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| “The nature of a paradigm is such that it cannot change unless it is replaced" - Sarah Sumner |
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| Friday, October 28, 2011 |
| 1 Samuel 2:11-17 - The Oldest Sin in the Book |
The picture is a bit strange. We read stories like this one in 1 Samuel about sacrifices, priests, burnt offerings, and the like and we can easily skip over what the story conveys...and that it even has a meaning for us today. But there it is...the oldest sin in the book. I think the author/editor of 1 Samuel told this story for the purpose of comparing the young Samuel and the sons of the Priest Eli, revealing the struggle that is within all of us. This is the struggle of mankind...has been and always will be.
Samuel, having been dedicated by his mother to God and his service, was living with the priests in the place of worship. The text said that he was "ministering to the Lord". This caught my eye immediately. Often when we think of "ministry" we think of it being done by people to people. This text is specific to tell us that Samuel was ministering to the Lord, not to others. Does this mean that Samuel would not at some point minister to those who came, much like Eli ministered to his mother before? No, of course not. This was not and is not a call to ignore the needs of the people God cares for. Rather, this is a matter of priority.
I wonder if when we forget that our first service, love, and attention are to be given to God, even though we might be giving care to people who need it, we become tempted to look to ourselves for strength and even believe that we are the source of strength. I have seen it play out that way in my life. I work in a vocation of professional ministry. Much of that ministry is to people. In many ways that ministry is exceptionally fulfilling for me. To help someone through a tough time, whether it is a marital problem, overcoming an addiction, spiritual anxiety, or a crisis situation, can be and is rewarding. However, I have noticed times when the priority of the focus of my calling to be a minister has switched from the one who called me to those that are in need. When that happens I begin to self-decieve. I convince myself I am more important than I really am. I convince myself of the need to sacrifice things (ie. quiet prayer time, family time, etc.) for others because I am "caring for them" when really it is much more about me and propping up the lie of my "strength" and "knowledge". I really have convinced myself to rely on "me" rather than God.
I wonder if this is where it started for Eli's sons? The text calls them "scoundrels" but I wonder if they began that way. Maybe they were led to a vocation of ministry through a genuine love for God that over time became tainted because their priorities became less about "ministering to God" and more about their own self importance. Of course we see at this stage in their stories they have given themselves over to corruption and sin, taking for themselves the offerings meant for God, treating them with "contempt". But I wonder how they got to this place. It is easy to see a person, whether it be these men, or others even in our lives, that seem to be immoral or unethical and shake our head as if there were major mistakes made when they were created. Forgetting that this is the result of the oldest sin in the book...the sin of self-reliance and thus, rejection of God.
Each and every one of us have choices each and every day that will lead us more to rely on ourselves or to rely more on God. The sons of Eli like us were human, and as humans we are challenged to rely not on our "own understanding" but to rely on God. The only way to avoid self reliance is to follow in the footsteps of Samuel, and "minister to the Lord" on a daily basis. It is when we do the small things daily to focus on God, we are able to rely on him and not on ourselves. |
posted by Unknown @ 9:31 AM   |
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| Thursday, October 27, 2011 |
| 1 Samuel 2:1-10 - The Essence of Praise. |
I remember sitting in the hospital room with them. Two parents, their first and only child, facing an unthinkable diagnosis. The doctors had done everything they can, said it every different way, to explain that their lives were not going to be anything like what they thought when they had found out she was pregnant. The dreams had been changed by the reality of their son's condition.
There are times in life when you don't know what to say. That was one of those times for me. I felt like I should say something...should say words of comfort. After all, I am their pastor. That is what I am supposed to do. However, I couldn't help but feel that the air had been sucked out of the room and a lack of oxygen left me speechless, unable to think of what words would comfort...or even what comfort felt like. Presence was the only gift I could give.
But it didn't remain silent for long. The new mother had brought her Bible and she began reading Psalms. Not having an idea of where to begin or where to end she flipped open the book with less of a purpose and more of a desperate need. A need to hear something. She began reading with a cracked voice, almost muscling through at first, coming across as more of an exercise than something she wanted to do. But as she read, psalm after psalm, something happened. Reality didn't change. The doctors didn't come in and give different more hopeful news. Not even the tears stopped flowing...but something definitely changed.
It was in reading those passages, those psalms, filled with verses that told of who God was and what he is like, that I realized something. This mom was praising God in the midst of her unbelievable crisis. She wasn't praising God for the almost certain death sentence given for her son by his physicians. She wasn't praising him for the undoubtedly difficult days and nights ahead. She was praising God to remind herself of who He is. I learned something from her that day. The center of praise is to remember who God is.
Hannah knew this. A new mother, having struggled for so long with infertility, only to follow through on her promise to give her first and only son to the service of God, she must have had a mix of thankfulness and grief. Yet we see that after giving Samuel to God, leaving the son she had waited for so long for at the temple, her response to the unimaginable sadness she must have had, she sang a song...a song of praise and a song of remembrance.
Sometimes when we read scripture and the stories of the characters of scripture, we can unduly make them into heroes. Don't get me wrong, there were many heroes in the Bible, and many we can learn from. However, we have to see that they were just humans like us, struggling to get through life with all of its turmoil and pain. When we remind ourselves of this with Hannah, seeing the context of her situation, the song she sings is not one of a super-human saint that can sing praise songs in the midst of turmoil, but a song of necessity. She is singing for her life. She is singing to remind herself, in the midst of heart crushing pain, of a God that she needs to believe is true. A God that is in control of her life, her son's life, and this world. She is singing because if she doesn't she will be overcome with feelings of despair. She is singing to ground herself in the memory of who God is.
Is this not the essence of praise? These two women, the mother in the hospital room, and Hannah remind us of what praise really is. It is reminding ourselves of who God is, no matter the situation. |
| posted by Unknown @ 10:15 AM |
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