Scripture Lesson

From the Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 3:

¹Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. ² At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; ³the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. ⁴Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ ⁵and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. ⁶The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’

From the Book of Phillippians, Chapter 4:

⁸ Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

"Beautiful Minds"

A Sermon Preached by
The Rev. Jean Niven Lenk

at the First Congregational Church of Stoughton

United Church of Christ

Several years ago, the movie “A Beautiful Mind” won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was a film about John Nash, who was a mathematical genius, a distinguished professor at MIT, and winner of the Nobel Prize in economics. Nash had a brilliant mind. But it was also a mind afflicted by paranoid delusion. Nash’s mental illness caused him to hear voices in his head; voices which, when he listened to them, distorted his perceptions, destroyed his relationships, and played into his darkest fears. Nash began to recover when he was able to distinguish which voices to listen to, and which voices to ignore.

I suspect that, in one way or another, we all hear voices. Some of them are distorted and destructive, speaking thoughts of envy and resentment and fear. Some of them are healthy and strong; they speak words of love and truth. And like Nash, we have to decide which ones we are going to listen to, because those are the voices that will shape our lives.

God is one of those voices we hear, because it is in our minds that we live in conscious awareness of, and interaction with, God. And the challenge for us is to cultivate the kind of mind that can distinguish God’s voice from all the others and follow that voice, for doing so will shape our lives.

Consider the following scenarios.

Two people suffer from cancer. One becomes bitter and despairing while the other is a beacon of hope to the people around them. Their cancer is the same. The difference is in their minds.

Two people live with meager financial resources. One of them is consumed by envy and discontent; the other is radiant with gratitude and servanthood. Their net worth is the same. The difference is in their minds.

Two people reach the top of their organizations. One uses power selfishly and for control; the other uses it to enhance the lives of everyone in the community. Their titles are the same. The difference is in their minds.

We all hear voices. But it’s hard to hear God’s voice, isn’t it? So hard, in fact, that we may sometimes think God has stopped speaking to us. It is perhaps not unlike the times in which young Samuel was growing up. In the first verse of this morning’s Scripture lesson, we read, “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.”

Samuel grew up in the temple caring for the aging High Priest Eli, as fulfillment of a promise his mother Hannah had made to God years before, when she was childless. She had promised God that if she were blessed with a son, she would dedicate his life to God.

Hannah’s prayers were answered, and she gave birth to Samuel. And when he was weaned at age three, she followed through on her promise, taking him to the temple in Shiloh and entrusting him to Eli’s care.

One night, when he is about 12 years old, Samuel helps old Eli to bed and then turns in himself. As he is drifting off to sleep, he thinks he hears someone call his name. "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel jumps up and runs to Eli. "Did you call me?" he asks. "No, I didn't call you," says Eli. "Go back to bed." So Samuel goes back to bed, but can’t sleep.

Then he hears the voice again; "Samuel! Samuel!" This time he is sure it must be Eli, and he runs to him. "No, I didn't call you," says old Eli. "Go back to bed." And again Samuel goes back to bed.

But then, a third time, Samuel hears a voice calling him, and for a third time he runs to Eli. By now, Eli is wide awake too, and even though the aging priest’s eyesight is poor, he is still able to discern the Lord’s presence. Eli says, “Samuel, I think maybe God is trying to talk to you. The next time you hear your name being called, say, 'Here I am. Your servant is listening.'"

So Samuel goes back to bed – and sure enough, he hears that voice again. "Samuel! Samuel!" And that is when everything changes for the young boy. Our scripture passage tells us that Samuel “did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” But this is the moment when everything changes, the pivotal moment of Samuel’s life – not just because he hears God voice, but –more importantly – because of how he responds to it. Samuel tells God, "Here I am. Your servant is listening."

Consider this scenario: Two people live in a universe where God is always present. One of them decides that, in the words of Psalm 10 [4], “in my thoughts there is no room for God.” The other says, like Samuel, “Speak, Lord for your servant is listening,” and hears God’s voice. God’s offer of availability is the same. The difference is in their minds, because that is where being with God primarily takes place.

Throughout history, people who walked with God have insisted that they hear his voice. They have learned, so to speak, to program their minds to be constantly receiving the “divine channel.” So the question for us is: how do we make our mind the beautiful kind of place where God can dwell? How do we cultivate the kind of mind that is receptive to God’s presence and voice?

First, to better know the mind of God, we must know God, we must develop a relationship with God. We do that by reading the bible – which helps us better understand God and the story of God’s people. We do it by praying – developing a personal relationship with God by opening our hearts and speaking directly with God, sharing honestly what is deep in our hearts. And we do it by worship – renewing and deepening our relationships with God and each other by coming together as a family of faith for fellowship, communion and prayer.

If being with God is something that takes place primarily in our thoughts, in our mind, then every thought holds the promise of carrying us into God’s presence. Every thought we have can also turn us away from God. Let me give you an example: a few months ago, I was leaving here after a long day and an evening meeting that ran late. I was looking forward to going home, having a bite to eat, and settling into bed. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I checked my cell phone, and noticed that I had missed a call from someone who left a phone message. The number was one I did not recognize, and it was not from Stoughton, so I decided I would put off listening to the message until the next day. I was turning away from God. But as I drove along, a thought kept nagging me: “I should listen to that message. I should listen to that message.” Finally, as I approached Cobb’s Corner, I pulled over and did just that. I was turning back toward God. The message turned out to be from someone who desperately needed help that night. Within seconds, I was turning around and heading toward the person’s home. I have no doubt that was God speaking to me, telling me to listen to that phone message, telling me to listen to God’s message. And I have often wondered since: what if I hadn’t listened to God’s voice? What if I had turned away from God instead?

Our job is to say “yes” every time we believe that God is speaking to us. Every time we say, “No, I’m not stopping, I’m too tired, I’ll wait until tomorrow,” we make ourselves a little less likely to hear God in the future. But every time we do say yes, our mind becomes a little more receptive, a little more attuned to God’s “channel”; we get a little more sensitive to hearing God’s voice the next time. And when we do, we have begun to make our mind a beautiful home for Jesus.

The Apostle Paul’s message in this morning’s epistle lesson is that we must rid our minds of those things that turn us away from God, and instead fill our minds with the kinds of things God says are important: “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Paul knew that whatever repeatedly enters and occupies the mind, eventually shapes the mind, and will ultimately express itself in what we do and who we become.

And we if open our minds to let God in, if we make in our thoughts room for God, if we allow our thoughts to carry us into the presence of God, then we will be able to hear God’s voice; we will create a beautiful mind, and a welcoming dwelling place for Jesus. Amen.

This sermon is inspired by John Ortberg, God Is Closer than You Think, “Chapter 5: A Beautiful Mind” (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), pp. 83-101.