Lost to all but God
Commentary
It was a few weeks before Christmas, about 10 years ago. Those were dark and perilous times -- days we would all just as soon forget. Now when it is time to buy gifts for your nephews and nieces or grandchildren scattered across the country -- even your own children snug in their beds upstairs in your own house -- you can just log onto eToys or the Toys-R-Us section of Amazon.com. There you can find wish lists, carefully selected by the future recipients, and with just the click of your computer mouse you can choose the items and how you would like them gift wrapped, pay the bill with your Internet-secure credit card, and rest assured that FedEx or UPS will safely bring them to their home or even yours. Oh, shudder to remember how it used to be, fighting through the crowded aisles of the toy stores only a few years ago.
But as I said, it was in those dark and perilous pre-Internet times that my wife and I found ourselves in a Toys-R-Us store. Our son was three, and we had him in tow as our resident expert as we searched for gifts for nephews about his age. My wife and I wandered up and down the aisles in search of Christmas gift-buying inspiration, and not occasionally in search of one another. At some point we met up with one another rounding an end-cap laden with action figures and began to compare notes. Suddenly it hit us -- the toddler that each of us had rested confidently assured was under the care and supervision of the other was in actuality with neither.
We began furiously searching the store. Having encountered one another several times in our divided search without having seen him, the panic began to mount. Had he wandered out of the store? Had someone persuaded him they would help him find us, but actually abused his trust to abduct him? It was with tremendous relief that we found him safely wandering the aisles, oblivious to all his parents' overwrought emotions, and soon rather irritated at our insistence that he ride in the shopping cart!
This experience -- one familiar to all parents in one form or another -- is the only frame of reference that I have for understanding what Mary and Joseph must have gone through in the story recounted in this morning's gospel lesson. True, Jesus was in adolescence rather than a toddler, but then he was missing from his parents for far longer than just a matter of minutes.
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
The choice of this Sunday's first lesson is clearly based on its relationship with the appointed gospel lesson. All that is missing from a complete verbal parallel between verse 26 here and Luke 2:52 is a mention that Samuel was also growing in "wisdom." The connection is not, however, a creation of the lectionary committee. Luke has drawn clear parallels between the childhood stories about Samuel and Jesus (note the similarities between the "Song of Hannah" in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and Mary's "Magnificat" in Luke 1:46-55). The evangelist is working to develop the favorable comparison between Jesus and one of the great prophets of Israel.
Samuel is likewise being compared to others within the first reading itself, but here the contrast is anything but favorable for the ones to whom he is being compared. Samuel had been left as a charge of Eli, the priest of the tabernacle while it was in Shiloh. There as well were Eli's sons. Whereas we are told that Samuel was "minister[ing] to the Lord" (v. 11), they were taking provisions for themselves from the sacrifices that were not allotted to the priests under the stipulations of the Levitical guidelines (cf. vv. 13b-16 with Leviticus 3:12-17). Because of their failure, Samuel was pressed into priestly duties even though he was still a "boy" (v. 18).
In the verses omitted from the reading, the contrast is further heightened. Not only were they stealing from God by their treatment of the sacrifices, they were also engaged in illicit sexual practices ("they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting," v. 22). Rather than simply indicating lax sexual mores, the reference is probably to the introduction of sexually oriented ritual practices such as those elsewhere attributed in the Hebrew Scriptures to the worship of Baal and Astarte (1 Samuel 7:3-4; elsewhere Baal is associated with Asherah, e.g. Judges 6:25-32 and 1 Kings 18:19, a somewhat problematic association since in Ugaritic mythology Asherah is El's consort rather than Baal's). Even as their estimation was declining in the eyes of the people (v. 23), Samuel grew "in favor with the Lord and with the people" (v. 26).
Colossians 3:12-17
The usual pattern of the Pauline letters (utilized both by the Apostle himself and by his followers after his death) is an opening prayer of thanksgiving and blessing for the recipients, a discussion of some theological concern, and then reflections on the ethical implications to be drawn from the theological materials. This reading is drawn from that third movement of the letter: "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is" (3:1). These pragmatic implications are first addressed in terms of what the Christian must avoid (vv. 5-11), and then here in the appointed reading in terms of what the Christian ought to do.
