Can anything good come from this?
(Free Version)- Year B; 1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20); 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51
The readings for this Sunday can be found here. Looking to go deeper? Check out our extended notes (12-13 pages every week), here.
Our readings draw our attention to the ways in which God’s glory is found in the unexpected places.
In our Old Testament reading (1 Samuel 3:1-20), we see a transition from a priesthood represented by Eli and his corrupt sons to a prophet, Samuel, who will anoint Israel’s kings. We are told that things are dark at this time. The beginning of 1 Samuel describes a world of corruption, barrenness, and silence. We are left to ask: Can anything good come from this? Has God given up on us? Is our world “god-forsaken?” These questions feel familiar even to us today. Yet, the writer tells us that the light of the Lord has not gone out.
In the midst of corruption, barrenness, and silence, God speaks. It takes the child, Samuel, awhile to identify the voice because it is so unexpected. In a world where God’s voice is rarely heard, we often have to eliminate the other possibilities and distractions before we are able to hear God’s speaking. Yet, as we know, especially from Genesis and from the prologue of John’s gospel, God’s speaking is a sign that something new is dawning. And yes,, this means judgement on the old. But, this is good news.
In our epistle reading (1 Corinthians 6:12-20), Paul writes of the importance of bodies, and the danger of narratives which emphasize individual autonomy as the ultimate good. “Wise” people in Paul’s time and in ours speak of individual freedom as the ultimate goal. In doing so, they actually become enslaved to individual desires. Being free is not “doing whatever I want,” it is discovering that our bodies, and our whole selves, belong to Christ.
As with the situation Paul is addressing, this has enormous implications for our sex lives. What we do with our bodies is important. It is not that our desires are bad, but that how we respond to those desires truly matters. We are not our own. We are members of Christ himself! Of course, Christ is always loving, always desiring our good. The calling is not towards shame; quite the opposite. The calling is to have a proper respect for our bodies. God loves bodies, and he has proven this in the resurrection of Jesus, which promises our future resurrection. To honor God with our bodies is to be who we have been created to be.
In our gospel reading (John 1:43-51), Jesus calls Phillip to follow him. Phillip’s immediate response is to go find his friend Nathanael. This whole crew of future disciples is from Bethsaida, a small fishing village. And, there is perhaps a rivalry with another small town, the pious town of Nazareth. Like someone from Knoxville talking about someone from Tuscaloosa, or someone from Ann Arbor discussing someone from Columbus (or reverse any of these), Phillip says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Phillip responds with a simple “come and see.”
God is doing something seemingly unlikely in the man from Nazareth. Phillip invites Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus, but, on the way, Jesus “sees” him. This is always the case. God has “seen” us before we ever discern him. Jesus calls him a “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Jesus is referencing the story of Jacob (whose name meant “supplanter” or “grasper” or “deceiver” but whose name was later changed to Israel “one who wrestles with God”).
Nathanael is so impressed that Jesus saw something deeper about him, that he declares Jesus as the Son of God, the king of Israel. Jesus acknowledges that Nathanael believes in him because of the miracle, but Nathanael will “see” greater things than that. In fact, he will see heaven, and angels descending and descending. This is another reference to the Jacob story (Genesis 28).
The story of Jacob’s ladder is a reminder of God’s presence, God’s insistence to Jacob that he would not leave him alone. Jesus is saying the same thing to these disciples. What they are about to see is the faithfulness of God’s presence in Jesus himself.
Next Monday, our country stops to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We celebrate this day realizing that, although we have made a lot of progress in the move towards racial equality, in this cultural moment we are acutely reminded that we have a very long way to go.
Yes, we got rid of Jim Crow laws, but black votes are looked at with suspicion. Yes, we desegregated, but because of a shady history of housing laws we still find ways to re-segregate. Sure, we passed Civil Rights legislation, but minority families are still too often blamed as being what is wrong with America.
This too feels like a time when “the word of the Lord was rare.” We need prophets like Samuel, like Dr. King, who point to the one in whom there is true justice, the one who is the way, the truth and the life, the place where heaven and earth meet.
Prophets help us to see the world as it should and will be and they challenge us to live that day here and now. We also need good and faithful priests to help us discern. We need priests because not all prophets are from God. Priests and pastors help us to think through how prophetic words fit with scripture and the with the tradition.
Many in our world are asking: could anything good come from this? From large-scale challenges: political and cultural polarization, insecurity surrounding our system of government, a climate crisis, wars in Ukraine and in Israel and Gaza, inequality and injustice.
Even as we see the large-scale pain, many in our congregations are facing everyday challenges in their own lives: sickness, loss. Yes, there is division in the world, but they are facing division in their own families. When God’s voice seems dim, we can trust that God’s light has not gone out. This has proven true in the Light of Jesus.
In his 1958 book Stride Toward Freedom, King wrote of a time when he felt like he was at the end of his rope,
I was ready to give up… In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud…. At that moment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying ‘Stand up for Righteousness, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.’ Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared and I was ready to face anything.
The inner voice did not tell MLK that his circumstances would magically get better. King heard that, when he stands for righteousness and truth, God will be with him forever. Many in our congregations have not had a kitchen table moment like this, but we can still hold on to those words. He is with us. We do not have to fear. Angels are ascending and descending in front of us. God is speaking. May we have ears to hear, hearts to discern, and may we “come and see” God in surprising places.
I just read your essay for the second Sunday of Epiphany. Your words were the sermon I needed to hear. It seems that we live in dark times and that the Words of God are rare though thousands claim the name of Christ. As we descend into anarchy we need prophets, priests and faithful followers to shine like stars (Daniel 12:3) and lead many to Jesus' kingdom of justice and righteousness. Thank you for your timely words. Judy...from Canada