Has God called you lately?

Has God called you lately?

Icon of Samuel from the Orthodox Church in America

First Samuel, Chapter 3, verses 1-11 and 19-20 (NRSV):

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.  At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.  Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down.

The LORD called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.  The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy.  Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."  Then the LORD said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.”  [So] as Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.  And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD.

Reflection on the Lectionary

Has God tried to call you lately?  Perhaps it sounds strange to put God’s name in such a question.  More often we use the name of a loved one or friend, school mate or co-worker instead.  For instance, “Has your brother tried to call you lately?”

In terms of God however, it’s not likely that most of us wait around, wonder about, or anticipate a call from the Divine One.  We’re in a time like Samuel’s where words from God are rare and visions not widespread.  With that said, would you like a call from God?  Could you use one?  How about a wake-up call?  If so, I imagine your next question is, “How do I go about getting God to call?

Well first off, you will need to open yourself to seeing how things you’ve taken for granted for a very long time are actually in conflict.  For instance, I love the main points or observations about this week’s scripture’s focus as stated in my former denomination’s worship resource.  The reality in church life however is that people are pretty closed off or hostile about the points below:

   

·         It was not God’s refusal to speak [in Samuel’s time]; it was the people’s refusal to listen.

·         If we are listening [as Samuel was], God speaks new things in the midst of struggle and uncertainty.

·         Sometimes those whom God calls are not ones who are on the “expected” list.

·         We live in hope that God will continue to speak a new thing.

·         It takes courage to speak that which we have heard from God.

Given my experience from last May, all I can say is, “How true, how true, how true!”  For me, and for a number of other people today, God is speaking a radically new and different thing that will make “both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.”  And what I believe that to be is that God has let loose into the world a whole hell of a lot of prophets; far more than we might have ever thought possible.

On that note, I remember a former denominational president saying several years ago that he no longer wanted his followers to be regarded as a people with a prophet.  Instead, he wanted those persons to see themselves as prophetic people.  The purpose of this was so the prophetic task could be shared far more broadly than it ever had been before.  For me, I think it was also an acknowledgement that the prophetic work of God has always been shared far more widely and broadly than people have ever wanted to acknowledge.  It has to be if the earth and humanity are to ever heal and become whole again – not only within themselves but together as well.  We have to once and for all get beyond any belief systems or theological notions that any faith is “the one true religion.”

I loved it yesterday at an “all staff” training provided my current employer, LifeWorks NW.  The presenter was Dr. Donna Beegle of Communication Across Barriers.  The title of her presentation was “Understanding Poverty: The Impact of Poverty for Individuals, Families and Communities.”  Specifically, Donna spoke to the debilitating isolating nature of generational poverty and the societal/cultural changes that must take place to break the cycle of such marginalization.  Her message was a refreshing counterpoint to the all too familiar bigotry of “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality.

One thing that I greatly admired at the very beginning of Donna’s presentation was when she said that people tell her that she’s a prophet.  People even call her a prophet.  But whether or not she is one, Donna says, her task has been clear.  Not only was it to lift herself and her family out of grinding hopeless poverty, but to help others do that as well.  And through a phenomenal compassion uniquely her own which Donna summons every moment of every day, she calls us to do the same for one another and for the world that God wants to be healed and made whole.

So Donna, as far as I’m concerned, it’s time for you to own the prophet label and simply say that you are one.  Like Samuel, God has called you -- and in my mind, you meet the bar to a far greater degree than a number of others who have assumed or taken that mantle to themselves.

It’s here then that I must confess something of my own.  After my May 26^th experience last year (see My Recent Journey, My God Encounter), I met with a friend who possesses a brilliant mind and is an evangelist in my former church.  I met with her to share the encounter I had been through -- but let me share as well that several years ago after an act of civil disobedience for which I was arrested -- she told me she found my life and calling to be in the tradition of the prophets.  So after hearing my experience of calling this past year, my evangelist friend said, “You really need to begin work with a spiritual director as soon as possible.”  Taking that advice seriously, I learned of a local university professor who had been doing spiritual direction for over eleven years.  To my joy, she knows and values the interfaith world and teaches spirituality across the Islamic and Jewish and Christian traditions.  Even greater was my joy when my May 26^th experience didn’t surprise her at all and she would be very glad to help me work through its discernment -- something that would not have been possible with my former denomination.

Within weeks of beginning discernment, my spiritual director pronounced my path as that of the mystic.  And then a few weeks later, in a matter of fact way, she said, “Sorry, but you’re a prophet as well.  God has chosen to work with you directly.  God does not require a human institution to connect with you, call you, or work through you.  Your message is huge and unlike any other.  And don't worry, what has happened to you is happening to people all over the planet.  Take comfort knowing you are not alone.  Prepare yourself however for being criticized, denigrated, and maligned.  You will be called heretic.  This is why it became necessary for you to move on from your church.”  At that point, I’m sure I looked like a deer in the headlights.  When something finally came to my mind, it did so quite forcefully and I said, “Well, if that’s true of me, it is also true of a great many other people I know, love, and admire.  So we’re going to keep that prophet thing to prophet beginning with a lowercase p rather than a capital p.”  I felt relief when my spiritual director nodded her agreement.

So back to my original questions, “Has God tried to call you lately?  Would you like a wake-up call from God?  Could you use one?  Are you ready to start seeing and doing something about things that stand in conflict with each other?”  For instance, by sharing the following story in this public blog, I’m doing something about the conflict I see between who is prophetic and who isn’t.  The story is rather amusing to me anymore.  It involves an incident a few years ago when a general officer in my former denomination made a strongly assertive public proclamation that, “There’s only one prophet!”  The person of course was her boss the prophet-president of her denomination.  In my sense of things these days, the general officer’s statement is nonsense because God has decided to have prophets everywhere throughout the world and in many cases, like me, they’re not on the “expected" list.  Now lest it seem that I’m being critical of the general officer, the only thing I am critical of is her statement and her mindset in that particular moment on that particular day.  I have no way of knowing if she stills believes what she said then.  What I do know of the person is that she has a great love for people, particularly people struggling with gay-lesbian concerns/needs in their lives.  On that score, I do admire her.

As a young child, Samuel heard his name called several times.  A number of those times, he was confused about who was actually calling him and from where and for what reason.  Man, do I ever appreciate Samuel’s dilemma.  The great thing is that as Samuel grew and matured in his calling, everyone from from Dan to Beer-sheba came to accept Samuel was a trustworthy prophet.  I can only hope the same will be said of me in time as I continue to call people to live unencumbered lives with unencumbered faith.  The thing is this, you’ll have to come to some wrenching honesty with yourself about how encumbered your life is -- along with casting off the encumbered faith you’ve chosen to settle for.  And please hear me, if that gets too heavy for you to bear, or you simply need a listening ear, just drop me an email or give me a call.  I’ll be glad to help out in any way I can.  Why so?  Because there’s a planet and world that needs healing, justice, peace, well-being and happiness for every living soul – and you, prophet, are integral to making that happen.

God's Peace be with you,

Brad

Brad Shumate, M.A.,M.S., LMHC

Free of Encumbrance Ministries

Vancouver, WA

Email: brshumate@freeofencumbrance.net