Eli’s sons were corrupt. Like some modern-day politicians who are more interested in promoting themselves and enjoying the power of position, priests Hophni and Phinehas abused their power by skimming the offerings to satisfy their own gluttony and took sexual advantage of the women who came to them for help. Their apostasy would eventually catch up with them, resulting in their demise, yet despite their chicanery, God’s call was received by a new priest and prophet, to address corruption and help steer Israel toward shalom:
The boy Samuel was serving GOD under Eli's direction. This was at a time when the revelation of GOD was rarely heard or seen. One night Eli was sound asleep (his eyesight was very bad—he could hardly see). It was well before dawn; the sanctuary lamp was still burning. Samuel was still in bed in the Temple of GOD, where the Chest of God rested.
Then GOD called out, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Yes? I'm here." Then he ran to Eli saying, "I heard you call. Here I am."
Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." And so he did.
GOD called again, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel got up and went to Eli, "I heard you call. Here I am."
Again Eli said, "Son, I didn't call you. Go back to bed." (This all happened before Samuel knew GOD for himself. It was before the revelation of GOD had been given to him personally.)
GOD called again, "Samuel!"—the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, "Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am."
That's when it dawned on Eli that GOD was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, "Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, 'Speak, GOD. I'm your servant, ready to listen.'" Samuel returned to his bed.
Then GOD came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, "Samuel! Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak. I'm your servant, ready to listen."
GOD said to Samuel, "Listen carefully. I'm getting ready to do something in Israel that is going to shake everyone up and get their attention. The time has come for me to bring down on Eli's family everything I warned him of, every last word of it. I'm letting him know that the time's up. I'm bringing judgment on his family for good. He knew what was going on, that his sons were desecrating God's name and God's place, and he did nothing to stop them. This is my sentence on the family of Eli: The evil of Eli's family can never be wiped out by sacrifice or offering."
Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then rose early and went about his duties, opening the doors of the sanctuary, but he dreaded having to tell the vision to Eli.
But then Eli summoned Samuel: "Samuel, my son!"
Samuel came running: "Yes? What can I do for you?"
"What did he say? Tell it to me, all of it. Don't suppress or soften one word, as God is your judge! I want it all, word for word as he said it to you."
So Samuel told him, word for word. He held back nothing.
Eli said, "He is GOD. Let him do whatever he thinks best."
Samuel grew up. GOD was with him, and Samuel's prophetic record was flawless. Everyone in Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, recognized that Samuel was the real thing—a true prophet of GOD. GOD continued to show up at Shiloh, revealed through his word to Samuel at Shiloh. – 1 Samuel 3:1-21 (MSG)
Recall that a similar call was issued, received, and accepted by Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure, each in their own time and context. The Church had become corrupted by the Empire that formed it, and over time the leaders reflected Hophni and Phinehas more than Jesus. The call of God is always toward shalom and not its opposite. Since God experiences time with us in history, God necessarily is ever-new, always affected by the unfolding of history which includes our choices to respond favorably to God (and/or not). As Epperly notes:
This same divine call centers all creation, moment by moment, and life by life. Creatures sing in unison with God, fulfilling God’s vision for their lives on land, sea, and air. God’s creative power in the world is invitational, not coercive. We can say no to God or embody God’s call in our own unique way. Neither our negativity nor our digressions nullify God’s loving care. God continues to invite us toward fulfillment through service and compassion, regardless of our responses. As Bonaventure notes, “God’s power is God’s humility; God’s strength is God’s weakness; God’s greatness is God’s lowliness.” (Simplicity, Spirituality, and Service, 26)
Martin Luther King, Jr., also received a call to rebuild the Church, which had also conformed more to the culture than it transformed it. Growing into his role as an American Baptist Pastor in the segregated South, he became the primary leader combatting racial discrimination with nonviolent direct action, leading people to bus boycotts and marches of civil disruption in an effort to draw attention to the tension created by an unjust, white-supremacist society. Personally involved in some of the targeted marches, he was arrested multiple times. On one such occasion he penned – in the margins of a newspaper! – his well-known Letter from a Birmingham Jail, where he wrote:
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere in this country (King, 81).
