Proper 4, Yr B (2024), The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 4, Yr B (2024) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20) St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17
Mark 2:23-3:6
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
This past Wednesday, after sitting in my office all morning,
I told Carolyn I was going to sit outside for a few minutes
and read in preparation for my sermon this morning.
I came out and sat at the table under the sail on the playground.
After I read a few minutes,
I stopped.
I noticed the clear blue mountain sky…
the same sky that a Highlands artist said he had to tone down in his paintings
because no one would believe that that color was real!
I noticed the brightness and warmth of the sun
that had replaced the gray wetness of the prior week.
I noticed the sound of the wind in the flapping of the leaves high up in the trees.
I noticed the rare quiet of
no roosters crowing
and no hounds baying…
the sounds of which are standard in the background here.
I closed my eyes and just sat with the magnificence of it all.
And then I went back to my reading while eating lunch at the same time.
Gandhi said,
“There is more to life than merely increasing its speed.”
Yes, indeed.
Yet, the speed of life seems to be increasing whether I want it to or not…
like when I realize it is now June when it ought to just be March!
Where does the time go?
It seems like I ought to know,
and if I sit down and think about it,
I can name all the sources of my busy-ness.
We hear this morning the story of the young boy, Samuel,
who spends his days and nights tending to the needs of Eli in the temple.
We are told that, at this time, Samuel did not yet know the Lord.
It seems curious that after years of spending all his time in the temple,
he doesn’t yet know the Lord!
He hears God’s voice calling to him but does not recognize the voice.
He thinks it is Eli calling.
So, Eli instructs him, the next time he hears the voice, to say:
“Speak, Lord,
for your servant is listening.”
The next time, when God calls,
Samuel is able to hear what God has to say.
Many years ago,
when I was a teenager,
I attended a silent retreat for high school students.
There, we learned a 3-part prayer,
which I am reminded of as I hear Eli’s instructions to Samuel,
and which I want to offer to you this morning
as a way to listen to the voice of God in our lives.
It requires a little bit of time…
that time that often seems elusive.
And it requires a little bit of courage…
because we don’t quite know what God will say or ask of us…
like God telling Samuel to pronounce judgment on Eli’s house.
The whole prayer process takes 15-20 minutes or as long as the Spirit moves!
We began by lighting a candle and sitting in silence.
After a few moments we began to silently pray:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
have mercy on me,
a sinner.”
You may know this as “the Jesus Prayer.”
The prayer begins by intentionally sitting in the presence of God,
asking for God’s mercy.
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
have mercy on me,
a sinner.”
After repeating this prayer for about 5 minutes,
we then move to the next prayer.
“Speak, Lord, your servant listens.”
“Speak, Lord, your servant listens.”
And we then allow silence to actually listen!
We listen for the voice of God.
After five or so minutes, we move to the third prayer.
“Speak, Lord, your servant obeys.”
“Speak, Lord, your servant obeys.”
Again, we sit in silence
and listen for any word of action we might be called to take.
I offer this prayer practice to you
as a way to intentionally stop,
become aware of sitting in the presence of God,
and then offer space to listen to what God might say to you.
When I began my sermon prep this week,
I thought I was going to preach on the gospel.
And I will say a few words about it,
but I think that the posture of awareness of the presence of God
and active listening to the voice of God
is at the root of Jesus’ actions in this gospel story.
In today’s gospel story it is the sabbath,
and Jesus violates sabbath law on two occasions.
He and his disciples pluck and eat grain from the fields.
That is considered work,
and work is unlawful on the Sabbath.
Then Jesus has the nerve to heal a man with a withered hand in the synagogue!
Jesus’ response to the reprimand of the law-keepers is:
“The sabbath was made for humankind,
and not humankind for the sabbath.”
In other words,
God offers us life through observing the sabbath:
a time intended for rest, renewal, and delight in God.
A time to intentionally bask in the awareness of God’s presence and life-giving Spirit!
A time to listen to the voice of God who speaks to us all the time,
if we will listen.
It’s not about observing the law for the sake of the law,
God’s intention is for abundant life…all the time!
So, yes…
there is more to life than merely increasing its speed.
Our Scriptures commend to us over and over to stop…
and listen to the voice of God.
I invite each of us this week to take some time to do just that.
And as we sit with God,
I pray that we may know that the God who creates us and redeems us
is the God who loves us so very deeply
and commends us to extend that love to the world around us. Amen.
