The boy Samuel was serving God under Eli’s direction. One night Samuel was in bed in the house of God. Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” He ran to Eli saying, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” And so he did. God called again, “Samuel, Samuel!” – 1 Samuel 3:1-6, abridged (MSG)
There are few things more gratifying to a preacher than when someone says of a sermon, “I felt like you were speaking directly to me!”
But then comes the hard part: The preacher must choose between the gracious response—something along the lines of “I’m glad to know you were blessed”—or the pointed and risky comeback—some version of “I’m glad to know you felt that way, but if someone was speaking directly to you, it wasn’t me.”
Perhaps too few of us actively listen for Spirit’s voice, so when we do hear a word, we generally attribute it something or someone other than God. When the temple intern Samuel heard a voice calling in the night, he assumed it was his boss.
God speaks to us in countless ways—through beloveds and babies, Word and wind, music and mystery, heartbreak and healing, community and conflict, outcasts and oddballs, sacrament and storm, friends and frenemies, poets and even preachers. And still, we often miss or mis-identify God’s call. We think we hear something but, unsure of what it is, we go back to bed.
And still, God keeps calling. And still, we are summoned by grace to the fullness of life.
Attune my heart to your voice, Holy One. And when you call, may I respond in love and trust, saying, “Here I am!”