In the second half of his letter, he responds to his critics – white clergy – who were critical of his methodology. King had to make the case for nonviolence: “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue (King, 83).” Just as we say that we must proclaim, promote, and pursue shalom with shalom, King noted that “over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek (King, 99).” Nonetheless, his white critics wished he would let time do its work, be less radical, and essentially cause less disruption. But King realized that such criticism was coming from those who had never shared his experience – or that of those resembling him for hundreds of years. Tragically, he called them out for their apathy in a time of such blatant immorality and illegality on the part of the church, the justice system, the police, and the culture at large. His vision was based in a sober realism:
“History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals. We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed (King, 84-85).”
The stories of Samuel, Francis, Clare, Bonaventure, and Martin Luther King coalesce into some penetrating questions for me, and I think for all of us. The Ever-New God is ever-calling us as individuals and as a collective to embrace shalom as our end and means.
Where is the lack of shalom hitting your radar?
Where is the lack of shalom hitting your neighbor?
How are you hearing and heeding the call to shalom?
I am embarrassed to say that for too long I was deaf to the call of shalom in meaningful ways, cocooned by the privilege into which I was born. White and middle class, I was largely unaware and frankly uninterested in the plight of those who were not me. I temper my self-criticism with the knowledge that the human experience includes (hopefully) maturity where such things gradually or rapidly or both come to our attention. Ideally, when we are aware of the plight of our human brothers and sisters, our hearts break and we respond with love in myriad ways. I wish I had been less gradual.
It is what it is. I cannot change my past. Yet I can choose a different future that is more responsive to shalom’s call to see, hear, inquire, and respond with love toward love. I can choose to spend time understanding what King was experiencing – and what many still do experience. I can choose to believe them. I can choose to offer my voice, my prayers, my time, my resources to rebuild the church of collective humanity.
May we all be more open to seeing our complicity with systems of oppression.
May we all be more willing to repent of the sin of complacency.
May we all be more valiant in following the Spirit’s call toward shalom, with shalom.
FRESH PRAYER:
Heart of the Universe, thank you for the wonder of creation and the wonder of my own life. Help me to pay attention to the world in which I live. Help me to share the wonders of life in words of gratitude and acts of kindness. Help me to see beauty everywhere and be the embodiment of beauty, bringing beauty and healing to every situation. Let my heart beat with your heart, feeling your joy and pain, and companioning with you in healing the world. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Practices to Implement
Opening to God In this spiritual practice, reflect on the Franciscan affirmation “God and all things.” As you begin your day, make a commitment to attend to God’s presence throughout the day. Whether eating or working, talking with a friend or family member, walking, or driving, watching television, or interacting on social media, train your attention to God’s presence.
When you become distracted, bring yourself back to your intention by taking a deep breath and repeating “God and all things.” Pay attention to the God-moments of your life, those events in which God seems more present than at other times. In these God-moments, deeply open to the messages you may be receiving from God’s Spirit moving through your spirit. Align yourself, with divine humility, to the moral and spiritual arcs of God as they flow through your life to those around you. (30-31)
Franciscan spirituality is relational. We are constantly shaping the lives of others by our decisions and commitments. God and others are constantly influencing the quality of our own lives. We make a difference to God and God makes a difference to us, providing guidance, insight, and inspiration in every moment. God’s presence is inspirational and invitational. Accordingly, in the Franciscan spirit, God’s initiative supports and expands our own personal agency. God wants to be as free and creative as possible in terms of our impact on those around us. We are, as St. Teresa of Avila counsels, the hands, feet, and heart of God. We can, as St. Teresa of Calcutta asserts, “do something beautiful for God.” Throughout the day, in your conversations, interactions, and digital communications, make a commitment to add beauty to the universe. Make a commitment to add beauty to God’s life and the lives of all creatures. (31)