Last week, it was disruption; this week seemed to be about interruption. Like TV ads that take me away from my favorite TV show, there are few instances when it doesn't get me steamed. God interrupts faithful servants the same way, pulling them away from their ordinary lives, sometimes in amusing ways, and bringing the word of promise, the word of the Kingdom.
In 1 Samuel 3, the call of young Samuel by God during the night confuses both the boy and his "mentor," old Eli, the Temple priest. God eventually gets through, but old Eli had to be "awakened" by the call of God, too. Sleep interruptions are the worst. Can't God bring the word during the daytime? On the Sabbath? During worship? Yes, the nighttime setting has symbolic importance, too.
The call of Philip and introduction of Nathanael to Jesus in John 1 is further indication of how God snaps us to attention. In this case, Jesus suggests that Nathanael's exuberant endorsement is only a foretaste of the sacred message that Jesus will bring, closing the seemingly unbridgeable gap between heaven and earth.
It's fitting that this comes on the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. The daily grind of racism, segregation, and denied opportunity for black folks didn't concern white folks too much. Dr. King had to interrupt the daily humdrum to bring God's word of justice, peace, and new life. Then he paid the prophet's price for faithfully serving the Lord. It's part of what King called The Drum Major Instinct, title of one oif his most famous sermons - click here for the text.
The sermon video is below, and there are links below the video panel for the downloads; sermon and Fairfielder answers.
(By the way, I made a huge mis-statement in the sermon about Ickey Woods, lately of GEICO commercial fame, saying that Ickey was a "fictitious" character. Not being a big football fan, I had no idea that Ickey Woods was indeed a pro football player, known for his end zone "Ickey Shuffle." He even has a Wikipedia page - click here. For my favorite current TV ad, the GEICO ad with the real, live Ickey Woods, click here.)
In 1 Samuel 3, the call of young Samuel by God during the night confuses both the boy and his "mentor," old Eli, the Temple priest. God eventually gets through, but old Eli had to be "awakened" by the call of God, too. Sleep interruptions are the worst. Can't God bring the word during the daytime? On the Sabbath? During worship? Yes, the nighttime setting has symbolic importance, too.
The call of Philip and introduction of Nathanael to Jesus in John 1 is further indication of how God snaps us to attention. In this case, Jesus suggests that Nathanael's exuberant endorsement is only a foretaste of the sacred message that Jesus will bring, closing the seemingly unbridgeable gap between heaven and earth.
It's fitting that this comes on the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. The daily grind of racism, segregation, and denied opportunity for black folks didn't concern white folks too much. Dr. King had to interrupt the daily humdrum to bring God's word of justice, peace, and new life. Then he paid the prophet's price for faithfully serving the Lord. It's part of what King called The Drum Major Instinct, title of one oif his most famous sermons - click here for the text.
The sermon video is below, and there are links below the video panel for the downloads; sermon and Fairfielder answers.
(By the way, I made a huge mis-statement in the sermon about Ickey Woods, lately of GEICO commercial fame, saying that Ickey was a "fictitious" character. Not being a big football fan, I had no idea that Ickey Woods was indeed a pro football player, known for his end zone "Ickey Shuffle." He even has a Wikipedia page - click here. For my favorite current TV ad, the GEICO ad with the real, live Ickey Woods, click here.)
| 01-18-15-ff-answers.pdf |
| 01-18-15-and_now_word_from_sponsor.pdf |