Whether this writer already had in mind an allusion to the practice of special baptismal robes when he commends the readers to "clothe yourselves" with specific virtues depends in part on when one dates the letter. Such an allusion is, however, clearly developed by subsequent commentators. Baptism is the sacramental moment when we become "God's chosen ones" (v. 12). The virtues identified as appropriate to God's chosen are quite typical both of early Christian ethical instruction (cf. Galatians 5:22-23), and frankly common among Greco-Roman moralists in general. What is particular to the Christian community is the definition of these virtues in terms of forgiveness, and that the norm forgiveness is "just as the Lord" (or "Christ" in some manuscripts) "has forgiven you" (v. 13). God's forgiveness is of course rooted in love, the greatest of the Christian (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is the virtue that "binds" all the others "together in perfect harmony" (v. 14).
Each of the virtues treated to this point have been presented as actions or attributes that Christians are to act upon. One other of the traditional virtues is included in this list, but it is presented as one that acts upon the Christian. We are to "let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts" (v. 15). Perhaps the reason for this shift in orientation is that this virtue is linked to the community rather than the individual. It is Christ's peace that unites Christians into "the one body" to which we are called. Salvation in Christ is thus in a fundamental way both individual and communal. Having been "chosen" by God as individuals, we are "called in the one body" of the whole people of God united in Christ.
This communal aspect of the Christian life is further emphasized by the responsibilities that Christians share toward one another. The effect of God's word within us should be that we "teach and admonish one another in all wisdom" (v. 16). It is interesting to note that the context that is envisioned for this instruction is the thankful and joyful corporate worship of God through music. Rather than offering fine distinctions between musical types of "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs," the threefold repetition more likely reflects the exuberance that should typify such worship. Instruction in God's wisdom through exuberant worship is much more likely to foster peace within the community than are judgmental harangues.
This virtue list concludes with the admonition that every part of the Christian's life is to lived "in the name of the Lord Jesus" and in thanksgiving to God (v. 17). Being chosen by God is not something that can be compartmentalized into one communal association ("the one body" of the church) among many such communal associations. Being chosen by God is the Christian's identity and should determine everything that we do.
Luke 2:41-52
Mary and Joseph were not neglectful parents. They "knew" that he was safely among their entourage of family and friends who had made the pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Perhaps they were themselves keeping an eye on nephews and nieces of their own, or maybe the kids from the family just a few doors down from their own. Jesus was hanging out with his cousins or friends, of that his parents were confidently sure.
But their confidence was misplaced, as was their son. On the second morning of their journey home, as they gathered their belongings and compared notes to be sure nothing was left behind, they discovered that Jesus was in fact not with the entourage. Had he wandered off in the night? Had he gotten separated from the group in the crowded and bustling streets of Jerusalem? Maybe he had been injured somewhere along the way, having wandered off from the road. Maybe alone and unprotected, he had been abducted. It is hard even to imagine all of the thoughts that must have raced through their imaginations over the course of three days -- three days! -- as they backtracked to Jerusalem in search of their missing son. Finally they found him. He was in the Temple, just sitting around listening to and asking questions of the teachers of the Jewish religious tradition.
Luke says when they found him that Mary and Joseph "were astonished." Frankly, I cannot help but wonder whether Luke is being too easy on the holy family. He reports Mary's hard, but hardly stinging, rebuke of Jesus: "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." Okay, maybe in the initial rush of relief that he had been found safe and sound Mary might have responded in such measured tones. But it is hard for me to imagine that Joseph would have reacted to even a 12-year-old Jesus with such restraint.
I also have to wonder how Jesus' response as recorded here in Luke would have been received in the heat of the moment: "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's interests?" Again, forget for a moment that this is Jesus, the Savior of the world, speaking. Put yourself in the place of the parents of a 12-year-old who have spent the past 72-some-odd hours in a frantic search for your wayward son, only to be all but brushed off by him with a "Loosen up, Dad! You know me, and so you should have known where to find me." Would you have heard yet another adolescent, smart-aleck remark? Yet Luke says that Mary simply added this episode to the other amazing tidbits about this child -- the announcement of the angel Gabriel, the pronouncements by Elizabeth and Simeon, the strange visit by the shepherds on the night of his birth -- all the treasures she kept, and no doubt puzzled over, in her heart.
