A Service of the Word 

For 

Use on Zoom

OPENING

Leader   We come from scattered lives to meet with God. Let us recognise his presence with us.

Silence

Leader   As God’s people we have gathered:

All          Let us worship him together.

All          Lord, direct our hearts, and teach us to pray.  Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

HYMN    As we are gathered, Jesus is here (UTube version at bottom of page)

CONFESSION

Leader   The grace of God has dawned upon the world with healing for all.
Let us come to him, in sorrow for our sins,
seeking healing and salvation.

All          Lord our God,
              in our sin we have avoided your call.
              Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
              like dew that goes away early.
              Have mercy on us;
              deliver us from judgement;
              bind up our wounds and revive us;
              in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Leader   May the God of love
bring you back to himself,
forgive you your sins,
and assure you of his eternal love
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

All          Amen.

Psalm 139

O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You know when I am full of hope and enthusiasm, you know when I am struggling to see a way forward. You know when my faith is alive and buoyant, you know when I am full of doubt and dread.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You discern my thoughts from far away. You know my thoughts often clash with one another, that I am sometimes full of certainty, sometimes full of disbelief. A times full of trust, at times full of questions. Sometimes caring, sometimes selfish. And you know too that my mind wanders, sometimes visiting dark corners.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know me better than I know myself, you see me in the darkness and the light, and you understand, you care, and you long to lead me towards life.

Reading               1 Samuel 3: 1 - 9

The Jubilate        Jubilate Everybody

and shall be for ever.  Amen.

Reading              1 Samuel 3: 10 - 20

1 Samuel 3: 1 – 20

As I fell asleep one night in Haslington, I heard the constant sound of grain driers in the distance and ‘the popping’ noises of someone lamping in the fields.  Then, a neighbour asked if I had been kept awake by a fire on the street corner.  The constant sound was fire engines pumping water; the popping noise was paint pots exploding in a shed.  The buildings between me and the corner of the street muffled the sound, and I’d slept undisturbed!

We all make the sounds of night fit our experience.  Samuel was no different.  Hearing a voice, he went to see what the elderly Eli needed.  But this is not the childhood story I remember of Samuel hearing the voice of God and Eli telling him he had heard God speaking.  A brief at the first 2 chapters of 1 Samuel, and the rest of Chapter 3 tell us that the Bible story is very different.

Israel has forgotten God. Temple worship is corrupt. Eli the priest was involved in the greedy extortion of the faithful remnant who continued to come to worship. Eli had neglected to teach his sons the ways of God, and they were scoundrels who dishonoured God and the worship of the Temple.  

Enter the barren Hannah, one of the faithful remnant, who stands up to Eli, demanding his blessing and then, despite the mistakes Eli has made with his own sons, entrusts the child of that blessing to his care.

Today, we catch a glimpse of Samuel’s strange and lonely childhood as he serves elderly Eli.  At night, the young Samuel slept in the Temple, with the smell of the burnt offerings, the flickering of the eternal light, and the terrifying presence of the Ark of the Lord for company.  Into this scene, God speaks, but Eli has no-more taught Samuel to expect God to be present in the Temple than he had his own sons.  

The young Samuel may have lived, worked and slept in a sacred space, but he has no knowledge of God’s living presence.  He interprets the voice of God in the only way he knows how and goes to find what Eli requires… and Eli clearly isn’t expecting God to speak either.  Only on the 3^rd occasion does Eli rumble that Samuel has heard the voice of God…  ,but at least Eli had the grace to give Samuel a crash course in responding to God’s voice.

It must have been quite terrifying for the young Samuel, yet he invites God to speak.  And what a message God has for Samuel.  This is no simple starter helping Samuel recognise God’s voice and respond in a small way.  It is a hard test.  

He receives a brutal message to deliver to Eli.  One which tells how God will bring Eli’s sons to a violent.  No wonder Samuel lay until morning, afraid to tell Eli his message.  Samuel does not know that God has already spoken to Eli about his sons’ death, or that God had promised to raise up a faithful priest to serve in the Temple.  It is to Eli’s credit that he encourages Samuel to tell him the truth message God has given him, which Samuel faithfully does.

That is quite a test, but Samuel passed it, and a relationship of trust began with God.  One which allowed God to use Samuel to lead Israel back to faith, and to become an important figure in God’s story of his people.  

This is not the story of an elderly servant of God encouraging the younger generation to listen to God that my childhood book told.  It is a biblical event which shows us that God can use anyone he chooses as his messenger.  Even, or perhaps especially, young children.

So how might God speak to his messengers today?  How might God speak to us?  We might hear a voice.  Perhaps through something someone else, or several people say.  It might be in our minds, as my own call to ordination was; a thought so persistent at times it felt audible, or a picture we can see in our minds’ eye.  Most often, God speaks to us through the bible.  Words seem to stand out from the page, or sound extra loud as the bible is read.

However God speaks, if he has something we need to hear, he will speak.  Even if, like Samuel, we are inexperienced listeners and messengers.

13 January 2021 

 HYMNS

As we are gathered As We Are Gathered - YouTube

Jubilate, everybody Jubilate, Everybody - YouTube

Dear Lord and Father of mankind WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL-DEAR LORD AND FATHER OF MANKIND - YouTube

Will you come and follow me Will You Come and Follow Me? (The Summons) - YouTube