Series: Growing Up Into Christ
#2: Recognition of God
First Samuel 2:1-10 (NRSV)
By John Gill ~ January 8, 2023
If you were in worship last Sunday (or worshiped online), you know that we have begun an eight-week sermon series on life’s spiritual journey, I’m calling “Growing Up Into Christ.” That title is based on our scripture from last Sunday from Ephesians, chapter four: “We must no longer be children… but… must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Whether we realize it or not, we all are on a spiritual journey that, if we stay on the path, will lead us into the very heart of God. The series of sermons is designed to help us along that “critical journey.”1
My sermon series is loosely based on the book, The Critical Journey1 by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich. They identify various stages we must all pass through as we “grow up into Christ.” These stages are: Our Recognition of God; The Life of Discipleship; The Productive Life; The Journey Inward; The Wall; The Journey Outward; and finally, The Life of Love.
And so, as Maria sings in The Sound of Music, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…” Or as the old Chinese proverb states: “Every journey begins with the very first step.”
The starting place for our spiritual journey through life is obvious: We can not be on the path toward the very heart of God unless we have, first, a recognition of the reality of God, and that this God has a claim on our life.
If you are on the spiritual journey (as you certainly must be if you have bothered to come to worship today), at some point you had an “ah-ha” moment when you recognized or felt a connection with the divine for the very first time. In other words, you had an “epiphany.”
It is very appropriate that this first step falls on this particular Sunday, the first Sunday after the Day of Epiphany (always January 6), because the entire season of Epiphany is devoted to “ah-ha” moments where the divine breaks through and we are struck by the awe of God’s reality. The word “epiphany” is from Greek, and it means literally, “to show, to make known, to reveal.” In relation to our faith, “epiphanies” are moments when God is made manifest – or apparent.
The most famous epiphany story, and the one most people in the pew associate with the season, is the story of the visit of the Magi who follow the star to worship the Christ Child, the King, the Son of God. But throughout the weeks following Epiphany, there are many stories in the lectionary, from both the Jewish and Christian scriptures, that in their own way unveil the divine and give us a glimpse of the reality of God. These include Jewish prophecies in Isaiah that a light is coming that will shine in the darkness, or from Moses as he tells the people he has led to freedom that God will one day raise up a prophet – another liberator like him, or the revelation to Isaiah of the Glory of God, “high and lifted up” in the Temple. From the Gospels we recall, not only the Wise Men, but also the baptism of Jesus where the voice of God declares that he is God’s Son, the story of Jesus at the Wedding in Cana of Galilee where he first reveals to the public his miraculous powers, the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountaintop where again God declares that Jesus is God’s Son through whom God speaks, and more.
There are also passages from the New Testament that tell of the revelation of God through the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles, as well as to all the world.
In all these passages, ordinary people like you and me had an “epiphany”, an “ah-ha” moment, where the reality of God is made manifest, and they began a spiritual journey.
As I was considering our theme this morning, and reading through all the lectionary passages recommended for these weeks of Epiphany, I was struck by one from the Old Testament – the one Bob read a moment ago. It jumped off the page at me, in part because it is part of my own testimony of how God has been at work in my life – I have shared that before in sermons here. But as I considered our first step in “recognizing God,” it seemed the perfect biblical illustration.
As you may remember, Samuel was one of the earliest “prophets” God raised up in Israel. He lived before the reigns of King Saul and King David. In fact, he was the Prophet who anointed each one in turn to be God’s chosen and the king over God’s People. Samuel was a larger-than-life figure in the history of God’s Chosen People – so much so that it takes two books of the scriptures to tell his story. Our text this morning is near the beginning of the first book of Samuel.
Samuel is a young boy whose mother had dedicated him to the service of God. Therefore, he spent his childhood in the tabernacle sanctuary of God in the care of the elderly priest, Eli, who was tasked with guarding and attending to the Ark of the Covenant (containing the ten commandments and so forth) – the most holy relic of Israel symbolizing the very presence of YHWH – the throne of God himself. Young Samuel was being groomed to become a priest himself – even though the text clearly states that Samuel did not yet know God – that is, until one night, when Samuel experienced a divine “epiphany,” and God became so real that Samuel’s life took a new trajectory.
Samuel didn’t expect to hear the voice of God calling in the night – he didn’t even “know” this God he was being groomed to serve – God had not yet revealed himself. But in the night, the voice came calling his name, “Samuel, Samuel.”
And Samuel assumes it is old Eli calling, needing his help. Dutifully, Samuel goes to Eli, only to be told that Eli hadn’t called. This happens again, and again, Eli sends him back to bed. When it happened that third time, Eli wisely discerned that Samuel is having an epiphany – the voice he hears is the voice of God himself. When it happened a fourth time, Samuel is prepared. The text says that this time “The Lord (actually) came and stood there (before him)” calling out Samuel’s name. And this time, Samuel responds, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Such a beautiful encounter with the divine! Such an amazing and life-changing moment for Samuel.
