So, this reading from Samuel, it's really not the beginning of the story. It's actually sort of the middle of a story. A story of the People of God trying to establish a new nation in the Promised Land. After centuries of slavery, the People of God have entered the land promised by God and have been there for quite a while. Things have been fair to middling, other nations rise up agains them now and then, but so far they've managed to throw their conquerers off mostly. But it seems to be getting harder and harder.
And just before Samuel is born, there is a civil war. Tribes of Israel pitted against each other. Things got sideways. They stopped praying, stopped worshipping. Worse yet, they began to follow other gods, other idols – idols of power for the sake of power, idols of greed at the expense of the poor, idols of winning at the expense of justice. The result being that Israel is torn apart. The people of Israel following destructive, self-serving leaders off the cliff of civil war. It ended with the near-destruction of one tribe and the sowing of the seeds of mistrust in all the tribes. And as a result outside enemies were encroaching more and more each day, waiting for the nation to finally and fully collapse.
It is at this point that Samuel appears in the story. After his mother Hannah pleaded with God for a child, a child was given to her. And she kept her side of the bargain she had made with God, giving young Samuel up to the priesthood of the Temple.
Things had settled down in the land, an uneasy interlude. And here we find Samuel, asleep in the temple. Until he hears a voice. And it's not every day that God whispers to a young boy, so when he heard the voice, “God” was not his first thought. Or even his second. But it was his third thought, and when the voice came again, his simple response – Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening – changed his life.
Samuel has the right of it, I think, in listening. “Speak, Lord, for you servant is listening.” And I usually get this wrong. Lately it seems this entire nation is getting it wrong. Everyone giving voice to anything. Everyone amplifying his or her own opinion as if an oracle from God. And giving voice to all the voices seems to be grinding our national soul down. How much hatred and violence occurs with a single tweet? How many lives ruined? How often is winning a debate point seen as more successful than being compassionate? How often does the desire to out-maneuver the other side overcome the need to compromise? When did it become a war instead of a disagreement?
All this talk. No, all this yelling. As so many charge up their own lonely hills of fevered conspiracies, destructive fantasies, and xenophobic rantings, raising their fists and their guns in the air, shouting, “Listen, Lord, for your servant is speaking!”
Are we better off? Is that really the solution to nearly two and a half centuries of our national experiment – loud, hurling threats, mobs violently demanding to be the center of a divided universe, the Master of a destroyed Universe? When the real Master of the Universe is quietly whispering each of our names, calling us to a better way, a more loving way, a way that was meant for us all along!
In our Gospel we hear Jesus say to Philip, “Follow me.” And Philip's first reaction was to bring others in to meet this amazing man, this Christ, this Jesus. Even the skeptics like Nathaniel, Philip brings them in.
I'm that guy who so wants to be like Philip, but afraid that I live in a world filled with Nathaniels, just ready to ridicule me with a snarky remark and a skeptical look. And sometimes I'm afraid.
Well, I'm guessing Philip knew what kind of a guy Nathaniel was. He probably knew that Nathaniel would scoff, or make fun of him, or ignore him all together.
But he goes and tells him anyway. And in our country today, that's about as heroic as you can get.
And I think what's even cooler is Philip's reaction to Nathaniel's dismissive remark. He doesn't snap back. Or get defensive, as I know I would. Or walk away hurt or angry, vowing never to share anything with Nathaniel again. No, he doesn't do any of these things. Instead, he just takes it in stride and says, "Come and see."
Come and see. Such simple, open, and inviting words. Words, I think, that sum up not only the heart of the Gospel but the whole of Christian life.
Come and see. Going to the dark places in our world, seeking out those in pain, living in fear to care for them and bring them to the light.
Come and see. Come and see reality-based truth rooted in the universe that God created and with the brains that God gave us.
Come and see. Abandoning violence and destruction and winning at all costs and approaching others with a grace-filled, a love-filled heart.
Come and see. Reaching out to sinners, those seen as unworthy, those seen as unholy, those seen as the enemy.
Come and see Jesus love others, not hate them. Heal others, not hurt them. Rejoice with others, not dehumanize them. Cry with others, not abandon them. Save others, redeem others, not throw them away.
Each of us, every so often, will find ourselves in a place with a friend or coworker or family member. Someone who may be encouraging the anger and anxiety of the moment to blind them to what they are letting themselves become. And there you will find that person, reaching out for something and not knowing what for. At those times, be open to being Philip. Be foolhardy like Philip. Be brave like Philip. The news is too good. Even now with the news so bad, THIS news is still too good.
Take the time to say those three words – come and see; take the chance to invite others into this place, into the kind of life you are living – for God's sake. And for theirs.
This is the time when we need this invitation more than ever. Bringing love to a divided nation, healing to a hurt country, gentleness and willingness to change to the frozen sides of an endless, poisonous game of brinkmanship.
Remember this. This is important. Nathaniel, after scoffing that nothing good could come from Nazareth...even Nathaniel eventually saw Jesus.
And he never looked away again.