1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,033 Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you, 2 00:00:04,033 --> 00:00:07,866 from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus. 3 00:00:07,866 --> 00:00:09,066 Amen. 4 00:00:09,066 --> 00:00:11,066 The text is the Old Testament lesson 5 00:00:11,066 --> 00:00:12,933 read a few moments ago. 6 00:00:12,933 --> 00:00:13,966 You may be seated. 7 00:00:19,633 --> 00:00:23,566 Two guys walked down a crowded sidewalk 8 00:00:23,566 --> 00:00:25,366 on a busy city street. 9 00:00:26,766 --> 00:00:28,300 Suddenly one of them stopped and said, 10 00:00:28,300 --> 00:00:31,800 listen, do you hear the cricket? 11 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:33,200 And his buddy laughed at him and said, 12 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,466 how can you possibly hear a cricket over all this noise? 13 00:00:37,933 --> 00:00:42,733 You need to know that one guy was an entomologist 14 00:00:42,733 --> 00:00:46,800 who'd been taught to listen to the sounds of bugs. 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,133 He didn't answer his friend, 16 00:00:48,133 --> 00:00:51,066 instead he reached in his pocket, pulled out a quarter, 17 00:00:52,066 --> 00:00:53,900 and flipped it on the sidewalk. 18 00:00:53,900 --> 00:00:57,700 And a dozen people quickly turned to look for it. 19 00:00:59,433 --> 00:01:00,700 He didn't answer his friend, 20 00:01:00,700 --> 00:01:03,533 but he smiled as he walked on and said, 21 00:01:03,533 --> 00:01:05,966 we hear what we listen for. 22 00:01:08,166 --> 00:01:10,033 What are you listening for? 23 00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:13,833 In the midst of all of the noise in the world today, 24 00:01:13,833 --> 00:01:15,533 what's on your playlist? 25 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:18,833 What's in your podcasts? 26 00:01:18,833 --> 00:01:22,800 What news feeds are you tuned into? 27 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,066 In your car and in the classroom and around the dining table 28 00:01:28,066 --> 00:01:29,733 what are you listening for? 29 00:01:31,166 --> 00:01:36,166 In the text today, a young boy, a future prophet, Samuel, 30 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,966 was instructed to listen for the word of the Lord. 31 00:01:41,666 --> 00:01:44,766 As the lesson says, the word of the Lord 32 00:01:44,766 --> 00:01:46,733 was rare in those days. 33 00:01:46,733 --> 00:01:49,266 It was a chaotic time. 34 00:01:49,266 --> 00:01:51,433 Politically, Israel had no king, 35 00:01:51,433 --> 00:01:53,766 and so this loose confederation of tribes 36 00:01:53,766 --> 00:01:57,700 was losing one battle after another. 37 00:01:57,700 --> 00:02:00,300 Their leaders weren't leading. 38 00:02:00,300 --> 00:02:04,533 And so each man was doing what was right in his own eyes. 39 00:02:06,233 --> 00:02:07,933 But it wasn't working for them. 40 00:02:09,100 --> 00:02:11,666 So people were generally unhappy 41 00:02:11,666 --> 00:02:14,233 and complained about practically everything, 42 00:02:14,233 --> 00:02:16,933 and that complaining was loud. 43 00:02:18,100 --> 00:02:23,100 Eli the priest was growing older and going blind. 44 00:02:23,633 --> 00:02:26,100 And his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, 45 00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:29,000 were called worthless. 46 00:02:30,100 --> 00:02:31,666 They were jerks. 47 00:02:32,500 --> 00:02:36,666 They stole money from the offering place. 