Indeed, in Samuel the Lord has drawn near as the words and actions of this unexpected prophet help us listen carefully to the voice of God in His rare Word.
It is important to note on this second Sunday after the Epiphany how human speaking and hearing now become one of the main means by which the light of God’s revelation breaks into this world. We had seen this work at the individual level earlier in the accounts of Moses (Leviticus 1:1). We will see this happen again at the individual level in a gospel connection to the “one greater than Moses” in Jesus Christ. He is the final prophet and only place to hear God rightly as the word incarnate (John 1:14; Matthew 5:21–22).
But before we get there, at this point in our text, when words from the Lord are rare, listening and hearing become a communal affair, dependent on both the hearing and the speaking of the community together. As the narratives of Saul and David spin on in 1 and 2 Samuel, there will be times when the Lord seems absent from the scene (Deus absconditus). Yet, He will be revealed only through His word (Deus revelatus). All we will hear are words of human beings, on the one hand, balanced with the actions of human beings, on the other. Even here we will see how important it is to know that the Lord is at work through His Word. Indeed, in Samuel the Lord has drawn near as the words and actions of this unexpected prophet help us listen carefully to the voice of God in His rare Word. In Samuel, we would do well to pay attention to him through whom we receive the Word from God.
What I notice here is a nice comparison or even a contrast between God speaking to Samuel at his call to be a prophet and how God spoke about Jesus at the waters of His baptism. In our assigned text, God calls Samuel and there was confusion as to who was speaking and what He said (verses 4-7). Likewise, at Jesus’ baptism, there was confusion about what had happened until it was revealed to them (John 1:31-34). Here you have the end on one Levitical family’s service at the altar (verses 11-14) and in John the Baptist you have the end of not just the Levitical line through His parents but also the end of the prophetic office of the Old Testament because of the final prophet who is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14). Finally, and most importantly is the directive from Eli for Samuel to listen to the Lord (verses 8-10) and how that compares to God the Father’s mirror command from Jesus’ baptism afterwards at the transfiguration to “listen to Him” (Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; Matthew 17:5) because He is His chosen, “beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17).
Furthermore, we should also not lose sight of how we are called into the priesthood of all believers in the waters of our baptism as we work through these texts. There we are connected to the very Word of God itself in Jesus Christ and by the power of His Word and the water we are inextricably linked to His atoning sacrifice (Romans 6:3-11) and the light of His resurrection life. Samuel is called by God and so are we, but only through Christ in the waters of baptism.
Samuel is called by God and so are we, but only through Christ in the waters of baptism.
Luther once spoke about this in his letter to the Christian Nobility (the parenthesis are mine):
“For whoever has crawled out of the water of baptism can boast that he is already a consecrated priest... Because we are all priests of equal standing, no one must push himself forward and take it upon himself, without our consent and election, to do that for which we all have equal authority. For no one dares take upon himself what is common to all without the authority and consent of the community. And should it happen that someone chosen for such office were deposed for abuse of it (like Eli), he would then be exactly what he was before. Therefore, a priest in Christendom is nothing else but an officeholder. As long as he holds office, he takes precedence. Where he is deposed, he is a peasant or a townsman like anybody else. Indeed, a priest is never a priest when he is deposed.[1]
Luther understands this connection between being called into the priesthood of all believers and the waters of baptism from scripture itself. 1 Corinthians 12:18-25 and 1 Peter 2:5 is the backbone for his understanding of this teaching from scripture. Exploring this principle of the faith homiletically will create a strong personal connection for the believer between the work of God in Christ and a theme from the text which can be appreciated sacramentally.
For this Sunday, let us try the Compare and Contrast Structure:
“This structure systematically explores relevant similarities and/or differences between two topics in order to accomplish a purpose for the hearer. In this sermon, the purpose of comparing/contrasting is crucial. The sermon, thus, does more than simply inform hearers of similarities and/or differences. It uses that information for a purpose (absolution), and that purpose often makes a difference in their lives.
In presenting this information to the hearers, the preacher has a choice of two approaches. He can work whole-to-whole (in other words, offering all of the individual items of one topic before proceeding to a listing of the individual items of another topic: A1, A2, A3, and B1, B2, B3). Or the preacher can work part-to-part (in other words, offering one item from each topic and then proceeding to the next item: A1/B1, A2/B2, A3/B3). In part to part, a larger theme will be present for the hearers that slowly unfolds through the comparison.”[2]
Whole to whole may be the better of the two options for this sermon because it allows a natural progression for the experience of the hearers from Old Testament type to New Testament fulfillment in Christ that we receive sacramentally through the waters of baptism.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out our 1517’s resources on 1 Samuel 3:1-20.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching 1 Samuel 3:1-20.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach 1 Samuel 3:1-20.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast- Rev. Prof. Ryan Tietz Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through 1 Samuel 3:1-20.
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[1] Estes, James M. “To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Improvement of the Christian Estate,” in “The Roots of Reform,” edited by Hans J. Hillerbrand, Kirsi I. Stjerna, and Timothy J. Wengert, volume 1, The Annotated Luther. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2015. 383.
[2] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/thematic/comparisoncontrast/
