple and prayed to God, saying:
“O Lord of hosts, if
only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not
forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will
set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink
neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”
(1 Samuel 1:11)
A “Nazirite” was a person set
aside for unusual and deeply committed service to God. To mark their religious commitment, Nazirites
abstained from wine or other strong drink.
They also refrained from cutting their hair.
Now, our third supporting character
enters the story. Eli serves as the
priest at the temple in Shiloh. He
observes Hannah as she pleads with God.
At first, Eli mistakenly believes that Hannah has entered into the
sanctuary in a state of inebriation.
However, she explains to him, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply
troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring
out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have
been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time” (1 Samuel 1:15-16). So, Eli prays with Hannah, asking God to
grant Hannah’s petition to her.
After the religious worship
and festival, Elkanah and his entire family returned to their home. Before long, the scriptures say that God “remembered
Hannah” and she became pregnant. A year
later, Hannah has given birth to a son. She
names him, “Samuel,” meaning “I have asked him of the Lord.” When it is time for Elkanah and his family to
go on their annual pilgrimage to Shiloh, Hannah asks that she be allowed to
stay behind in their home, until it is time for Samuel to be weaned.
Hannah explains to Elkanah
that she had promised to offer Samuel to God as a Nazirite. Elkanah, the father of Samuel has an
interesting response. He says, “Do what
seems best to you…only—may the Lord establish his word” (1 Samuel 1:23) Reflecting upon Elkanah’s reaction, the Biblical
scholar Bruce Birch observes: “Elkanah
alludes to the larger purpose for which the boy Samuel is to be dedicated. …Samuel is to become a prophet, a mediator of
God’s Word to all of Israel. …We become
aware in Elkanah’s statement that we are not simply beginning the story of
Samuel, but [beginning] the story of God’s Word working through Samuel in
Israel.”[i]
When the time is right,
Hannah takes the baby, Samuel, up to Shiloh and presents him to Eli the priest. Eli nurtures and tutors Samuel, who grows
from an infant to become a young man.
The scriptures say that “the boy Samuel continued to grow both in
statute and in favor with the Lord and with the people” (1 Samuel 2:26)
Our story fast-forwards in
time. 1 Samuel 3 notes that the Israel
people have come to a dark time in their history. As noted above, there is a moral and
spiritual decay throughout the land. Verse
1 observes, “The word of the Lord was rare in those days, visions were not
widespread.” The people are no longer
faithful and obedient to God. Samuel is
now a young man. He continues to live in
the temple and help Eli.
One night, Samuel is lying
asleep in the sanctuary beside the ark.
Then, the Lord calls to Samuel, saying:
“Samuel! Samuel!” Thinking that
Eli has called him, Samuel jumps up and runs to the nearby room, where Eli is
sleeping. Samuel wakes Eli up,
saying: “Here I am, for you called me.” We can well imagine that Samuel wakens Eli
from a sound sleep. So, Eli sends Samuel
back to his sleeping space. This call
from God occurs two additional times.
Finally, on the third time,
Eli realizes that it is probably God who is calling Samuel. So, he instructs Samuel to reply, saying: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” When Samuel returns to his sleeping space by
the ark, God calls him a fourth time and Samuel replies, “Speak, for your
servant is listening.” Samuel’s theophany
marks the beginning of his ministry as priest and prophet, calling the people
of Israel to a renewed faithfulness and obedience to God.
I have chosen to reflect on Elkanah,
Hannah, and Eli—three members of the “supporting cast” in the story of Samuel—for
Father’s Day. Hannah wants desperately
to have children and fulfill the role of mother. Yet, she is barren when the story
begins. Similarly today, there are many
men and women who would like to become parents; yet, for various reasons they are
never able to become biological parents.
Elkanah is Samuel’s biological father.
Still, he foregoes his rightful role as biological father because he perceives
that God has a greater purpose for Samuel.
Finally, there is Eli. Although a biological father in his own
right, Eli is not Samuel’s father. Yet,
Eli basically adopts Samuel. He
nurtures, teaches, and mentors Samuel from infancy until adulthood. It is Eli who prepares Samuel for the special
priestly and prophetic role to which God has called him.
On Father’s Day this Sunday,
we will celebrate and recognize our fathers.
It is good to acknowledge our biological fathers. Still, at the same time, I will suggest that
we also need to recognize those men—and women—who have been like a father to
us, even though they are not our biological dads. In the United States, we are now a society of
stepfathers, surrogate fathers, and mentors.
Many kids rely upon people who are not their biological parents to
nurture, teach, and mentor them, just as Eli did.
This is especially true for our
faith communities. Each man and woman in a faith community has been entrusted
with helping young people discern God’s presence in their lives. We are also entrusted with helping our young
people discern God’s call and purpose for them—just as Eli helped Samuel. For all of us, Eli provides a role model for
what it means to support our young people in our faith community, as they grow
in their own faith and discipleship.
If you live in the Lincoln,
Nebraska area and do not have a place to worship, then I invite you to come and
join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, June 16th. Join us, as we celebrate Father’s Day and
reflect upon how all of us are called to nurture, teach, and mentor the young
persons around us.
Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A”
Street. We have three worship services
on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.
The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a traditional worship format and the
services are held in our Sanctuary. “The
Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family Life Center (gym); it is more informal
and interactive.
Come, join us. Everyone is welcome and accepted because God
loves us all.
[i]
Bruce Birch, commentary on 1 and 2 Samuel in The New Interpreter’s Bible, volume 2 (Nashville, Abingdon Press,
2002), CD-ROM version.
No comments:
Post a Comment