48 00:02:36,666 --> 00:02:39,566 They abused the women who served at the tabernacle. 49 00:02:39,566 --> 00:02:41,433 They wouldn't listen to their father. 50 00:02:41,433 --> 00:02:43,833 They wouldn't listen to the word of the Lord. 51 00:02:43,833 --> 00:02:46,200 And so they were out of control. 52 00:02:47,666 --> 00:02:50,033 And so it was true, the word of the Lord 53 00:02:50,033 --> 00:02:54,733 was rare in those days, as God became silent. 54 00:02:54,733 --> 00:02:57,933 And what a deafening silence that was. 55 00:02:59,700 --> 00:03:02,633 It was much like our times as I see things. 56 00:03:03,900 --> 00:03:08,300 People today seem to be experiencing the deafening silence. 57 00:03:09,833 --> 00:03:12,166 And we wonder why people are out of control. 58 00:03:12,166 --> 00:03:15,466 Proverbs warns where there is no revelation, 59 00:03:15,466 --> 00:03:18,066 people cast off restraint. 60 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,366 In the midst of all of the noise, 61 00:03:23,533 --> 00:03:27,866 and all the chaos, and all the confusion, 62 00:03:27,866 --> 00:03:31,333 and all the complaining that seems so loud today, 63 00:03:31,333 --> 00:03:33,133 people aren't listening. 64 00:03:33,133 --> 00:03:36,566 They don't want to hear the word of the Lord. 65 00:03:36,566 --> 00:03:41,566 So, brothers and sisters, 66 00:03:41,566 --> 00:03:46,333 have you ever experienced His deafening silence? 67 00:03:47,666 --> 00:03:51,033 Are you listening for the word of the Lord? 68 00:03:53,066 --> 00:03:55,166 When Samuel was still just a little boy, 69 00:03:55,166 --> 00:03:58,433 his mother Hannah had taken him to the tabernacle 70 00:03:58,433 --> 00:04:00,266 and dedicated him to the Lord. 71 00:04:00,266 --> 00:04:02,833 He was to be Eli's protege. 72 00:04:04,433 --> 00:04:05,966 But he was still just a kid. 73 00:04:05,966 --> 00:04:09,566 When one night he heard someone calling him 74 00:04:09,566 --> 00:04:12,966 and he just assumed that it was Eli. 75 00:04:12,966 --> 00:04:15,833 And so he ran as an obedient servant and said, 76 00:04:15,833 --> 00:04:17,866 here I am, you called me. 77 00:04:19,866 --> 00:04:23,066 But Eli hadn't called him and so he sent him back to bed. 78 00:04:24,433 --> 00:04:26,700 It happened a second time. 79 00:04:26,700 --> 00:04:28,033 It happened a third time. 80 00:04:28,033 --> 00:04:31,066 And still, Samuel still had no idea 81 00:04:31,066 --> 00:04:34,466 because he wasn't listening to the word of the Lord. 82 00:04:34,466 --> 00:04:36,600 He didn't yet know the Lord 83 00:04:37,766 --> 00:04:38,933 because the word of the Lord 84 00:04:38,933 --> 00:04:40,966 had not yet been revealed to him. 85 00:04:42,733 --> 00:04:45,133 He knew about the Lord 86 00:04:45,133 --> 00:04:48,066 from the faithful witness of his mother, 87 00:04:48,066 --> 00:04:52,033 from the instruction that he'd received from old Eli, 88 00:04:52,033 --> 00:04:53,833 but he still didn't know the Lord, 89 00:04:53,833 --> 00:04:56,433 not in any kind of a personal way. 90 00:04:58,566 --> 00:05:02,766 Finally, Eli figured out what was happening. 91 00:05:02,766 --> 00:05:05,866 That it was truly the Lord who was calling the little boy. 92 00:05:05,866 --> 00:05:08,666 And so he instructed him, go lie down. 93 00:05:08,666 --> 00:05:12,733 And if he calls you again, say, speak Lord, 94 00:05:13,566 --> 00:05:15,833 for your servant is listening. 