Second Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2018

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: 1 Samuel 3:1
Theme: The Precious Word

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The word of God is precious. It’s worth cannot be calculated in human terms. The Psalmist writes, “The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold.”1 How valuable is God’s word? We might get closest to the mark by simply asking the question, “What price can be put on eternal life?” It is only through the Scriptures that we know of Him who is the Word-become-flesh Redeemer. Only through Jesus, the keeper of the true word do we have eternal life. He has robbed death of its power and Satan of his fury through His own death and resurrection. St. John gives us this description of the Saviour from his heavenly vision, “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.”2

Dear friends, through His word, Jesus THE WORD interacts with all people of every time and place. Today Samuel responded to the Lord’s call saying, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”3 It’s an appropriate attitude for every believer. The Scripture says, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”4 Through the hearing of God’s word the Holy Spirit opens hearts and minds to receive the truth. For many it happens initially in baptism. Yet, receiving God’s word is hardly a one-off necessity. The word is to our spiritual life as food is to the stomach and as air is to the lungs. Without the word faith will wither and die.

The story of Samuel is remarkable from the start. Hannah, his mother, dedicated him to the Lord out of grateful appreciation that He answered her prayer to have a child. As soon as he was weaned she took him to the temple where he became an apprentice of Eli, the priest. Today’s account describes Samuel’s ‘baptism of fire’. The Lord entrusted Samuel with a serious message. The very next day, young Samuel would become the bearer of God’s word to the mature Eli. It was a word that Eli did not want to hear. It was a word of judgment for the sins of his sons who were wicked priests. Eli had done nothing to restrain them. The Lord’s word soon came pass and Samuel grew to be a prominent prophet of the Lord.

It wasn’t uncommon that the first word a prophet had to carry was a word of judgment. Only God’s law can convict the conscience and bring people to a proper recognition of sin. Without such conviction need for the gospel, desire for God’s forgiveness will not happen. Humans are too adept at justifying themselves. Proficiency at justifying one’s self is always at the top of the agenda for individuals who seek to live independently from God’s truth and will. Together, such individuals seek to establish the same approach in society. Believers should not be surprised.

The secular world will always have an agenda. Its agenda will always be driven by the desire for self-promotion and self-indulgence. It entails the quest for power, money, popularity, prosperity, and security. Pursuit of the agenda involves practices of dishonesty and inequality. The agenda is based on human measures of value and worth. The requirements which allow this agenda to be pursued do, in some measure, overlap with the will of God. A degree of order and stability is needed in society and God tasks government with this responsibility. God wants a peaceful and orderly society. He also wants one in which not only the truth of the gospel can be freely accessed, but also the fundamental parameters of His will are respected. Moral foundations and the well-being of the vulnerable are at stake here.

The world’s agenda is relentless and always pushes forward (or, in the sense of humanity’s well-being, backward) until checked by God’s judgment or revised by the gospel’s transformative power. The church can have no misgivings about her task. Perhaps the church has become naïve or apathetic because society in the past generations has been generally amenable to both Christian teaching, and, more significantly for the civil realm, respectful of the divinely created order. The blessings of the past should be recognized. But the values of society in the past do not necessarily predict the future. Past assumptions about morals, values, and the purpose of life may no longer hold for the average person. In human terms, we are likely to begin feeling lonelier in society. Christians must honestly assess where they’ve been led astray by worldliness and repent.

Samuel became one of the most significant prophets in the history of Israel. So revered was his integrity that the Lord once said to Jeremiah, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would no go out to this people.”5 Samuel faithfully declared God’s word throughout his ministry. We are thankful that God still provides ministers to publicly communicate His truth. But, dear friends, every Christian has the privilege and responsibility of giving witness to the love of God in Christ. St. Peter encourages us saying, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their salander.”6

You see, the Christian who speaks the truth, speaks with the greatest authority. This is so because the believer speaks in the name of Christ. We should always stand in awe of and never underestimate that power. It is not our power, but Christ’s power. It does not cultivate arrogance within us but humility. Those who wield the greatest power are also in need of exercising the greatest humility. In proportion to one’s influence must be the diligence in avoiding the abuse of that power. Jesus said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them…not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”7 Rulers are not necessarily greater sinners than common people when they fall, they’re likely to affect more people though. Christians are frail vessels carrying great promises and authority. We are temples of the Holy Spirit.

Dear friends, the word of God is precious. It carries promise, hope, and life. It is Christ’s word and the Spirit’s instrument. It is never hollow. It is never false. It is never outdated. It is never impotent. At the time of Samuel, the word of the Lord was rare. Scarcity of God’s word could happen again sooner than we think. Oh yes, there are lots of copies (though plenty of translating still needs to be done) in print and in electronic storage systems. More copies of the Bible exist than at any point in history. But having something archived is not the same as possessing it as living truth that shapes and forms one’s life. God’s word is not an historical relic. It is living and active.

When we have God’s word we have the Holy Spirit at work. The Spirit has no other agenda than to connect people with Christ. He was hung upon the cross to pay price for your sins. He rose again on the third day to open the gates of heaven for you. The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ- which we have in the promise of absolution, the water of baptism and the body and blood of Holy Communion- means we have the blessings of the Holy Trinity. What a privilege it is to say with Samuel, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”8 Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Second Sunday After Pentecost
3 June 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Psalm 19:9-10 2 Revelation 19:13
3 1 Samuel 3:10 4 Romans 10:15
5 Jeremiah 15:1 6 1 Peter 3:15-16
7 Mark 10:42-43 8 1 Samuel 3:10