A long time ago, when I was at university reading for my first degree, tutors communicated with students by leaving hand-written messages in their pigeon holes. As a student I communicated with friends at other universities by letter or telephone.
Fast forward to almost a decade later when I went to theological college and the system was of course entirely different. In this time email had taken over and hardly anyone used anything other than email. As a result communication was much more immediate and relationships could grow more quickly and yet at one step removed.
In this evening’s readings we hear, indirectly, about two societies that are changing and coming to understand God, and the way that he might communicate with us, in new ways:
Samuel lived through a point of transition in the history of Israel. In his life time Israel moved from a being a tribal society governed by judges to one ruled by kings. God seems to be communicating in a new way to his people and Samuel, as someone who listens to God’s call, even though he does not, at this stage, understand what it is, is at the centre of this change.
We hear how Samuel serving in the temple, is awoken, by the voice of God. He does not recognise who might be calling him and assumes it is Eli. Eli tells him to return to sleep and this scenario is repeated three times until Eli suggests it might be God who is calling Samuel. So even though God is taking Samuel into a whole new world with a political system which will leave Eli behind Samuel, in fact needs Eli’s help to learn to listen to God:
In the midst of political upheaval the old system, represented by Eli, nevertheless informs Samuel’s ability to discern the voice and will of God.
The Corinthian community of the early church was similarly living through a period of transition when people were recognising Jesus Christ as God’s communication, or gift, to the world.
In tonight’s NT reading we hear of a group of people struggling to understand the significance of this divine communication and how this may be worked out in community. Or rather, perhaps this is the problem; they have not fully understood that the spiritual gifts which they seek so enthusiastically are worth nothing if they do not build up the community.
Paul argues that true spirituality exists in love of our neighbour. This love is made manifest in a person’s attempts to support and nourish the diverse body of Christ. Uninterpreted tongues benefit no one as, whilst it is a manifestation of the Spirit, no one, apart from the gifted speaker, can understand.
Paul shows the Corinthians that they are misguided in their enthusiasm for these new spiritual gifts. He urges them instead to see that they are being called to integrate these new-found expressions of a relationship with God with the call to be faithful as a community and truly loving towards one another.
Of course, the challenge that faces the community at Corinth has not gone away. We are still in the process of becoming the Body of Christ on earth and understanding what that means in each new culture and age.
Last week I attended a seminar for Curates in the Diocese of London led by Jane Williams, the wife of Rowan. She inspired and challenged us as she spoke about the need for prayer. Her starting point was that in prayer we say something about God; in fact, we are making a doctrinal statement. So prayer is not just about developing our personal relationship with God, although it includes this of course. It serves to communicate who and what God is. Through public prayer we are presenting our theology in miniature. Potentially it becomes an important part of mission and outreach.
So when we pray it is not only about what we feel, our emotion, but what and how we think about God. In this way her comments echoed those of Paul’s in tonight’s reading.
Using the example of public intercessory prayer we might ask ourselves what it is we say about God when we make our petitions. In churches across the country prayers are said calling for an end to violence in Iraq, but are we asking God to intervene and sort the situation out, as if he is some very big and wise politician?
In so doing we are implying that God is like a larger version of ourselves. We are also drawing a picture of God who is our protective shield against a world that is horrific and violent.
But of course prayer doesn’t provide a protective shield against the world, nor do we change God’s mind, or make God see the world differently through praying to Him. Rather in prayer we present the world to God and we allow ourselves to be changed.
So it is in and through prayer that we change and yes, God does see the world differently, but that is because the world is a different place simply because we are engaged in prayer.
In prayer we present God to the world and are seeking to build up the Body of Christ. This is obvious when we think of public intercession, but we also, indirectly, reveal something of God to the people around us through our private prayer.
For it is in and through personal prayer that we are nourished to become the disciples who present God to the world in the lives that we lead rather than the words we use. We are called to pursue prayer in a way which will make us into the Body of Christ and live out his mission in the world.
Some of the prayers that we say this evening are prayers that have been repeated for hundreds of years; they are drawing on centuries of tradition. In this way they are informed by the past- just as Samuel is informed by the aged Eli- but they are new because they are spoken now in this context and they prepare us for a different future and ultimately for the time when we will take our place in the Kingdom of God.
Amen
Sarah Eynstone