While our experience of God’s “epiphany” in our lives may not be as dramatic as Samuel’s – and we may not have heard the voice of God speak, we all have had moments when we were struck with a sense of awe – something happened and we were suddenly vividly aware that there was a divine Presence in our midst. It may have been something as simple as taking a quiet pre-dawn walk on a deserted beach and watching the sun break over the horizon, or standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon and wondering at the majesty and beauty of God’s creation. It could be the moment you were privileged to be present in the delivery room of the hospital an witnessed the birth of your child and were overwhelmed by the
presence and reality of God. It might be when you were in an accident and miraculously avoided injury or death, or you recovered from a life-threatening illness – and you are certain that God had protected you for some larger purpose. Or it could be when you were sitting in a worship service and the music of the choir or organ, or the singing of the hymns brought you to tears.
It is the moment that comes to mind whenever we sing:
Shackled by a heavy burden 'Neath a load of guilt and shame Then the hand of Jesus touched me And now I am no longer the same
He touched me, oh, He touched me And oh, the joy that floods my soul Something happened, and now I know He touched me, and made me whole
Each person’s epiphany is unique – God’s Touch is personalized for everyone. But what is common is the sudden and overwhelming sense of the presence of God – a God who is calling you to seek Him. John Wesley had a name for this – he called it “prevenient grace – the grace of God that seeks us out – grace that comes before our faith, wooing us, inviting us into a relationship with him.
Have you had such an “ah-ha” epiphany moment when you suddenly were aware of God as being real? How did that awe-inspiring moment change you?
In their book, Hagberg and Geulich describe this first stage of our spiritual life journey this way: “Stage 1, the recognition of God, is where we all begin the journey of faith. We may experience it in early childhood or as adults who come for the first time to recognize the reality or presence of Someone who stands behind it all. Regardless of our age, however, it seems true that most begin the journey in a child-like way. We come to it with an innocence, a freshness, that is seldom ever again as vivid or vital.”2
Of course, as a child in the faith, our understanding of this first Step on the spiritual journey can be child-like, or child-ish.
On the positive side, there is a simplicity and innocence in our infantile faith - this new epiphany of God in our lives brings us a sense of “awe” – amazed that the Creator of the universe would reveal Godself to us personally. Suddenly, our lives – that had seemed meaningless and without direction – are changed. We have a new awareness that our life has a purpose – even though we have no clue what that purpose may be. But because we have now had an epiphany of God, we can never return to how we were before – we have been changed. Like Samuel, our life will now have a new trajectory. We barely know this God, but we want to know him better, and so like a child trusting her parent, we put our trust in the leading of this God we barely know. That is the positive child-like aspect of this stage.
The negative child-ish side of Stage One is that, in light of our encounter with the Divine, we can feel inadequate – that we are unworthy of God’s care – that we don’t measure up. Depending upon our life up to that point, we can become overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and shame – not because God is
condemning us, but because our journey has just begun. We may not yet have experienced the grace of God in our lives. Hopefully, that will come – and it WILL come, so long as we stay on the path.
Another characteristic of this Stage is that our concept of God’s nature is immature. At this stage, God is often taken as the great, heavenly magician. For example, we might be doing nothing to help ourselves in a problem situation, and then complain that God was not there for us. Superstitions fit here too. Fear that God will make you ill if you fail to pray regularly, for instance. Or belief that you will have success if you play the game by God's rules. This infantile understanding of the nature of God will become problematic later in our journey – when we learn that God doesn’t work that way. But that’s for a later sermon.
So, we see that it is possible to become “stuck” at this stage of our Recognition of God. In fact, we can get stuck at any of the stages of our life’s spiritual journey – either because we become complacent and comfortable in our infantile faith, or we fear the challenges that will come as we “Grow Up Into Christ.” But, if we hope to reach the final stage, “The Life of Love,” we must move forward toward Stage Two: The Life of Discipleship. But how do we do that?
The authors of our book identify the things that will help us move forward: Stage One is an individualistic stage – it’s about our own experience – it’s our personal encounter with the Divine. But to grow in our faith, we must seek out a community of faith made up of people who are farther down the spiritual path than we are, so that we can learn from them. In Stage Two, we become “disciples, learning about God and his gift of Jesus. We discover the teachings we find in Scripture. We are apprentices in the faith – dependent on trusted fellow travelers to teach us the Way. (By the way, if you are at Stage One, we are glad you have chosen to connect with our congregation – as you seek to learn what it means to follow Jesus. In fact, we would love for you to join our church next Sunday, as the next step on your spiritual journey.)
So, friends, how have you been Touched by the Divine? Perhaps you are vividly aware of God’s Presence right now? Is the God of the Universe touching your heart? Do you feel God’s hand on your shoulder? Do you hear him calling out your name?
If so, then I hope you will answer, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”