Sermon for the 14th of January - Second Sunday after Epiphany

The priest Eli, his two sons Hofni and Phinehas versus Prophet Samuel, a coal merchant, and an employee of a computer company.

I will explain why today’s first reading has led to me considering what lessons we can take from these six people.

But first I want to briefly mention why I have chosen to preach on the first reading..

The call of Samuel and the call of Philip and Nathaniel.

Both descriptions are so real, that it is as if they are recorded from exact memory.

It would be very easy to choose to preach about Philip and Nathaniel - because it is through testimonies such as theirs, that we recognise Jesus as our Saviour and have a New Covenant with God

But what does this mean for the Covenants we read of in the Old Testament, covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses.  Some prefer to call it the Old Testament the Hebrew Bible - since the word “Old” can have connotations of being outdated and being of little value. It puts Christians at risk of sounding anti- Semitic, and there is enough of that around now. So it be known as the Hebrew Bible.

It is the Hebrew Bible that gives us an understanding of Philip’s starment to Nathaniel:

“We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote.”

And there are many life lessons to be learnt from the Hebrew Bible

In today’s reading, the lectionary give us a choice of extending the reading from Samuel to include God telling Samuel that he is going to punish the house of Eli, because his sons were blaspheming against God, and Eli did not restrain them. I decided we should have this extended version.

It is all too easy for Church members to neglect and risk extinguishing from our memories, the stories from the Hebrew Bible.

So, to misquote Ecclesiasticus, let us today remember two infamous men and the father that begat them. The father Eli and his two abominable sons, Hofni and Phinehas.

We have Eli - the picture of Eli on the cover of our service sheet, gives the impression of a benign man - everyone’s favourite uncle.

So what about his two out of control sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They too were priests, but they treated offerings to the Lord at the temple with contempt. They lay with the women who ministered at the gate to the tent of meeting. Eli was aware of their behaviour and asked them to desist. But they ignored him. A stranger comes to Eli and tells him that because of his sons’ behaviour, Eli’s linage will be ended. A battle takes place between the Philistines and Israelites at which both sons are killed on the same day. On receiving this news, combined with the fact that the Ark of the Covenant had also been captured by the Philistines, Eli fell backwards and broke his neck and died. Phinehas’ wife goes into premature labour and also dies.

You may recall in our reading that Samuel had received word from God that this would happen, and he had told Eli.

Eli had listened to Samuel in a manner that he failed to do when the same message from the unknown visitor. Samuel is an example of telling truth to power but also recognition by an aged priest, of the divine qualities of young Samuel;

And here I would mention possible parallels with Simeon encountering the baby Jesus in the Temple.

Just as Simeon, could say, “Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,” so Eli, perhaps having suffered years of abuse from his sons, sensed release and can say “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”

Samuel is God’s messenger. He has courage to tell the truth - passing on the most unpalatable message; and so it will be throughout his life. A sort of divine whistle-blower.

Why is the story of Eli, Samuel and Phinehas and Hofni important?

It is a reminder of the importance of not allowing evil things to fester as Eli had, and to take action when confronted by them.

It is a reminder of having courage to not be afraid of telling the truth, even if it is to much more powerful forces.

In the current day two examples come to my mind, one from fiction, and one from a very topical subject.

Some of you might have read a short story by Claire Keegan called Small Things Like These.
Its set in an Irish town in the winter of 1985. A local coal merchant, Bill Furlong witnesses something in the local convent and associated laundry. He realises that, given the power of the Catholic church in the community, if he acts to remedy the situation, it will have profound negative consequences for his business and family, not least on his daughters who attend the local school run by the Catholic church. And if Bill doesn’t act, it will have profound consequences for his conscience, and he will not be able to live with himself. He decides he must live with a clear conscience. Do read this book if you haven’t already.

I expect I am not alone in having watched the TV series Mr Bates versus the Post Office. A key moment in turning the tide of miscarriage of justice, is when an ex-Fujitsu employee had the courage to come forward to say that the Horizon computer system had flaws and could be accessed remotely by Fujitsu to amend information without Post Office counter users knowing.

The prophet Samuel, the priest Eli, the coal merchant Mr Furlong, and the Fujitsu whistle-blower have much to teach us. We ask that as the body of Christ, we hear his voice, as Samuel heard the voice of God,
that we are alert to the word of scripture in the Hebrew Bible
and are given the courage to stand against injustice.