So stir us with your voice and enlighten our lives with your grace
that we may give ourselves fully to Christ's call to mission and ministry. Amen.
(© 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.)
How will you respond to the voice of God?
Our first reading from Samuel tells us that the Word of God was rare in those days, visions were not wide spread. The Israelites who always had God right there for them must be feeling a bit lost, not so sure of themselves or what to do next.
But the lamp of the Lord had not gone out in the temple; the ark was still there and Eli one of the priests was doing his sacred duty. Samuel would hear the voice of God calling to him. But he did not understand. He thought it was Eli who was calling him.
Three times he went to Eli, “Here am I, you called me,” and finally the third time Eli understood that it was the Lord who was calling and he told Samuel what to do. And when the Lord called again, Samuel said, “speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
It is Samuel and Eli who remind us to listen, really listen for the voice of God in our lives. The Light of the World has come and the light that we celebrate this season of Epiphany has not gone out! We are called to listen and to respond, “speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
For the Lord is calling to you and me this morning. How will you respond to the voice of God?
We might remain skeptical. Like Nathaniel in the Gospel reading.
Philip heard Jesus say, “follow me” and that is all he needed. He heard the voice of God and he responds! He runs to tell Nathaniel. “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
This is good news in the days of Roman occupation. The messiah has come. Philip is ready. And so what does Nathaniel say… “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Reminds me of a certain pres…oh never mind.
Nathaniel is not impressed. Jesus of Nazareth. But Philip is not deterred by his friends prejudice or his lack of enthusiasm. “Come and see.” says Philip.
And Nathaniel goes to see Jesus and his interaction with Jesus changes everything. “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” And Philip and Nathaniel both follow Jesus.
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, God is calling all of us to this ministry.
In South Sudan, he became their vessel used to help at a very crucial season of their life. Every week at Parolinya camp (the second largest refugee camp) in northern Uganda, Anglican Bishop Emmanuel Murye’s congregation – made up mostly of South Sudanese refugees, meet under a tree for Sunday service.
They came to the camp at the start of 2017 from their homes in Kajo Keji, South Sudan – as the government and two rebel groups battled for control in a war sparked by a feud between the President and his former deputy.
The Bishop said, “We told them the position of the church, we are a church and we are neutral. Both of you are ours, whether in the government or in the opposition.”
Bishop Murye had been installed as the new Anglican bishop of Kajo Keji county just days before the fighting broke out. He sheltered dozens of families in his church compound until the fighting died down. Thousands of people fled to Uganda.
Murye stayed and organized trucks to carry over 100 people across the border.
Kajo Keji became a ghost town – almost everyone left and Bishop Murye decided to follow his church.
“The kind of test of my faith and maybe of my leadership is when the people move out in big number and I was left with no people and it was terrible, all people moved out. And as a Bishop, as your Bishop also, I could not stay there, it is a great temptation and I was asking God ‘why, why am I consecrated, called a leader at this time’. And even the government, the army barracks, they expect us to be there. But the only thing we did actually was, we could not stay there without people because I was called to be leader of people, not a custodian of the soil, of the tree or of the houses, but I have to take care of the people,” he said. (from africanews.com)
Bishop Emmanuel Murye listened to the voice of God and he went and found the people he was called to minister to, refugees from a war not of their making…
In our country…
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and uncle were all preachers. When he became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, however, he still hadn’t had a firsthand experience of God. But then Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus and Martin found himself in the middle of a boycott. Although he had only been in Montgomery a year and he was only twenty-seven years old, he quickly became a leader of the movement. It wasn’t long before his family started getting threatening phone calls. He wondered if he could take it. He wanted out. Then one night, around midnight, another threatening call came: “We’re tired of you, and if you aren’t out of this town in three days, we’re going to blow your brains out and blow up your house.”
Dr. King prayed aloud that night. He reports hearing a voice calling him to stand up for righteousness, justice, and truth; the voice of Jesus promising to be with him through the fight. Dr. King’s life from that moment on is a testimony to his response to that prayer. What would we hear if we listened for God’s voice? (from Ministry Matters, Brett Younger)
Today Addison Meng Waller Hickey will respond to the voice of God and she will be baptized in our midst. What will you do this MLK weekend? How will you respond to the voice of God?
As the Savior so taught, listen…go now and overcome.
Overcome racial hatred with love and understanding.
Overcome sexism with mutual honor and respect.
Overcome social inequities with fair and equal educational and employment opportunities.
Overcome mean-heartedness with a kind word or good deed.
Overcome war, poverty, hunger, and suffering throughout our urban streets and lands abroad,
by sharing the love of Christ Jesus with your neighbor.
Listen to the word of the Lord. Go now and overcome!
(adapted from The AfricanAmericanLectionary.org.)
Amen.
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