I See You
Scripture References
1 Samuel 3:1-20
The Lord Calls Samuel
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” 15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.” 19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Flee Sexual Immorality
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
John 1:43-51
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. AMEN
I See You
I see you!… These words ring out in all of our readings today…. It reminds me of when our grandchildren come to visit. Invariably Papa gets involved in a game of hide and seek. The children’s hiding places always make me smile. I will see them behind shear curtains, under coat racks with their toes sticking out, or sitting under a table. It always makes them proud when it takes Papa awhile to say,
“I see you”!
No matter where we are at or what we are doing, our Lord can say…I see you. He saw Nathaniel when he was under a fig tree, He saw the sins of Eli’s sons, and He sees when you and I fall into sin.
We see… a couple of struggling men in today’s readings. In 1 Samuel chapter 3, Eli… the old man whose sons are running wild… as we read in verse 13, “He knew his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.”
Ely is charged with doing nothing to extinguish the corrupt priestly office of his sons… Some of us might be able to relate when a loved one is going against God’s ways… In the Gospel of John, we see Nathaniel, lounging and brooding under his fig tree, ready to defend his skepticism with his friend Philip. He tells Philip in John 1:46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Even though Jesus, the promised Messiah, was standing right in front of Nathaniel, he still couldn’t “see” Him… So, what we have here… is an old guy who has failed in discipline… and a young but tired man who questions Jesus’ invitation to follow Him.
Yet Still Blinded
Somewhere on our life journey we will find ourselves somewhere between these two situations. We become blind and deaf to the mighty deeds of God and His voice.
In our subconscious game of hide and seek, we fail to see what God has in store for us. We look at all the uncertainties around us and often ask…. “What does God have in store for me?” Right now we might find ourselves worn out from the holidays, especially as the credit card bills start pouring in; or wrestling with the continuous implications of the pandemic. We might have a hopeless feeling for many reasons and lose sight of Christ standing before us… In plain sight…
God is there for us when we are ready to “see” Him. Scripture shows us that the consequences of Eli’s judgment led to a descendant named Jeremiah who condemned idolatry, the greed of priests, and false prophets… and Nathaniel finally saw what good would come out of Nazareth when he became one of the witnesses of the resurrection. The mysterious ways God uses different people.
If you look in the mirror and all you can see is just plain ol’ Joe…. Remember, God time and time again works with ordinary people… just look at Saul who became Paul, David, Rahab, Simon Peter, Jonah… and He accomplished great things through them. I can’t help but ponder… what does God have in store for you and me?…. or does that make us want to just find a better hiding place, because that is easier.
Can we serve or volunteer at our church, our community, make a difference in someone’s spiritual life, or do we find a place to hide? As we fail in so many ways… It is easy to say…I’m busy… I am not worthy…. I am too tired… I’m, I’m, I’m… God’s promise to us is this… He will stand beside us, even to the end of the world.
Take Time To Listen
He is keeping that promise right now, no matter how old and frail, no matter how young and inexperienced, no matter what a mess we have made of things… no matter where we find ourselves between Nathanial and Eli… God has a place and purpose for you in His Kingdom.
All you need to do is slow down for a moment and listen… you will hear God say… “I see you, here I am”. Just like my grandchildren, if I take too long to “find them”, they will make a noise or something to get my attention. We are the same way; we need to be seen and found by God.
And rest assured He sees everything. He sees our sickness; He sees our good times and our bad. And just as He did for Eli and Nathaniel, He will open our eyes and we will realize He has been in plain sight the whole time.
This Epiphany is about seeing Christs presence and then in turn, revealing that same presence to others. Then behold, you will see God everywhere… where we work, in our loneliness, in our failures, in good times and in bad, and best of all, when you look in the mirror… you will see God within you.
Jesus Is Always With Us
You see… Jesus is hard at work everywhere we look and the whole world changes because of it… Sin has become sin forgiven…
The scoundrels of the world might just repent, the Scrooges of the world might just soften their heart… Jesus works in wonderful ways….