95 00:05:17,833 --> 00:05:19,400 So Samuel went back to bed 96 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,366 and imagine what that little boy must have been thinking 97 00:05:23,366 --> 00:05:25,466 as he lay there in the darkness, 98 00:05:26,733 --> 00:05:29,733 wondering if it was going to happen again. 99 00:05:29,733 --> 00:05:32,966 Wondering if it was truly the Lord who was calling him, 100 00:05:32,966 --> 00:05:35,933 afraid of what was about to happen to him. 101 00:05:37,866 --> 00:05:41,400 This time the Lord came and stood 102 00:05:42,333 --> 00:05:46,900 and called him by name, Samuel, Samuel. 103 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,800 And the boy answered as he'd been instructed, 104 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,400 speak Lord for your servant hears. 105 00:05:57,233 --> 00:05:58,533 The Lord came. 106 00:05:58,533 --> 00:06:03,266 He came so that Samuel might see Him and know Him 107 00:06:04,666 --> 00:06:06,933 and hear Him speaking to him. 108 00:06:08,233 --> 00:06:11,233 The Lord came and that's the good news 109 00:06:11,233 --> 00:06:14,833 that we hear and celebrate during the Advent, Christmas 110 00:06:14,833 --> 00:06:17,100 and Epiphany seasons. 111 00:06:17,100 --> 00:06:20,033 The Lord came into a manger in Bethlehem. 112 00:06:20,033 --> 00:06:23,733 The Lord came in human flesh and blood 113 00:06:23,733 --> 00:06:28,733 so that you and I might see Him and hear Him 114 00:06:28,733 --> 00:06:31,200 and know Him personally. 115 00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:36,766 The Lord has called you by name. 116 00:06:38,133 --> 00:06:40,266 And that's so important for us to know. 117 00:06:41,933 --> 00:06:46,233 Years ago, my grandmother entered a Lutheran nursing home. 118 00:06:47,333 --> 00:06:49,500 She wasn't really a complainer 119 00:06:49,500 --> 00:06:50,933 and so I was kind of surprised 120 00:06:50,933 --> 00:06:53,433 when I was talking to her one day and she said, 121 00:06:53,433 --> 00:06:55,433 she wasn't going to chapel anymore. 122 00:06:56,833 --> 00:06:58,166 When I asked her why, she said, 123 00:06:58,166 --> 00:06:59,866 she didn't like the new chaplain. 124 00:07:01,033 --> 00:07:06,033 She went on to explain that she didn't like his preaching, 125 00:07:06,633 --> 00:07:09,233 didn't like his bedside manner. 126 00:07:10,900 --> 00:07:12,433 And finally the truth came out. 127 00:07:12,433 --> 00:07:15,266 She said, you know, he really isn't much of a pastor. 128 00:07:16,133 --> 00:07:18,066 He doesn't even know my name. 129 00:07:19,733 --> 00:07:22,466 See, that's the key issue. 130 00:07:22,466 --> 00:07:24,366 Grandma, like every one of us, 131 00:07:24,366 --> 00:07:27,033 yearns to be called by name. 132 00:07:27,033 --> 00:07:29,566 It's the basis of every relationship 133 00:07:29,566 --> 00:07:32,366 of really truly knowing someone. 134 00:07:33,900 --> 00:07:37,366 And so the scriptures are filled with names. 135 00:07:37,366 --> 00:07:41,033 As Samuel and Eli and Hannah 136 00:07:41,033 --> 00:07:43,966 and Mary and Joseph and Simeon and Anna 137 00:07:43,966 --> 00:07:47,100 and John the baptizer. 138 00:07:47,100 --> 00:07:51,100 And in today's gospel, we heard about Philip and Nathaniel. 139 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:56,100 Each one heard himself being called by name. 140 00:07:59,066 --> 00:08:04,066 In fact, God told the prophet Isaiah, fear not. 141 00:08:04,066 --> 00:08:07,866 For I have redeemed you, I have called you by name. 142 00:08:07,866 --> 00:08:09,666 You are mine. 143 00:08:11,766 --> 00:08:16,100 And that's the basis of your relationship with God too. 144 00:08:16,100 --> 00:08:21,100 In holy baptism, he called you by name. 145 00:08:22,233 --> 00:08:25,233 He knows you, he's revealed himself to you. 146 00:08:25,233 --> 00:08:28,433 He has redeemed you, he has claimed you as his own 147 00:08:28,433 --> 00:08:32,066 so that you might also know Him. 148 00:08:34,466 --> 00:08:35,933 How do you respond? 