During the time young Samuel was minister to the Lord under Eli, a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent. One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.”. He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the Lord called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said “you called me.” But he answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.” At that time Samuel was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet. The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.”. Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the Lord came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect. Thus all Israel from Dan to Beer-Sheba came to know Samuel was an accredited prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh; he manifested himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word, and Samuel spoke to all Israel. (1 Samuel 3:1-10;19-21 New American Bible translation)
This one is GOOD! So much to talk about. As usual, the more I read, the more the verses spoke to me.
“the lamp of God was not yet extinguished” made me think of the candle that burns in the tabernacle of Catholic churches everywhere signifying Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament. I imagined Samuel sleeping in a pew directly in front of the tabernacle. Samuel is “sleeping” where the ark of God was. It is there where he hears “the call” – sleeping, sitting still. At first he’s not aware who is calling. Scripture tells us Samuel is young and that Eli’s eyes had grown so weak that he could not see. I took this to mean Samuel was spiritually immature, the reason he was unable to discern who was calling. Interestingly enough, it is Eli, the one who cannot see, who is able to give Samuel direction. He sees with the eyes of spirituality, he’s “in tune”. Eventually at the direction of Eli, Samuel realizes it is God calling and his response is HERE I AM! Isn’t that the response God wants from all of us?
The last part of this chapter in scripture speaks to us of the integrity that comes with knowing Christ and allowing Him to work in us. It is unquestionable, as followers of Christ, that there is a special light, an energy we exude that tells people “this person is trustworthy, this person is powerful, this person is worth listening to!” That’s what happened with Samuel and that’s what can happen with us!
God calling Samuel during his time in the temple confirmed, for me, the importance of taking time to sit with Jesus. As a practicing Catholic, I try and take time as often as I can to sit quietly in front of the tabernacle to spend time with Jesus – doing so brings me great comfort and at the same time gives me the opportunity to seek direction for my life. I imagine sitting, visiting and chatting with a great friend, keeping Him company and expressing my gratitude for His great love and blessings in my life and asking His advice. I would imagine it makes Him so happy to be remembered, to be acknowledged, to be thought special enough that I would “stop in” for a visit and advice. Although being in a church before the tabernacle is powerful and makes me feel more peaceful and less distracted (I highly recommend it), I understand it is not the only place I can encounter God, it is not the only place I can go to be in His Presence, for He is EVERYWHERE! In fact, all we have to do to feel His Presence, to seek direction for our lives is be still, be silent, take a few moments each day to remember Him, acknowledge Him, “stop in” for a visit. Take a few moments to “shut down” and listen! We can do this in a church any time during the day (Catholic churches are open most of the day to allow people to come in to pray), in our own homes, in the waiting room of a car dealership (lol – you guessed it, here I am) or a doctor’s office, while walking in the park or working out at the gym! The only thing that’s necessary is commitment of time.
What can we take away from all this? God reveals Himself to us in various ways. Like Samuel we may not always be aware of His promptings, but with patience and persistence in stillness we will eventually come to know it. His voice will become familiar to us. Of course, life gets in the way of our prayer at times. As a result, there will be days when we lack the capacity to hear God’s call. It is in these moments we should, like Samuel, seek direction from others. Let’s not stop there. We should also persevere in stillness, as Samuel did, so that we can hear God’s call, so that we too will be capable of giving direction. We all have the capacity to be THAT person if only we would channel our inner Samuel and respond: “Here I am Lord, speak for your servant is listening.” God bless you!
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