Sermon
March 1-2, 2008
1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; John 9:1-13, 28-38
Obedience
Hillary T. West
In February of 1862, at the battle of Donelson, in Tennessee, the confederate army, lacking reinforcements, exhausted, and uncertain as to how to retreat or advance, agreed to surrender to the Union ranks under the leadership of Ulysees S. Grant. Simon Buckner, suddenly in command of the defeated troops, requested the terms for surrender. Grant firmly replied, “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.” With that, the southern troops relinquished their hold and yielded to the possession of Grant’s army.
Giving it all up; turning over our power; acknowledging that we do not have control… surrendering. Sometimes we call this obedience. Obedience is our willingness to submit to the authority of another; complying to a specific command.
We’re supposed to obey certain rules, laws, because it’s for the good of the larger cause. We obey traffic laws to limit the incidents of auto accidents. We obey other civil laws to keep order and safety. Kids are supposed to obey their parents. God tells us that in the fifth commandment. But, sometimes, my guess is, that when, we hear the word, “obedience,” it doesn’t go over well. We’re not comfortable submitting, falling to the will of another. We’re an independent people. We like thinking that we can take care of ourselves and everything around us as well. We think we’re in control.
Also, we resist obedience because, we want to be careful about who and what we obey. I imagine there isn’t one of us here who hasn’t regretted a certain time when we submitted to the will of another; wished we had made another choice; wished we hadn’t succumbed to an influence that has been harmful or hurtful. Obedience, is not healthy when genuine love and compassion are not part of the equation. So, it’s very possible that we can have mixed emotions about how we respond to the idea of obedience.
What if we were to look at obedience through a different lens? In Hebrew, the word for obey is shema, and it means to listen, to hear with special attention, to strive to understand. Shema is an action verb. So, we listen, specifically to God, and then we’re to act on what we hear. “Hear,” Moses tells the Israelites, “and respond by loving God with all our hearts, and all our souls and all our strength; do everything with the love of God at the center; tell one another about God’s love; write it down, remember how much God loves us, keep this love constant, and always on the tip of our tongues. This is what God means by obedience. Love God, trust in God, let God be in control and extraordinary things will happen. This is also how the prophet Samuel understands obedience in today’s reading.
Early in his life Samuel is called by God to be a mouthpiece, arms and legs for God. He dedicates his life to God, ruling Israel, and prophesying for God. But, Israel believes it has control over how they should be as a nation. And, they want a great king. We have a loving God. So, God complies and Samuel is called to anoint the first king of Israel, Saul. Sadly, though, Saul fails to obey God and he looses favor. Under God’s direction, eventually Samuel seeks out a new king. Samuel lives in fear that Saul will learn of his change of allegiance and seek his death. In his love for God, and at great risk for his own safety, Samuel obeys. He travels from Ra’mah to Bethlehem to meet with Jesse, the father of David. We hear what we want to hear, don’t we; and we see what we want to see. As Jesse’s oldest son approaches, Samuel is convinced that he has set eyes on the newest king. No, God tells Samuel. Nor is the new king the tallest or the handsomest. Seven sons file past Samuel and God tells him that the king is not among these young men. Finally, Jesse is asked to bring his youngest son, David, in from the fields, a shepherd, tending the sheep. “This is the one,” God tells Samuel. The Spirit of God comes upon David as Samuel anoints him. Having obeyed God’s will, Samuel returns to his home town. He doesn’t question the unlikely choice God has made. Instead, my guess is, that Samuel is rejoicing in how God reveals God’s great glory and wonders in ways we can only imagine. Samuel, happily obeys.
Now, there’s more to this obedience. We can, through our obedience to God, be set free, be released from our burdens. In John’s gospel today, Jesus heals a blind man. Healing in the gospel of John is more about alleviating pain and suffering than eliminating sickness. It’s a healing that restores an outcast to the norms of society. Healing that tells us we belong, that we matter. We know that the man, a beggar, has been blind from birth. There is some belief that he suffers the consequences of the sinful acts of his parents. The man’s blindness is not the absence of light; but rather the presence of dark that comes from shame and dishonor. The blind man lives with darkness upon his heart; all see the pain of his darkness as it emanates from his eyes. But, even in our places of darkness, God works to restore us to wholeness. The blind man isn’t fully certain of who Jesus is. But, he chooses to obey. Jesus spits on the ground and mixes a traditional paste of dirt and saliva; he places the mud on his eyes. “Go,” Jesus commands. The man responds. He washes at the pool of Siloam and returns, seeing. Jesus, as the light of the world, restores his sight and brings him new life, new possibilities, hope. Surrendering to Jesus, the man is set free, to believe, and to see God’s saving grace at work.