149 00:08:38,733 --> 00:08:41,299 When he calls you, how do you respond? 150 00:08:41,299 --> 00:08:44,533 Eli instructed Samuel to say, speak Lord 151 00:08:44,533 --> 00:08:49,533 for your servant hears, your servant is listening. 152 00:08:52,733 --> 00:08:54,533 It seems to me there's a big difference 153 00:08:54,533 --> 00:08:58,433 between listening and hearing. 154 00:08:59,733 --> 00:09:02,866 Listening is wanting to hear. 155 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,066 My mom always said that her kids weren't hard of hearing 156 00:09:08,066 --> 00:09:09,933 but we were hard of listening. 157 00:09:10,900 --> 00:09:12,833 We could hear her open the cookie jar 158 00:09:12,833 --> 00:09:14,733 from any spot in the house. 159 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,533 But somehow we were never able to hear 160 00:09:18,533 --> 00:09:21,300 when she called us to do our chores. 161 00:09:22,933 --> 00:09:25,000 When Samuel told God he was listening, 162 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,833 he wasn't simply saying, Lord, the PA system is working well. 163 00:09:28,833 --> 00:09:31,266 You're coming through loud and clear. 164 00:09:32,900 --> 00:09:35,300 He was telling God he wanted to hear. 165 00:09:36,533 --> 00:09:38,700 He was truly listening. 166 00:09:38,700 --> 00:09:41,033 He was ready to respond, to act, 167 00:09:41,033 --> 00:09:44,533 to do whatever the Lord had called him to do. 168 00:09:46,666 --> 00:09:49,933 Listening was the starting point of his life 169 00:09:49,933 --> 00:09:52,366 of service as a prophet of God. 170 00:09:54,733 --> 00:09:58,666 We here at the seminary take our calling 171 00:09:58,666 --> 00:10:01,466 and every one of us has been called. 172 00:10:01,466 --> 00:10:06,266 Every one of us has a vocation, multiple vocations. 173 00:10:07,633 --> 00:10:08,966 That's why we're here. 174 00:10:08,966 --> 00:10:13,933 The text today instructs us to listen to the word. 175 00:10:13,933 --> 00:10:18,033 Don't just hear it but truly listen to it. 176 00:10:18,033 --> 00:10:21,733 To read, mark, learn, inwardly digest it, 177 00:10:21,733 --> 00:10:23,766 the old collect used to say. 178 00:10:25,233 --> 00:10:28,166 For the Lord has so much to say to you and to me. 179 00:10:29,900 --> 00:10:34,466 He speaks a word of law through which he confronts you, 180 00:10:34,466 --> 00:10:38,966 you personally with all the sin in your life. 181 00:10:38,966 --> 00:10:43,200 This word of law accuses you, it shames you, 182 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,300 it convicts you, it condemns you 183 00:10:46,300 --> 00:10:47,800 and that's the part of scripture 184 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,233 that most people don't wanna hear today. 185 00:10:51,733 --> 00:10:56,733 But it is the truth and you and I need to listen to it. 186 00:10:59,633 --> 00:11:02,133 But he also speaks a word of gospel. 187 00:11:02,133 --> 00:11:07,133 The good news of his unimaginable love for you. 188 00:11:09,566 --> 00:11:11,666 His comfort for your troubled heart. 189 00:11:13,533 --> 00:11:16,666 A word of peace in the midst of all of your chaos. 