Meditation 243
1 Samuel 16: 1-13
In some ways Samuel’s’ ministry is like the ministry of those of us who are following God in the twenty-first century. There have been societal changes and changes to the way congregations are organized. We can be grieving for what used to be, as Samuel was grieving over Saul. Samuel had been the one who was directed by God to anoint Saul to be king. The actual anointing was a private moment when Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head and said “The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around.” (1 Samuel 10: 1b) In the beginning of Saul’s reign he listened to the word of the Lord and followed it, but then he began to act to further his own interests. God told Samuel that he (God) was sorry that Saul was king and Samuel grieved over what Saul had become. There was probably also a grief over the hopes that Samuel had for Saul as king and for the possibilities for the kingdom under Saul’s reign. Similarly, we can find ourselves grieving for a time when congregational life was more settled and well regarded, but just as God wanted Samuel to stop grieving over what would no longer be, so God asks the same of us.
Samuel was directed to go and anoint the next king and as he was looking upon the young men who he thought were candidates, he was given this piece of wisdom. “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (verse 7) Samuel would be directed by God to anoint the next king, and the qualities of that king would be qualities that God saw by looking into the heart. Samuel followed God’s leading, he accepted that the time of Saul was at its end, he listened to God, and David was anointed.
Those of us who love God and want to serve God find ourselves trying to discern the direction God has for us. We may be asking what does it mean to be a faithful believer in a post-modern, pandemic world? We may be worried about whether or not we will be able to resume congregational life as it was. The more helpful questions could be, where is God directing us to serve? Have we been faithful to what God is asking of us? How have people seen that we are living the gospel? What will emerge for the life of the church of Jesus Christ will be different than what we knew growing up. Just as God asked Samuel to stop grieving over what could not be, so God asks the same of us. The message we had yesterday in Psalm 23 was that with God we do not want, and that God leads us in good and safe places. As we go forward in 2021, we may do so under the protection of God and with confidence that God wants what is good for us.