Hearing a Hard Message, Reflection on 1 Samuel 3:11-20

How are we to read verse 19? Do we lean entirely on the easy interpretation, "What God wants, God gets"? Is that what "the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground" means?

Or, should we be influenced by the context of this memory? Eli heard the hard word from God transmitted through the young Samuel. And Eli accepted the word. "Don't hide anything from me," he commanded Samuel. So Samuel did what Eli was willing to have done.

What would have happened to God's word if Eli had told Samuel to be quiet, quit running into his room, and go back to sleep?

Can you imagine being Eli?

When the Word of the Lord Calls, Reflection on 1 Samuel 3:6-10

Samuel heard God's voice but did recognize that whose voice it was.

Eli knew God, but it didn't occur to him that God would want to talk to Samuel.

It took three tries, but Eli finally caught on.

Would Samuel have ever known that God was intruding on his life if Eli hadn't told him?

When we are Samuel, we need Eli.

When we are Eli, we need to help Samuel.

One of Those Days, Reflection on 1 Samuel 3:1-5

"The word of the Lord was rare in those days...."

Had God really withdrawn from Israel? Historians can stack up the reasons why God might well have decided to ignore those people at that time. They certainly were not behaving in a way that indicated that they had been listening anyway.

Or, had God continued to be reaching out, and they just were too busy listening to their own voices and desires to pay attention?

When we feel lonely, abandoned, stuck in a situation without solution, can we hear God's voice? Or, when we feel complete, secure, satisfied, do we bother to listen?

Whose voice do we listen to when we are trying to make a decision?

Do you believe because....? Reflection on John 1:49-51

Here's an excerpt from Sandra Schneider's, The Revelatory Text:

In the fourth gospel we see, repeatedly, people brought to Jesus by a disciple and coming to full faith in him on the basis of Jesus' own word to them. John the Baptist (1:35-39) testified to Jesus; two of this disciples followed Jesus and remained with him that day; and they came to believe in him on the basis of that interchange. One of them, Andrew 1:41-42) brought his brother Simon to Jesus. When Jesus recognized Simon and renamed him, Simon (now Peter) became a disciple. Philip (1:44-51) brought a reluctant Nathaniel to Jesus, and again Jesus' word converted his hearer into a follower. even after the resurrection it was the testimony of Mary Magdalen that prepared the disciples to recognize Jesus when he appeared in their midst on Eater night....

In each case the pattern is the same: someone is brought to Jesus through the word of another but comes to believe in him definitely because of Jesus' own word. In a sense, there are no "second-generation disciples" in John, because all are bound to Jesus by his own word...

Being Seen, Reflection on John 1:43-48

Cynthia Anderson writes in "Living the Word" in the January 13, 2009, Christian Century:

What changes Nathanael's life isn't Philip's persuasive description of Jesus; it's not even Nathanael's observation of Jesus. It is not what Nathanael sees about Jesus that changes things, but what Jesus sees about Nathanael.

Being seen and known by Jesus turns this ordinary encounter into a life-changing experience that opens Nathanael to the light that's come into the world to reveal heaven itself.

Philip was important in this process. Watch out for opportunities to be Philip. And pay attention to the Philips in your life.

Crossing the Jordan, Joshua 3

Because of its relevance to this week's Sunday School lesson, I am reposting an entry from October:

They are poised to cross over the Jordan into the land promised by them. Compare this crossing with the one that took them from captivity in Egypt into their long testing in the wilderness (Exodus 14).

As Pharaoh's army had drawn near, the people had been afraid. The Lord instructed Moses what to do. The Lord sent a strong wind to make a path through the sea so the Israelites could cross over on dry ground.

Now, forty years later, Moses has died, and Joshua is their appointed leader. He also receives instructions from the Lord. Once again the waters are divided, and the people can cross.

What is different is that on this crossing, the priests and the ark of the covenant are part of the story. Also different is that this time is that they are not just one group; they are twelve tribes.

The priests go first with the ark. As their feet enter the river, the waters begin to separate.

Imagine being one of the priests and stepping into the rushing water. When the people saw the water piling up, they then stepped into the path. Imagine being able to trust that the danger would wait for you to make your way across.

In Mississippi this year, we have been remembering what it was like 40 years ago. We remember how important our leaders were during those crises. Today we continue to face hardships, demands, animosities. Today, we need to continue to consider how the Lord is sending help and helpers to us.

They had the ark to hold. What are we holding to remind us of God's commands and help?

Paul teaches a baptism lesson, Reflection on Acts 19:1-7

In many, many ways the Christian church has changed since the days of Paul. Yet, we do share some characteristics. For example, we need to improve Christian education. While visiting Ephesus, Paul discovered that they lacked some theological grounding that he considered important. I'm trying to imagine some Paul showing up in my congregation and asking seemingly simple questions that could well expose our, well, our not-knowing what Paul thought we should have already learned.

This Sunday is the day that we call Baptism of the Lord and on which we remember our own baptism. Paul's first question was one of precedence: Do you receive the Holy Spirit first, or must you believe first before the Spirit settles on you?" Their answer was either truthful or clever or disappointing: "We didn't even know there was a Spirit."

Christian educators, do the people you serve even know there is a Spirit?

I don't know what to do with verse 6.

The Voice of the Lord, Reflection on Psalm 29:7-11

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
(Psalm 29:7-8)

Several evenings ago, I was watching television while sitting in my well-padded recliner. Comfortable, head leaning back, feet propped up. All was well. Then, through the window next to me, I saw a flash of lightning . Almost immediately, I heard a loud crash of thunder. The TV show lost my attention.

Since I spent my formative years in Texas, I have the Texas attitude toward storms. As soon as we hear thunder, we're outside looking at the sky. Thunder gets our attention.

You don't have to be a Texan to notice thunder.
A thunderstorm will interrupt your life.
You'll turn your attention from what you're doing to this interruption.

The Psalmist's life was interrupted by God (Psalm 29:9).

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare;and in his temple all say, "Glory!"

Read again this week's passage from Mark, and consider the effect of God's voice on the newly baptized Jesus. Consider the effect of God's voice as you remember that you are baptized by water and the Spirit.

In the Beginning, Reflection on Genesis 1:1-5

Into chaos comes the word of God.

God speaks, and light overcomes darkness.

God enters the world and brings order to it.

An (YouTube) Experiment

from A Walking Paradox

Kevin Watson at deeplycommitted has started an experiment to see how much social capital Methodist bloggers have. This experiment was prompted by the feeling among some Methodist bloggers that United Methodism does not always do as good of a job as it could at getting the Wesleyan message out there, particularly on-line. So, he wants to see how many views a YouTube video can get if Methodist bloggers work together to promote it. The experiment is to see how many hits the video will receive in two weeks.

If you want to participate you can: First, watch the video below. Second, copy and paste this entire post into a new post on your blog and post it. Third, remind people about this experiment in one week.

Based on the results of the experiment, Kevin will get in touch with the folks at Discipleship Resources and let them know the ways in which Methodist bloggers are often an underused resource.

Here is a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ISKTrScpzQ