Changing Direction: Looking for Sign-- I Sam. 3: 1-20; John 1: 43-51
Back in my college days, I almost got arrested. True story! I came up to a traffic stop on the road. I was tired, but I had not had a drop to drink. As I approached, the officer closest to me signaled me to come through, and the officer a few feet down from him signaled me to stop. I stopped, went a little bit, stopped, and rolled my window down to ask for clarity, and I was promptly pulled out the car and given field sobriety tests. It probably didn’t help that I told them both (with no attitude whatsoever), that when you give two different signals at the same time, no one can follow the signs!
So, let’s talk a bit about signs to follow in the coming year. Many of us can agree that 2023 was a fairly tough year with personal and global challenges. And the other day I heard someone say that 2024 doesn’t seem so promising either, so maybe 2025 will be my year. We need a bit of a change of direction. So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to look at examples and ways of changing directions. The first is recognizing the sign and following life’s directional signs. Two of the hardest signs to follow are accepting the sign given and actually following through with the calling when you see a sign.
What does a sign look like? We read in the Gospel that Philip encounters Jesus and immediately follows him. Nathanael, however, is still a bit unsure. When hears Jesus hails from Nazareth, he says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” There is some evidence that Nazareth could have been considered a bit of a Podunk town in that time, and it was never expected that great things would come from there. But Jesus gives a sign. He speaks of Nathanael as if he knows him personally. Then he tells Nathanael that he saw him under the fig tree—a very prophetic vision. Nathanael accepted the sign. He calls Jesus, the “Rabbi…the Son of God—the King of Israel.”
All it took was a sign, and Nathanael accepted it. In the I Samuel scripture there’s a different kind of sign. God again is speaking to humanity, but for Eli, the signs are not good. Eli has been the anointed prophet for some time. He was a good man, a man of God who recognized God’s voice speaking to Samuel. But the words received spell suffering and destruction for Eli and his entire household. Eli loved God, but he lacked discipline and integrity when it came to his prophetic work and even managing his own family. Though he personally was a good man, he had failed miserably in his calling. To his credit, however, he accepted this difficult sign. He was resigned to the fact that he no longer had God’s favor because of his failures.
Accepting and resigning ourselves to a sign in life is hard. Sometimes it’s good news and other times not. I remember years ago when I decided to hike the steps to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, there was a sign that said, “Only 230 more steps to go from here.” I’m still not sure if that was a good sign or not, but it was a sign. When you get to a point in life that you feel something isn’t working, you’re miserable, or everything seems to be going wrong, it’s time for a change. The question is—do you have the courage to walk with God to make the change.
I’m not sure Nathanael had that courage. When we read a list of the twelve disciples, there’s no Nathanael listed. He recognized the sign. He believed and had faith and said confidently that this man, Jesus, was the Rabbi and the Son of God. But he didn’t follow. This is the only time Nathanael is mentioned. Jesus comments on his very new and small faith saying that they would all see much greater things than just a vision of Nathanael under the fig tree. Nathanael’s faith may soon grow. But he didn’t follow even with the sign he was given.
Eli, however, has a much more mature faith. When Samuel finally listens to God’s vision, God basically says that Eli is about to be severely punished and Samuel would be the prophet. When morning comes, Samuel is CLEARLY avoiding Eli, but old Eli wants to know what God said to Samuel. Upon hearing Samuel’s vision, Eli says, “It is the Lord’s will. Let [God] do what [God] thinks is best.” Sometimes the signs are hard. I remember growing up I had a Magic 8 Ball. It was a little toy that you shook up and it gave you little answers to questions. Sometimes it would generate an answer which said, “Signs point to no,” and all the kids hoping for a positive sign would be disappointed.
Sometimes we get signs that it’s time to start something new, do something different, learn a new way. Sometimes, we get disappointing signs: the cancer has returned, it’s a progressive disorder, you need more help, your relationship is broken, you simply can’t do this. Faith is when we accept and move forward regardless of what the sign is. I cannot imagine Eli’s pain and disappointment. God provides one of first visions in a long time, and it’s an indictment and judgement of Eli’s behavior. And Eli’s answer is, “Let God do what God thinks is best.”
But there is a bit of hope and good news in all the worries over bad signs and bad directions. If we go back to the encounter with Nathanael, we see a man who may not have become one of the twelve disciples, but he was still changed from his encounter with Jesus. In fact, of all the encounters with calling disciples and followers, Jesus spends the most time with Nathanael, the one who had doubts and questions. My friends, when the signs in life are unclear, when you feel like you’ve lost direction, when you see stop, go, and yield all at the same time, and you have no idea which way to go at all, that is the time Jesus is most ready to come and talk with you. There’s an old hymn that says you’ll “Find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.” And so it does.
The Clergy Coaching Network, which I follow on Facebook, posted this quote by Madeleine L’Engle, “I do not think that I will ever reach a stage when I will say, ‘This is what I believe. Finished.’ What I believe is alive, and open to growth.” Do we find ourselves at times on a pathway that doesn’t work? Where do we need a sign and a signal to make some change in life? When you get to a point that where you say, “I can’t keep doing this,” when we as a church look around and say, “We can’t keep going on like this, won’t be able to pay the electricity bill in 5 years,” we have to pray and say, “Lord, I need a sign.”
For Nathanael, Jesus told him of a vision where he saw Nathanael then predicted how his faith would grow and the miracles he might get to see if he stayed faithful. For Eli, it was a bad omen. It was time for him to pay the price for letting Israel fall away from God and letting his own sons commit blasphemy and curse God without any correction.
But for Nathanael, who needed a sign to understand, Jesus came and sat with him and spent more time talking to him than any other disciple in their calling story. For Israel, God made a change and called a prophet with integrity and strength to hold the people accountable and shepherd them back to God.
Jesus is calling you today, come and make a change. If we’re sitting tired, miserable, sad, lonely, hurting, and angry, let us ask for a sign and prepare to make a change. Jesus will walk with you that whole way. In our world, we need a sign and a change. We live with war, poverty, oppression, exploitation, and far too much hatred and bitterness. We need a sign as well to find a new way that follows God’s call to love, grace, and peace.
When I approached the traffic stop years ago, one officer said keep going the other said stop. To a 20-year-old, driver already nervous, that’s some bad signs. But thank God that in faith we get a bit clearer direction. What sign is God giving you today? And more importantly are you ready to make the change and follow where God is leading? I hope you’ll take some pen and paper this and answer those two questions sometime this week—what is God’s sign, and how can I follow? Don’t stay stuck. Don’t live in confusion. God always calls us forward in hope and faith.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/751285886448312