Application
My first inclination when I read this text in the context of its lectionary pairing with the story about Samuel -- probably at about the same age serving with the priests in the tabernacle before there even was a temple -- was to focus on the growth of these two young men. After all, in almost identical language, both passages speak about their growth physically, socially, and spiritually. Although Samuel literally grows up in God's house whereas Jesus only visits the temple far from his boyhood home, both were already learning at this relatively young age that their lives were to be about God's interests and not their own personal interests. But then, that is what happens when you grow up in God's house.
But the more I reflected on these stories, the more I realized that adolescent development could no longer be my point of entry into these scriptures. This story about Jesus had first become really fixed in my spiritual development when I, too, was in early adolescence. In addition to being involved in the Boy Scouts of America, I was also involved in a scout-like organization in a Christian denomination that took this story as its foundation. From Luke's statement that "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in divine and human favor," they had drawn the lesson that boys are to grow intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially into young men, and they had developed a program in the church to allow boys to grow up in the church in just these ways.
But I am no longer that adolescent, and frankly neither are the vast majority of those who will be listening to sermons just three days after Christmas. Most congregants have reached the point in life when surely we should be past the "growing up" stages. One thing is certain; no longer are my increases in physical size something to be celebrated! Now, we could, like the leaders of that church scouting group to which I belonged, simply adopt these passages as sound guidance to be offered to our adolescent sons (and daughters!) and as wise counsel to those who deal with adolescents either as parents or adult volunteers. But if we see ourselves more in the roles of Elkanah and Hannah, of Joseph and Mary, there are other lessons for us here as well.
You see, Samuel and Jesus may have been growing up in God's house, but their parents were being called upon to do some maturing in their relationship with God as well. And notice that all that we know of the adults in these stories indicates that they were committed to their relationships with God. Both families made the pilgrimages required to offer the sacrifices of Israelite religion at the times appointed by the Law of Moses. Both families knew what to do and when and where to do it. Not only did they know these things in their heads, but they lived out these requirements even at great personal hardship. They had to do much more than hop into a car and drive a few miles to fulfill their obligations of worship.
What they were not prepared for, however, was that somehow what they knew would be challenged. Elkanah and Hannah knew that first-born sons were to be presented to God, but that God always returned them to be raised in the homes of their parents. They had to mature in their relationship with God when they learned that God's interests with regard to their son Samuel would require that he stay and serve with the priests even though he was not from a priestly family. Joseph and Mary knew that families were to make a pilgrimage to the temple at the time of Passover, and that families always returned home together when the festival was finished. They had to grow in their relationship with God when they learned that God's interest with regard to their son Jesus required more study opportunities than were available in the village of Nazareth. Being in relationship with the Divine means learning to expect the unexpected.
In a way, we can never stop growing in God's house, because we are never fully grown-up intellectually, or socially, or spiritually. God is always providing new things for us to treasure, and yes, puzzle over, in our hearts. The question is not whether it will happen, but how we will respond. Are we open and willing to be lost to all but God in 2004 and beyond? It can be anxiety producing and stressful, like losing track of child in a crowded store. It might mean getting called up short by others from whom we least expect it, and are maybe even less willing to accept it, like being corrected by an adolescent daughter or son. But if living in God's house is where you want to be, then being lost to everything but God is the only option available.
An Alternative Application
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26; Colossians 3:12-17. The imagery of being appropriately "clothed" appears in both of these lectionary passages. In the first lesson, the literal statement that "Samuel was ... a boy wearing a linen ephod" (a traditional garment of the Levitical priests) is used as a somewhat ironic commentary ("a boy wearing ...") on his being prematurely pushed into a priestly role by the failure of his older contemporaries to fulfill their roles properly. In the epistle lesson, the readers are urged to "clothe yourselves" metaphorically with virtues that are consistent with their status as those chosen by God.
Appropriate attire will be on a lot of people's minds just three days before New Year's Eve. There are all manner of celebrations within our culture for ushering in the New Year, ranging from private family gatherings, to black tie and formals balls, to the raucous celebrations in Time's Square, to even contemplative Watch Night communion services in churches. However one might be planning to observe the occasion, everyone can certainly agree that different clothing is required for the different celebrations. Sure, there are those who wear tuxes and formals to watch the ball drop in New York, but they show up on our television screens precisely because the attire seems out of place on the cold city sidewalks (and it was just such attention that they were probably after in the first place).
