The Greatest Conversation

The first and most important step and aspect that remains throughout our lives of faith is relationship.  That relationship begins with persons, the person of God calling out to the individual and the individual responding.  From our first reading today, 1 Samuel chapter 3 and following, as well as the Gospel of John chapter 1 and following, it is clear that it is all about relationship and that in that relationship each and everyone is made a friend of the Lord’s.

The first reading of Samuel “being called by God” is a great story for us.  It has so much meaning and on many levels.  One level is the human level, the other the Divine level, and finally back to relationship.

In the Divine, it is God who reaches down to us to speak to us, i.e. God speaking to Abraham, to Moses, Jesus speaking to Paul and in today’s reading, God speaking to Samuel.  God takes the initative or makes the first move to speak to us.  It was not Samuel who called on God, nor did Abraham or Moses or Paul or anyone else make the first move, it is God who does so, “The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, ‘Here I am.’”  This calling out to us should make us feel good that God desires to be with us, that He loves us, and wishes to speak to us.

On the human level we hear God, sometimes though we do not hear or we do not understand who it is that is calling.  In Samuel’s case he was listening and responding on the human level, he heard the voice but thought it was Eli that was calling him.  The beauty here is that God does not give up on Samuel nor does He give up on us.  God called a second time and Samuel ran to Eli, “did you call me,” Eli tells the boy, “No my son, go back to bed.”  God is patient and calls a third time, it was then that Eli understood and instructed Samuel, and God called again until He could get a response from Samuel, they entered into conversation.  Samuel as many of the prophets and apostles responded, “Here I am Lord; speak for your servant is listening.”

The dialogue we have with God is like any other human conversation except that our conversation with God is Divine.  The two most important things we can take from these readings are that God wants so badly to be in relationship with us, not out of some need, but simply out of love.  We are truly made complete when we are in relationship with Him.  The second great thing here, derives from the first thing is that we can simply speak with God.  Isn't it awesome to know that our conversation with Jesus can take place anywhere and at anytime?  It doesn't matter if we are at work, on vacation, in school, getting ready for bed, not just the classic times we associate with prayer, but all the time.

Friends speak to one another often; great friends speak with each other all the time.  God desires to be our great friend and wants our relationship with Him to grow, do we want the same?  I think we do and the story of the Apostles as recorded and handed down to us in the Gospels, the stories of Abraham, Moses, and Samuel mean so much to us, though we may not be called the father of faith or a great prophet like Samuel we nevertheless have the same access to God and God loves us just like he loves them.  So if tonight, like Samuel, you hear your name called, say, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”  You just may wind up in the greatest conversation of your life.