Do you have a dream?
Thirty-one hundred years ago there was a woman named Hannah who had a dream. She wanted a child. God heard her prayers, and she gave birth to a son named Samuel.
You’d expect Hannah would want Samuel always with her as he grew up. But Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord and left him to grow up in the temple at Shiloh. Clearly, Hannah’s dream of a son was not just for her; she gave birth to a great leader who would rule her people with wisdom.
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. Tomorrow is his birthday. We’ve all heard at least part of his famous speech where he described his dream before hundreds of thousands of people gathered before the Lincoln Memorial. His dream was of a nation where everyone was considered equal, despite the color of their skin.
In the summer of 1965, a young 26-year-old Episcopal seminarian named Jonathan Daniels also had a dream to be ordained a priest. He once explained why he decided to become a priest.
Jonathan recalled a vision of a prophet long ago, Isaiah. Isaiah, feeling himself unworthy, had heard the Lord saying “Whom shall I send?” And Isaiah heard himself say, “Here am I. Send me.” Jonathan made that answer his own.
Moved by the message of Dr. King, Jonathan Daniels found himself called by God to participate in Dr. King’s March on Selma, and after that to rural Alabama, where he was arrested for protesting segregation with a Catholic priest and two African-Americans. Six days later, as they were released from jail, the Catholic priest, Richard Morrisroe, and Jonathan were shot by an angry white man. Morrisroe survived; Jonathan Daniels died a martyr as he shielded a 17-year-old girl with his own body. The killer was acquitted by an all-white jury and lived free to the ripe old age of 86.
If I were to ask you what your dream is, would you describe a house, or a car, or a vacation, or a job? Or would your dream be for others? The dreams of Isaiah, Hannah, Samuel, Dr. King and Jonathan Daniels were for something beyond themselves. They hungered for the building up of the Kingdom of God in their own lives.
In today’s reading Eli comes off as pretty wise. But he was far from a good priest for much of his life. He ridiculed Samuel’s mother Hannah as she prayed for a child. He raised two spoiled sons whom he installed as priests, only to have them dishonor God and rip off the people.
The young Samuel looks up to Eli. He has no idea Eli is a corrupt priest. But when the voice calls out in the night, “Samuel, Samuel,” and Samuel comes to Eli to respond: “Here I am,” even Eli can tell that something wonderful is happening here. Following Eli’s advice, Samuel responds to the Lord the third time: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
“Here I am.” In Hebrew, hineini. In Jewish tradition this response entails a complete and absolute subjection to the will of the one who called out. Hineini means not only “here I am,” but also “I am ready. I am here to do your will. Send me.”
This was how Abraham responded when God called his name. Jacob’s son Joseph responded in this way to his father, as did Samuel when he thought Eli was calling him in the temple of the Lord. “Hineini,” said Isaiah. “Hineini,” said Dr. King. “Hineini,” said Jonathan Daniels.
And what about you? Have you heard God calling you? Perhaps inviting you to do something?
It’s interesting that Samuel first thought that it was Eli calling him in the night. He didn’t recognize God’s voice. As the verse before today’s reading tells us:
During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, the word of the LORD was scarce and visions infrequent.
You could say that about our own time, when visions are infrequent. We have so few visionaries to guide us. Who today is like Dr. King, guiding our nation in the paths of justice?
How do we respond to the call of God in the night? The call is rarely definitive. It rarely outlines an exact plan of action, a specific demand. It merely asks that we be ready to do what is needed, and to watch for the right moment.
In today’s gospel we see this sort of call. Andrew and an unnamed disciple of John encounter Jesus and follow him.
“What are you looking for?” Jesus asks them when they begin to follow him.
We can see them sort of taken aback. They look at each other at a loss for words. Finally one of them responds with another question: “Where are you staying?”
Maybe that’s the best hineini we can muster. And you know what? That’s just fine. Maybe we just need to sit with the Lord for a while and listen. He will let us see the dream that is meant for each of us. Then we can understand a little better what we meant when we responded: Here I am.
Readings: 1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 and John 1:35-42