The preacher need not pass judgment on any of these celebrations to note the importance of appropriate attire suited to the respective occasions. The question then becomes what is the appropriate clothing for the Christian who is stepping out to celebrate a new life in God as well as a new year. If balls require bow ties and snowy sidewalks warm coats and scarves, then the a life lived in ministry to God, patterned after Samuel's, requires the virtues outlined in Colossians.
Psalm 148
Psalm 148 is a magnificent hymn of praise that moves with sweeping stanzas and evocative language through the orders of creation -- from angels to humans -- calling on all of creation to praise God. Not only does the psalm begin and end with a call to praise, but this call is repeated 10 additional times in the body of the song. The reasons for the praise are given only at the end of each of the two sections of the psalm when the poet has satisfied himself that, in symbol at least, he has left no being and no thing, whether in the heavens or on the earth, uninvited to praise.
This sort of exuberant behavior is reserved in our culture for sporting events and live entertainment. We are accustomed to seeing football fans, clothed in outlandish costumes, standing and cheering with all their might. We are also familiar with the fans of rock stars screaming at the top of their lungs as they express adulation for their heroes.
Ironically, faith traditions that feature loud music and animated actions on the part of worshipers are often derided as being part of "the faith fringe." We in the mainstream pride ourselves on doing things "decently and in order," and look upon over-excited vocal expressions of joyfulness as distractions rather than genuine elements of worship.
In other words, the call to unrestrained praise suggested by this psalm has to be toned down to a more acceptable liturgical level in order to be performed in many churches.
This is not to suggest that all congregations should immediately adopt charismatic or seeker style worship services -- obviously too much of even a good thing can be too much. However, there is an important lesson to be learned from this psalm, and the more reserved we are in worship the harder it is to hear.
We are called as people of faith to engage in lavish and energetic worship -- worshiping God with all we've got. Certainly there are moments when solemnity and reflection are needed. Certainly there are times when awe and reverence should be observed. Even silence has its place in worship.
But as the psalm suggests, there are also times when praise, exuberant heartfelt praise is the order of the day. If we really believe what we confess about God and the work God has done in Jesus the Christ, how can we in good conscience remain silent as we apprehend the goodness and grace of God?
I have a friend who is highly regimented in his daily routine. He runs at the same time every day, eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner right on schedule. His meetings start and stop on time, and he is always early with his deadlines.
I told him once, "Bob, you need some spontaneity in your life, some free creative time." He looked at me seriously for a moment and said, "I could schedule some of that."
We are called to praise the Lord. If necessary, let us "schedule" a time in our service, or in our lives, when we let down our guard and our reservations and praise the Lord with all we have.
But as I said, it was in those dark and perilous pre-Internet times that my wife and I found ourselves in a Toys-R-Us store. Our son was three, and we had him in tow as our resident expert as we searched for gifts for nephews about his age. My wife and I wandered up and down the aisles in search of Christmas gift-buying inspiration, and not occasionally in search of one another. At some point we met up with one another rounding an end-cap laden with action figures and began to compare notes. Suddenly it hit us -- the toddler that each of us had rested confidently assured was under the care and supervision of the other was in actuality with neither.
We began furiously searching the store. Having encountered one another several times in our divided search without having seen him, the panic began to mount. Had he wandered out of the store? Had someone persuaded him they would help him find us, but actually abused his trust to abduct him? It was with tremendous relief that we found him safely wandering the aisles, oblivious to all his parents' overwrought emotions, and soon rather irritated at our insistence that he ride in the shopping cart!
This experience -- one familiar to all parents in one form or another -- is the only frame of reference that I have for understanding what Mary and Joseph must have gone through in the story recounted in this morning's gospel lesson. True, Jesus was in adolescence rather than a toddler, but then he was missing from his parents for far longer than just a matter of minutes.
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
The choice of this Sunday's first lesson is clearly based on its relationship with the appointed gospel lesson. All that is missing from a complete verbal parallel between verse 26 here and Luke 2:52 is a mention that Samuel was also growing in "wisdom." The connection is not, however, a creation of the lectionary committee. Luke has drawn clear parallels between the childhood stories about Samuel and Jesus (note the similarities between the "Song of Hannah" in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and Mary's "Magnificat" in Luke 1:46-55). The evangelist is working to develop the favorable comparison between Jesus and one of the great prophets of Israel.