Early in the 6th century Benedict of Nursia finds the chaos of the fallen Roman Empire troublesome and plagued with turmoil. Benedict is in love with God. He craves a life closer to God. He establishes a monastery, just south of Rome where people can come to escape from the self gratifying life styles of the time. All who come to live in the Benedictine community agree to a way of life, an order of life that centers on God. Benedict bases this rule of life on three vows still faithfully honored today. Stability, a willingness to hang in there and deepen relationships with God and with one another; being open to change, transformation to a new life; and, perhaps the most important, making a concerted effort to listen, to hear God and obey God’s call. Now, we don’t have to live in a Benedictine community to follow Benedict’s wisdom on stability, transformation and obedience. These are practices we can adopt in our every day lives right here and now. Benedict tells us over and over again, that the vow of obedience is based on love. A love given to us from God in Jesus Christ. A love that promises peace, and joy for each of us. You see, Jesus is in love with us. He so desires to be in relationship with us. To share in his love through his life and death and to live eternally in his love through in his resurrection. It’s a love that surpasses all love.
But, even with so great a love encompassing us, all of us may not be 100% excited about a life of obedience. But, consider the challenge. Benedict has some suggestions about what it might look like to obey; to completely give it over to Jesus; to relinquish our need to control; to be unencumbered with those pieces that prevent us from freely loving God and loving one another.
So, first, we trust in God’s love; live knowing that we are in the very presence of God. Our every action, every step, is God within us, surrounding us. We breathe the very breath of God. We listen as God listens, with a loving heart; full of compassion and kindness. We are goodness. So, we live, loving God. But, we don’t live in a vacuum. We live in community. So, the other discipline of obedience is practicing it. Responding; putting on the mind of Christ, looking not for our own interests, but the interests of others.
So, let me tell you a little bit about Bernie. Bernie is a faithful man who also was in love with God. So, Bernie took a vow of silence and a discipline of simplicity and entered a Trappist monastery. Bernie was very extraverted, full of energy and never at a loss for words; and Bernie shared the gift of hospitality. He loved helping people enjoy life. In an effort to discipline his excitement and energy, Bernie was assigned the task of chief cook at the monastery. Challenged by the task, and desirous of pleasing God through his community, Bernie became a master at cooking and serving delicious meals for the brothers and guests. Bernie knew no strangers in his life. Every visitor to the monastery always had their tiniest needs met, thanks to Bernie. Guests left feeling appreciated and valued through his gracious and generous hospitality. When a retired abbot came to live at the monastery, Bernie welcomed him with a specially prepared meal of all his favorite dishes. And, at Thanksgiving, the retired abbot was touched by a favorite song of his that Bernie played on the piano. Just weeks following the Thanksgiving celebration, Bernie was walking to the dry cleaners to have the abbot’s vestments cleaned when he suddenly dropped dead. The community was devastated at the news.
Just days later, the abbot, riding in the car to the funeral, was asked if he wanted to hear from Bernie again. Startled, the abbot, of course remarked, “yes.” The driver popped into the player a cassette, and there was the voice of Bernie, singing out the tune he had so loved at Thanksgiving. The abbot reflected, “how did Bernie know this would mean so much to me?” Remembering this man, who lived a life of joyful obedience, the abbot commented, “I never knew anyone who resembled sunshine more than this man. No one ever loved life so genuinely and consented to its goodness so unreservedly. That’s obedience…”accepting everything that God wants us to accept and letting go of everything that God wants us to let go of.” (Thomas Keating, Invitation to Love).
Benedict says obedience is a waking up. We’re aware and alert to what is happening around us. We put others before ourselves. Not thinking about what we think others should be doing. But, rather, what can we do for others, to help them know God’s love. In this obedience to others, we’re not denying ourselves. But, rather, we’re discovering the true value of who we are in Christ. When we let go of our own needs to meet the needs of others, we let go of jealousy and resentment and competition to make room for joy and celebration at how much God loves us.
This morning we sang My Cup Runneth Over, Keith’s beautiful rendition of Psalm 23. Often this is a Psalm we only hear at funerals. But, we’re reminded that it’s a psalm calling us to be obedient; calling us to actively hear; to listen for how God works in us; turning to Jesus, trusting in how he leads us. Surrender to his love, the psalmist suggests, as he restores us and equips us. He pursues us and overtakes us with his goodness and mercy. In him, we are anointed and our cup runs over with his love for us. In him, we are meant to dwell.
We are the ones. Let God’s works be revealed in us. Amen.