He works through our church with outreach projects sending food or supplies where needed. Through the mission of the Gideons. He works through our preschool that is reaching out in the community through educating young children… He works through going beyond missions, and more… all evidence of Christ working through us.
But then we go home and face all the difficulties and demons tugging at our faith. Hold fast to the truth, God sees us and is with us…. Our life is not a series of accidents, but a series of divine appointments made by our heavenly Father, designed to prove that He loves us and will provide for us.
That roadblock we complain about or that situation we resent may well be a window of opportunity sent by God! He is our provider, and we need to place our trust in Him.
Do Not Doubt
You will one time or another find yourself in a frightening place filled with darkness and doubt. Your fragile heart may be wondering if God knows where you are. Let me assure you my friend – He does.
Even if you cannot see Him, He can see you. And when it comes right down to it, that reassurance is great comfort when the Lord calls “ally, ally, in free” the moment when we can come out of our hiding and come home to safety.
There is a man in more recent history that questioned God’s presence. His name is Martin Luther King Jr, and tomorrow we set aside a day in his remembrance.
There was a time in his life when Martin Luther King was hearing the voice of God calling him to stand up for equality and raise the conscience of the American people. Like you and me sometimes, he was exhausted and afraid. He questioned whether God could see him.
It was at that moment that Dr King experienced the divine presence of God which gave him the courage and faith to pursue his mission.
Both Martin Luther King Jr and Samuel, even Eli & Nathanial, heard the voice of God that called them during a difficult time. These calls focused on the truth and gave hope to people in despair.
God is calling us too, to silence the noise that discourages us and sing loudly words of repentance. To broadcast messages of peace and work toward God’s purpose for our life.
Our Call
This call is a powerful thing. It begins by listening… but isn’t fully complete until we respond with our actions… lived out discipleship as we seek to follow Christ. This is what Dr King was getting at when he talked about developing a fresh attitude and a mental response to what the new situations demanded. We are also called to participate in the ongoing revolution God has going in this world. But to do so, we need to wake up and look around, and realize God sees our potential… and we cannot hide.
It is fitting that this message comes to us on the second Sunday of Epiphany where we remember the life and legacy of Dr. King. He embodied a spirit of wakeful listening, and his words and actions inspired many to listen to callings in their own life and stand up for things that will make this world a better place. Although the work is not yet finished, far from it in fact, but the truth is… it is ongoing work that we can do every day. The key for us is to pay attention, and listen for God’s plan for us, even when we least expect it, because we all have a part to play in this call for discipleship.
If you still find yourself hesitating in your own qualifications, consider the promise laid out in Psalm 139, that God knows us, intimately and deeply, and that we are, body and soul, marvelously made in the image of our creator, shaped from the inside out, ———
created to be a part of what God is doing in the world… It isn’t a journey we travel alone… God is behind us… ahead of us… around us… a “reassuring presence, coming and going” We were made for this.
And, as Christians, we know that peace and blessing can only derive from our relationship with Jesus. The more we allow Jesus to be the center of our lives, the more we know peace in our hearts. We might think that because we cannot see the hand of God or sense His presence… He is not there working within us.
Now Walk With Christ
Nothing could be further from the truth. God is always at work in our lives. Now that is real security and the cornerstone of a life of contentment.
So, the story in John and the story in Samuel today… we learn Christs presence and the nature of discipleship.
Jesus tells us as He did the disciples in John 15:16… “You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear much fruit.” We are called by him to “bear much fruit”, through our outward actions.
By intentionally growing in our walk with Christ, inviting the Holy Spirit’s work of transformation in us, and actively obeying God in all He calls us to do.
Jesus sees us, he knows everything about us and perceives our deepest needs. And when we follow him, as he says to Nathanael in verse 51, “truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened…”
Jesus Christ is, indeed, our Savior to be followed – and it is a lifetime’s work for us to live out His two simple instructions: “Follow me!” and “Come and see!”
Today, we follow.
Today, we come… and we will see.
Forever with Christ…. In eternity.
And now may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Amen.