Samuel is likewise being compared to others within the first reading itself, but here the contrast is anything but favorable for the ones to whom he is being compared. Samuel had been left as a charge of Eli, the priest of the tabernacle while it was in Shiloh. There as well were Eli's sons. Whereas we are told that Samuel was "minister[ing] to the Lord" (v. 11), they were taking provisions for themselves from the sacrifices that were not allotted to the priests under the stipulations of the Levitical guidelines (cf. vv. 13b-16 with Leviticus 3:12-17). Because of their failure, Samuel was pressed into priestly duties even though he was still a "boy" (v. 18).
In the verses omitted from the reading, the contrast is further heightened. Not only were they stealing from God by their treatment of the sacrifices, they were also engaged in illicit sexual practices ("they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting," v. 22). Rather than simply indicating lax sexual mores, the reference is probably to the introduction of sexually oriented ritual practices such as those elsewhere attributed in the Hebrew Scriptures to the worship of Baal and Astarte (1 Samuel 7:3-4; elsewhere Baal is associated with Asherah, e.g. Judges 6:25-32 and 1 Kings 18:19, a somewhat problematic association since in Ugaritic mythology Asherah is El's consort rather than Baal's). Even as their estimation was declining in the eyes of the people (v. 23), Samuel grew "in favor with the Lord and with the people" (v. 26).
Colossians 3:12-17
The usual pattern of the Pauline letters (utilized both by the Apostle himself and by his followers after his death) is an opening prayer of thanksgiving and blessing for the recipients, a discussion of some theological concern, and then reflections on the ethical implications to be drawn from the theological materials. This reading is drawn from that third movement of the letter: "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is" (3:1). These pragmatic implications are first addressed in terms of what the Christian must avoid (vv. 5-11), and then here in the appointed reading in terms of what the Christian ought to do.
Whether this writer already had in mind an allusion to the practice of special baptismal robes when he commends the readers to "clothe yourselves" with specific virtues depends in part on when one dates the letter. Such an allusion is, however, clearly developed by subsequent commentators. Baptism is the sacramental moment when we become "God's chosen ones" (v. 12). The virtues identified as appropriate to God's chosen are quite typical both of early Christian ethical instruction (cf. Galatians 5:22-23), and frankly common among Greco-Roman moralists in general. What is particular to the Christian community is the definition of these virtues in terms of forgiveness, and that the norm forgiveness is "just as the Lord" (or "Christ" in some manuscripts) "has forgiven you" (v. 13). God's forgiveness is of course rooted in love, the greatest of the Christian (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is the virtue that "binds" all the others "together in perfect harmony" (v. 14).
Each of the virtues treated to this point have been presented as actions or attributes that Christians are to act upon. One other of the traditional virtues is included in this list, but it is presented as one that acts upon the Christian. We are to "let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts" (v. 15). Perhaps the reason for this shift in orientation is that this virtue is linked to the community rather than the individual. It is Christ's peace that unites Christians into "the one body" to which we are called. Salvation in Christ is thus in a fundamental way both individual and communal. Having been "chosen" by God as individuals, we are "called in the one body" of the whole people of God united in Christ.
This communal aspect of the Christian life is further emphasized by the responsibilities that Christians share toward one another. The effect of God's word within us should be that we "teach and admonish one another in all wisdom" (v. 16). It is interesting to note that the context that is envisioned for this instruction is the thankful and joyful corporate worship of God through music. Rather than offering fine distinctions between musical types of "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs," the threefold repetition more likely reflects the exuberance that should typify such worship. Instruction in God's wisdom through exuberant worship is much more likely to foster peace within the community than are judgmental harangues.
This virtue list concludes with the admonition that every part of the Christian's life is to lived "in the name of the Lord Jesus" and in thanksgiving to God (v. 17). Being chosen by God is not something that can be compartmentalized into one communal association ("the one body" of the church) among many such communal associations. Being chosen by God is the Christian's identity and should determine everything that we do.
Luke 2:41-52
Mary and Joseph were not neglectful parents. They "knew" that he was safely among their entourage of family and friends who had made the pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Perhaps they were themselves keeping an eye on nephews and nieces of their own, or maybe the kids from the family just a few doors down from their own. Jesus was hanging out with his cousins or friends, of that his parents were confidently sure.
