New leaders for new times

The Bible is full of stories about leadership transition. There is plenty of hero worship in the Bible. Some of the figure of our people’s past have taken on larger than life images in the telling and retelling of their stories. Moses, the great prophet and leader who is remembered for the Exodus from Egypt and his leadership of the people through forty years of wandering in the wilderness is said to have wanted to continue leading the people even at the end of his life. One of the stories that is not in the Bible, but is often told is about how Moses tried to bargain with God for a longer life up until the very end, when he died before he entered the promised land. Joshua, his successor, was the one to lead Israel across the river.

The reading from the Hebrew Scriptures for today, from the first book of Samuel, about the call of Samuel, is a story about a transition in leadership. Eli had a vision for the temple and its leadership. He imagined that his sons would take up the mantle of leadership in the next generation and that his family would become one of the families in Israel that provided multiple generations of leadership like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Eli’s sons, however, didn’t display the faith and leadership that was required by the times. The Bible reports that they were blaspheming God and the Eli did nothing to retain them. It is not uncommon for the second generation of leadership to abuse the privilege of their position. The people often reject leaders who come into power by benefit of their birth rather than by demonstration of leadership.

However things played out, the story of Samuel begins with Eli needing to receive the message that his vision of the future is not God’s will and that new leadership is going to emerge through God’s plan. It is a message that would be difficult for anyone to deliver. It is likely that there were plenty of people around the temple who could see that change was inevitable and that Eli’s sons just didn’t have what it takes to assume leadership. No one, however, had the courage to stand up to the powerful priest and tell him to his face that the time had come for him to step down and that his sons wouldn’t be the future of temple leadership.

Meanwhile there is this child, serving in the temple as the result of a promise his mother made before he was conceived. His name was Samuel. Samuel was awed by Eli and his power in the temple hierarchy. He was humbled at being allowed to live in the temple with the others. The bible doesn’t say that he thought Eli was God, but he definitely got it mixed up the other way. It is almost comical the way the text reports that the Lord calls to Samuel and Samuel thinks it is Eli calling. The process repeats again and again before Eli figures out what is going on and instructs Samuel to answer the call: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

I can identify with Samuel. I’ve often had trouble discerning God’s call from my own wishes and desires. There have been several times in my life when I convinced myself that what I wanted must be the same thing as what God wants for me. Fortunately, I have been surrounded by communities of faithful people who gently set me straight and invited me to listen more carefully. The routine is not, “Speak, Lord, and tell me what I want to hear.” It is, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Then you really have to be listening.

At any rate, the message that Samuel receives is that Eli and his sons are going to be punished for their wrongdoings. It is a tough message to deliver. Samuel, however “told him everything and hid nothing from him.” That honesty worked with Eli, who accepted the news that Samuel had to deliver.

It doesn’t take an advanced degree in theology to see parallels between the biblical story and our contemporary political situation. Like Israel of old, we have our share of old men who inhabit the halls of power. Like Israel, the time has come when some of them have to learn to listen to what younger people have to say.

Over the years, I’ve often joked about the story of Samuel in comparison with my own life. I’ve imagined my father, living in a household of females, with a wife and three daughters, praying to God for a son. I’ve told people that the reason I became a minister must have been that he, like Samuel’s mother, promised God that if he had a son the son would be given to the church. Of course, that wasn’t the case. And I wasn’t my father’s only son. There are three brothers who came after I was born. It makes for a good story and a way of telling part of my story.

This year, however, as I read the texts from the position of a retired minister, I realize that I am not Samuel in the story. I’ve become Eli. I’m the old man who needs to step aside so the leadership of the kid who grew up in the church can emerge. It is easier said than done. I find myself reading the weekly messages and newsletters of the church I served for 25 years with a critical eye. I’ll probably pour over the annual reports of the congregation as thoroughly as I used to when I was the pastor. I worked hard on annual reports and anticipated annual meetings with a combination of worry and hope. I won’t be the center of any congregation’s annual meeting this year. The story is no longer about me and my leadership. And that is a good thing.

It is also a good thing that I have the stories of our people to remind me that it is God who provides the leaders that are needed in times like these.

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