Serving God on the Ground

If “visions were not widespread,” then those days are like our days, perhaps like all days. Some folks find that thought disappointing, longing for a miraculous manifestation of God’s power, an instantaneous healing on television. Let’s not be patronizing toward our neighbors who feel this way. In scripture, people constantly ask Jesus to legitimize himself with a “sign.”
We don’t always need drama. Once on a Volunteers in Mission trip, a fellow pilgrim talked about how faith, or being “born again,” can come differently to each of us. Maybe a sudden blinding light—Saul outside Damascus. Or more frequently, a shade opening, light gradually filling the room. The sacred in the ordinary. Verse 7 tells us Samuel lacks direct experience. Nothing has changed. Young people learn from behavior we model; they need to make mistakes without devastating consequences. Once on jury duty, we were brought into a courtroom where the nineteen-year-old defendant was on trial for burglary, with a twenty-seven-year-old prosecutor and a twenty-six-year-old public defender. I asked to be excused—the defendant reminded me of my youngest son and his friends. I couldn’t judge the kid. He should be allowed one mistake. I keep thinking about this ear-tingling news Samuel must bear: Eli’s sons will be killed; Philistines will seize the ark; and Eli himself will die. It’s a lot to lay on a young boy. Children never choose such burdens but still receive them today: family illness, food insecurity, a father’s incarceration, fleeing from war. Maybe this scripture is a call to action, to recognize our obligation not only to our own children and grandchildren but to all God’s children. A call to ease their burdens and provide a worthy model for behavior—in whatever community we live.