But their confidence was misplaced, as was their son. On the second morning of their journey home, as they gathered their belongings and compared notes to be sure nothing was left behind, they discovered that Jesus was in fact not with the entourage. Had he wandered off in the night? Had he gotten separated from the group in the crowded and bustling streets of Jerusalem? Maybe he had been injured somewhere along the way, having wandered off from the road. Maybe alone and unprotected, he had been abducted. It is hard even to imagine all of the thoughts that must have raced through their imaginations over the course of three days -- three days! -- as they backtracked to Jerusalem in search of their missing son. Finally they found him. He was in the Temple, just sitting around listening to and asking questions of the teachers of the Jewish religious tradition.
Luke says when they found him that Mary and Joseph "were astonished." Frankly, I cannot help but wonder whether Luke is being too easy on the holy family. He reports Mary's hard, but hardly stinging, rebuke of Jesus: "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." Okay, maybe in the initial rush of relief that he had been found safe and sound Mary might have responded in such measured tones. But it is hard for me to imagine that Joseph would have reacted to even a 12-year-old Jesus with such restraint.
I also have to wonder how Jesus' response as recorded here in Luke would have been received in the heat of the moment: "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's interests?" Again, forget for a moment that this is Jesus, the Savior of the world, speaking. Put yourself in the place of the parents of a 12-year-old who have spent the past 72-some-odd hours in a frantic search for your wayward son, only to be all but brushed off by him with a "Loosen up, Dad! You know me, and so you should have known where to find me." Would you have heard yet another adolescent, smart-aleck remark? Yet Luke says that Mary simply added this episode to the other amazing tidbits about this child -- the announcement of the angel Gabriel, the pronouncements by Elizabeth and Simeon, the strange visit by the shepherds on the night of his birth -- all the treasures she kept, and no doubt puzzled over, in her heart.
Application
My first inclination when I read this text in the context of its lectionary pairing with the story about Samuel -- probably at about the same age serving with the priests in the tabernacle before there even was a temple -- was to focus on the growth of these two young men. After all, in almost identical language, both passages speak about their growth physically, socially, and spiritually. Although Samuel literally grows up in God's house whereas Jesus only visits the temple far from his boyhood home, both were already learning at this relatively young age that their lives were to be about God's interests and not their own personal interests. But then, that is what happens when you grow up in God's house.
But the more I reflected on these stories, the more I realized that adolescent development could no longer be my point of entry into these scriptures. This story about Jesus had first become really fixed in my spiritual development when I, too, was in early adolescence. In addition to being involved in the Boy Scouts of America, I was also involved in a scout-like organization in a Christian denomination that took this story as its foundation. From Luke's statement that "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in divine and human favor," they had drawn the lesson that boys are to grow intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially into young men, and they had developed a program in the church to allow boys to grow up in the church in just these ways.
But I am no longer that adolescent, and frankly neither are the vast majority of those who will be listening to sermons just three days after Christmas. Most congregants have reached the point in life when surely we should be past the "growing up" stages. One thing is certain; no longer are my increases in physical size something to be celebrated! Now, we could, like the leaders of that church scouting group to which I belonged, simply adopt these passages as sound guidance to be offered to our adolescent sons (and daughters!) and as wise counsel to those who deal with adolescents either as parents or adult volunteers. But if we see ourselves more in the roles of Elkanah and Hannah, of Joseph and Mary, there are other lessons for us here as well.
You see, Samuel and Jesus may have been growing up in God's house, but their parents were being called upon to do some maturing in their relationship with God as well. And notice that all that we know of the adults in these stories indicates that they were committed to their relationships with God. Both families made the pilgrimages required to offer the sacrifices of Israelite religion at the times appointed by the Law of Moses. Both families knew what to do and when and where to do it. Not only did they know these things in their heads, but they lived out these requirements even at great personal hardship. They had to do much more than hop into a car and drive a few miles to fulfill their obligations of worship.
What they were not prepared for, however, was that somehow what they knew would be challenged. Elkanah and Hannah knew that first-born sons were to be presented to God, but that God always returned them to be raised in the homes of their parents. They had to mature in their relationship with God when they learned that God's interests with regard to their son Samuel would require that he stay and serve with the priests even though he was not from a priestly family. Joseph and Mary knew that families were to make a pilgrimage to the temple at the time of Passover, and that families always returned home together when the festival was finished. They had to grow in their relationship with God when they learned that God's interest with regard to their son Jesus required more study opportunities than were available in the village of Nazareth. Being in relationship with the Divine means learning to expect the unexpected.
