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St. Charles' Episcopal Church - Saint Charles, IL
The Second Sunday after Epiphany - Epiphany 2 -- Year B
Sunday January 18, 2009
1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20) - Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 - John 1:43-51

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

When I decided to take up my call to ordained ministry there was one promise I made in the area of preaching and that was that I wouldn't preach about my children. I had heard too many horror stories about children twisted by having their lives rehashed from the pulpit, or parishes twisted by endless proud parent stories bent into sermon illustrations. I think I have been able to live up to my promise, though as you might imagine, it is particularly difficult on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany in year B.

Today we heard two great stories about two greats from the Bible. (You will of course excuse me if I am a bit prejudiced). First we heard the calling of Samuel, the boy child of Hannah dedicated to the temple, soon to become the prophet of Israel. Second we heard the calling of Nathanael, the simple sceptic from Cana, soon to become disciple and apostle of Christ. In these two stories we hear of God's nurturing care for the once and future church. In the church we always talk of the church as a gift from God to us, and it is, but, like Nathanael, I am enough of a sceptic to also see the church as our human attempt to institutionalize God. The wonderful truth that enlightens even the darkest institutional corners of the church is that God is there, even there in those dark institutional corners, loving us, correcting our missteps, and guiding our plans and programs. Working through even our mistakes to bring in the kingdom of God.

How many times have you found yourself struggling to find your way, feeling cut off from God, or pushing against an obstruction in your life. It feels dark, or lonely, or frightening, or maybe all three at the same time. Then suddenly the way opens before you and the path is clear and God is there and all is right with the world. If you take the time to look back and examine the struggle you will see in many little ways, God acting to get you through. And more often than not, you will see times when you struggled against God, not knowing it at the time. And even then God will take your actions and work good with them. Watch for these truths and remember them. They will prepare you for your next time in the desert.

Samuel means, "asked of God." If you remember the beginning of the story, Samuel was the answer to Hannah's prayers for a male child, a child for whom she had waited many years, and child for whom she had endured much shame. Today we hear that Samuel is the answer to other prayers as well. The prayers of Eli. Eli, the priest of Shiloh, was getting old, and he lived in a time when the word of God was rare. He saw his sons totally out of control and he was no longer able to restrain them. They too were priests of Shiloh, but they abused their trust and blasphemed. And so Eli was afraid. Afraid for the Shiloh he would be leaving behind when he died. Afraid for the people that were being led astray. His eyes were growing dim. He sat in the dark waiting for the lamp of God to go out. Forever. Or so he thought. Into that darkness came the answer to his prayers, in the shape of a small boy left on the stairs of the church as an offering of thanksgiving. Though the house of Eli would be no more, Shiloh would go on. God would not abandon his people. Though Eli's eyes were failing, his ears were working just fine. And he knew the answer to a prayer when he heard it. Samuel.... Samuel.

Nathanael means "gift of God." When first we meet Nathanael he is staring in amused disbelief at a breathless Philip - "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip has sought him out, him specifically, as soon as he had received his call to follow. We hear nothing of the specifics of Philip's response, just that he immediately goes in search of Nathanael. Have you ever had a friend that you wanted to share everything with? A kindred soul? What if the specifics of Philip's response are his search for Nathanael? What if the specifics of Philip's response are the impulsive, compulsive need to share the good news? It is a telling fact that in John's Gospel, the only disciple specifically asked by Jesus to join the fellowship, is Philip. All the others are invited into the community by other disciples. Is John trying to tell us something?

In this the season of Epiphany, the season of the year where we in the church celebrate the revelation of God's Son to the wider world, it is a time for us to examine how we respond to our own call. As we hear again the stories of the early ministry of Jesus and the gathering of men and women that would eventually become the church, we see back beyond the institution we have become, to the committed group of believers that saw a different way. As we watch again the growing of that early group in both faith and numbers, we are reminded of our own growth and we too remember a different way. A different way of living in the world and with each other. Can you remember the first time you came to church? Can you remember why? It was probably because somebody invited you. And not because they wanted another body in the pew, or another pledge in the books. They invited you because they loved what they were doing and wanted to share it with someone else that they cared about.

We can try and develop a program to grow this church, but that is doing it the hard way. If we can find our joy, and keep that in our hearts, the rest will take care of itself. We will invite people without even thinking about it. Not because we need to grow the church, but because we want to share the love.The people will see it in our eyes, and they will wonder. Nathanael didn't really go to see Jesus, he went to see what had gotten into Philip. What is it about your faith that excites you? Have you, like Philip, shared that excitement with any of your friends? Or maybe the excitement has gone out of your faith and you're just going through the motions. Maybe you are just sitting in the dark like Eli, just waiting for the light of God to go out? Or, maybe you're more like Samuel, not really sure of your faith, just beginning to hear the whispered demands of an all encompassing love. Then again, perhaps you are a Nathanael, a true son of Israel, wrestling with the angels of scepticism, not quite ready to believe, but intrigued none the less. Watching closely and waiting for the right time.

The truth is that on any given day we are all here, the Philips and Nathanaels, the Elis and Samuels. We all meet here and are met by Gods vitalizing presence. If you come as a Philip, God finds a way to lead you to a Nathanael. And when you come as a Nathanael, God sends you a Philip. If you come as an Eli, out of nowhere God sends you a Samuel. And when you come as a Samuel, God directs you to an Eli in need. God always meets us where we are, making good use of the gifts we bring, even when we don't or can't see them as gifts, and takes us to places we never thought possible, even to the ends of the earth. Amen.