Mush in the Desert

Samuel 3:1-10 Pastor Bill Mosley
A man is lost in the desert. He used up
the last of his water three days ago and he’s
lying, gasping, on the sand, when in the
distance he suddenly hears a voice calling,
“Mush! Mush!”
Not trusting his ears he turns his head &
there it is again, closer this time: “Mush!
Mush!”
Propping himself up on one elbow he
squints against the sun and sees, of all
things, an Eskimo in a fur coat driving a sled
with a team of huskies across the dunes.
Thinking that he’s hallucinating, he blinks &
shakes his head, but it’s for real! He
painfully lifts one arm & in a cracked voice
calls, “He-elp!”
The Eskimo pulls the sled up, the huskies
panting in the heat, & the lost man croaks to
the Eskimo, “I don’t know what you’re doing
here, or why, but thank God you are! I’ve
been wandering around this desert for days,
my water’s all gone & I’m completely lost!”
The perspiring Eskimo looks down at him
and says, “You think YOU’RE lost!”
Well, that’s a picture of the Christian faith.
We don’t have all the answers, we even admit
that we are lost, without Jesus. But with
Jesus, we know where the water is, and we
can tell others about it. Martin Luther said,
“The Christian faith is one beggar telling
another beggar where to find bread.”
You could say that was one of the roles of
Moses when leading the children of Israel
through the Wilderness to the Promised
Land. After Moses, God gave the people
other leaders. Joshua, the general, then a
series of local leaders called judges, the
likes of Samson, Gideon, & Deborah.
These were men and women who were
respected and trusted, and had the favor of
God.
One of the last of these is Eli, who
expected his sons to also be judges &
prophets, but they were not worthy.
Instead, God sends Eli the boy Samuel,
who is the last of the Judges and will anoint
the first kings of Israel, Saul and David.
Samuel was the last judge of Israel, the
priest & prophet who “anointed,” we would
say “inaugurated” Kings Saul & David. Like
Elizabeth & Sarah, Hannah was given a
child as an answer to prayer. She
responded to the gift of promise by giving
her son to Eli the priest. Samuel was to
answer the call of God to pronounce
judgment on Eli’s corrupt sons. The call of
God will not be denied.
Poet Theodore Roethke (RET-kah) said
“In a dark time, the eye begins to see.” Eli is
not sightless, but he is blind to some things.
He serves as a characterization of the times.
“The word of the Lord was rare in those
days; visions were not widespread,” the
Bible tells us. The darkness of this latenight story shows a lack of spiritual vision
and the failure of even the sons of Eli to be
God’s people.
Yet it is precisely in the middle of this dark
& unhappy setting that a new word is heard,
God speaks again, & a young boy – himself
the offspring of what had been Hannah’s
despairing barrenness – listens.
God is still speaking! But are we
listening? Are we open to hearing a new
word of truth amid doubt & obscurity, when
we’re not sure which way to go? We’re
open to being moved by God in the
presence of love & beauty & all we consider
blessing. But what about when in our own
lives, our own church, or the world around
us, we find little that speaks of God? Are we
still listening then?
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When we are lost in the desert can we find
an Eskimo to join us in our lostness, and
help us find water?
The old priest Eli represented what was
passing away. But without his support
Samuel would not have listened, or would
not have heard the word of God that came
to him… in the middle of the night. The old,
established, & traditional can lead us in the
new & different world in which we find
ourselves.
God still speaks to us. Can we listen at
times when it seems most unlikely that
anything good could happen? Can we
understand that “blessing” is more than
beautiful sunsets & happy moments? In our
own experience, can we say the “lamp of
God” still burns when the lights are out?
After buying her kids a pet hamster, after
they PROMISED they would take care of it,
Mom, as usual, ended up with the
responsibility.
One evening, exasperated, she asked
them, “How many times do you think that
hamster would have died if I hadn’t looked
after it?”
After a moment, her youngest son replied
quizzically, “Once?”
This seems such a beautiful parable for
the situation of the church today: in so
many ways the church as we have known it
appears to be on the way out, declining
attendance, lack of support for traditional
activities, ageing of the faithful, etc. etc. —
yet, like Eli, it is this dying institution that will
nurture & coach the next generation of
vision-catchers, even if they lead in totally
different directions. I often feel like an Eli —
dubiously successful guardian of something
that’s on its way out, seemingly unable to
bridge the gap myself to a future whose
outlines are unclear….
yet still believing in the importance of this
dying institution, if only to guard the spark a
little while longer & somehow be there to
pass it on to others who will actually be able
to do something with it….. I hope…
The man in the desert and the Eskimo had
this in common: they both admitted they
were lost. But they were talking to each
other. They were beggars discussing where
to find bread. That’s what we need to do
today. Talk about where we’ve found bread.
Give a witness.
Witnessing seems an ominous task to
Lutheran folk — like being asked to provide
proof for something. Actually, it’s just telling
stories about the difference God makes in
our lives. Witnessing is a key concept for
John’s Gospel. He uses the word
frequently. In today’s reading, we have a
prime example of what witnessing means:
pointing out places where Jesus is present,
explaining what makes Jesus special —
John used “Lamb of God,” Peter later refers
to Jesus as Messiah. When they met him,
they recognized him as special and worth
telling others about. When we witness, we
invite people to join us in learning more
about God and in worshiping this one who
changes our lives. We talk about how being
with other believers helps and supports us;
we share hospitality and tell others, “My faith
fills me and helps me get through the days —
good and bad, alike. Come and see for
yourself what you think.”
Yes, God still speaks to us today. And he
means for us to answer, “Speak, for your
servant is listening.”
It’s how we know we are not lost. And
sharing what we hear is how we renew our
lives, the lives of others, and the church.
Lord, speak to us for we are listening, & saying no to whatever makes it more difficult
to say yes to you. 1229 words