In a way, we can never stop growing in God's house, because we are never fully grown-up intellectually, or socially, or spiritually. God is always providing new things for us to treasure, and yes, puzzle over, in our hearts. The question is not whether it will happen, but how we will respond. Are we open and willing to be lost to all but God in 2004 and beyond? It can be anxiety producing and stressful, like losing track of child in a crowded store. It might mean getting called up short by others from whom we least expect it, and are maybe even less willing to accept it, like being corrected by an adolescent daughter or son. But if living in God's house is where you want to be, then being lost to everything but God is the only option available.
An Alternative Application
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26; Colossians 3:12-17. The imagery of being appropriately "clothed" appears in both of these lectionary passages. In the first lesson, the literal statement that "Samuel was ... a boy wearing a linen ephod" (a traditional garment of the Levitical priests) is used as a somewhat ironic commentary ("a boy wearing ...") on his being prematurely pushed into a priestly role by the failure of his older contemporaries to fulfill their roles properly. In the epistle lesson, the readers are urged to "clothe yourselves" metaphorically with virtues that are consistent with their status as those chosen by God.
Appropriate attire will be on a lot of people's minds just three days before New Year's Eve. There are all manner of celebrations within our culture for ushering in the New Year, ranging from private family gatherings, to black tie and formals balls, to the raucous celebrations in Time's Square, to even contemplative Watch Night communion services in churches. However one might be planning to observe the occasion, everyone can certainly agree that different clothing is required for the different celebrations. Sure, there are those who wear tuxes and formals to watch the ball drop in New York, but they show up on our television screens precisely because the attire seems out of place on the cold city sidewalks (and it was just such attention that they were probably after in the first place).
The preacher need not pass judgment on any of these celebrations to note the importance of appropriate attire suited to the respective occasions. The question then becomes what is the appropriate clothing for the Christian who is stepping out to celebrate a new life in God as well as a new year. If balls require bow ties and snowy sidewalks warm coats and scarves, then the a life lived in ministry to God, patterned after Samuel's, requires the virtues outlined in Colossians.
Psalm 148
Psalm 148 is a magnificent hymn of praise that moves with sweeping stanzas and evocative language through the orders of creation -- from angels to humans -- calling on all of creation to praise God. Not only does the psalm begin and end with a call to praise, but this call is repeated 10 additional times in the body of the song. The reasons for the praise are given only at the end of each of the two sections of the psalm when the poet has satisfied himself that, in symbol at least, he has left no being and no thing, whether in the heavens or on the earth, uninvited to praise.
This sort of exuberant behavior is reserved in our culture for sporting events and live entertainment. We are accustomed to seeing football fans, clothed in outlandish costumes, standing and cheering with all their might. We are also familiar with the fans of rock stars screaming at the top of their lungs as they express adulation for their heroes.
Ironically, faith traditions that feature loud music and animated actions on the part of worshipers are often derided as being part of "the faith fringe." We in the mainstream pride ourselves on doing things "decently and in order," and look upon over-excited vocal expressions of joyfulness as distractions rather than genuine elements of worship.
In other words, the call to unrestrained praise suggested by this psalm has to be toned down to a more acceptable liturgical level in order to be performed in many churches.
This is not to suggest that all congregations should immediately adopt charismatic or seeker style worship services -- obviously too much of even a good thing can be too much. However, there is an important lesson to be learned from this psalm, and the more reserved we are in worship the harder it is to hear.
We are called as people of faith to engage in lavish and energetic worship -- worshiping God with all we've got. Certainly there are moments when solemnity and reflection are needed. Certainly there are times when awe and reverence should be observed. Even silence has its place in worship.
But as the psalm suggests, there are also times when praise, exuberant heartfelt praise is the order of the day. If we really believe what we confess about God and the work God has done in Jesus the Christ, how can we in good conscience remain silent as we apprehend the goodness and grace of God?
I have a friend who is highly regimented in his daily routine. He runs at the same time every day, eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner right on schedule. His meetings start and stop on time, and he is always early with his deadlines.
I told him once, "Bob, you need some spontaneity in your life, some free creative time." He looked at me seriously for a moment and said, "I could schedule some of that."
We are called to praise the Lord. If necessary, let us "schedule" a time in our service, or in our lives, when we let down our guard and our reservations and praise the Lord with all we have.