190 00:11:17,733 --> 00:11:21,066 His forgiveness of all your sins. 191 00:11:21,066 --> 00:11:24,700 His promise of everlasting life in Jesus, 192 00:11:24,700 --> 00:11:27,633 the word who became flesh. 193 00:11:27,633 --> 00:11:32,633 Jesus your Lord who has come to stand before you, 194 00:11:32,866 --> 00:11:35,100 who took his place on a cross, 195 00:11:35,100 --> 00:11:38,733 who rose again and even now stands before you 196 00:11:38,733 --> 00:11:40,266 the risen Savior. 197 00:11:42,233 --> 00:11:46,166 He has called you by name in holy baptism. 198 00:11:47,633 --> 00:11:52,233 Today He continues to come to you in His holy supper. 199 00:11:52,233 --> 00:11:54,966 A sacrament, a visible word, 200 00:11:54,966 --> 00:11:59,433 His body and blood given and shed for you. 201 00:12:02,766 --> 00:12:07,066 The straw epistle, the book of James instructs us, 202 00:12:07,066 --> 00:12:11,633 be doers of the word and not hearers only, 203 00:12:11,633 --> 00:12:14,100 deceiving yourselves. 204 00:12:14,100 --> 00:12:17,166 The man who looks intently into the perfect law 205 00:12:17,166 --> 00:12:21,566 that gives freedom and continues to do this, 206 00:12:21,566 --> 00:12:25,100 not forgetting what he's heard but doing it 207 00:12:25,100 --> 00:12:26,966 will be blessed in his doing. 208 00:12:29,533 --> 00:12:34,533 Samuel first became a hearer, a listener and then a doer. 209 00:12:37,666 --> 00:12:41,866 As a prophet he spoke God's word to bring about reformation 210 00:12:41,866 --> 00:12:44,466 among the people of Israel. 211 00:12:44,466 --> 00:12:48,633 Through the word that he preached the text says the ears, 212 00:12:48,633 --> 00:12:52,766 in fact both ears of all the people tingled. 213 00:12:53,666 --> 00:12:57,100 I love that word, I wish my preaching could do that. 214 00:12:57,100 --> 00:13:01,700 That the words that I speak, God's word would cause 215 00:13:01,700 --> 00:13:06,700 people's ears to tingle as they hear words of peace. 216 00:13:08,633 --> 00:13:12,300 For all the chaos in our lives, solutions to all of our 217 00:13:12,300 --> 00:13:15,666 problems, reasons to stop complaining. 218 00:13:15,666 --> 00:13:20,666 Through Samuel God spoke to his people and later in this 219 00:13:23,066 --> 00:13:27,566 chapter it says the Lord was with Samuel and let none of 220 00:13:27,566 --> 00:13:32,566 his words fall to the ground and all of Israel knew that 221 00:13:32,833 --> 00:13:36,166 Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of God. 222 00:13:38,633 --> 00:13:43,633 Today Eli instructs us all, if God calls again, 223 00:13:43,633 --> 00:13:47,766 really because God has called. 224 00:13:48,866 --> 00:13:53,566 Keep answering, keep saying speak Lord, for your servant 225 00:13:53,566 --> 00:13:54,666 is listening. 226 00:13:56,433 --> 00:14:00,766 He has so much to say, so much we need to hear, so much 227 00:14:00,766 --> 00:14:03,366 the people in the church need to hear, so much people in 228 00:14:03,366 --> 00:14:08,366 the world need to hear and he's called you and me, all of us 229 00:14:08,366 --> 00:14:13,366 to faithfully speak his word so that the ears of all in 230 00:14:17,566 --> 00:14:21,700 this community and the church throughout the world, that 231 00:14:21,700 --> 00:14:26,700 the ears of all might tingle with what the Lord is saying 232 00:14:28,166 --> 00:14:33,166 and doing today in Jesus, amen. 233 00:14:33,166 --> 00:14:38,166 And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding 234 00:14:38,166 --> 00:15:03,166 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, amen.