This is just the beginning
of Samuel’s story but the beginning of the end for Eli. It is a tragic tale of
a father who cannot bring himself to do what must be done. His sons have
desecrated the sanctuary and have turned the people’s sacrifice into profit for
themselves. Eli hears the reports and confronts his sons with their sin but
cannot bring himself to condemn them to death which is what the law demands.
And so in the end it will be Eli and all of Israel that will have to pay for
the sins of the sons. The good news in the story is that God’s gift to the
barren Hannah is Samuel who is and will be everything Eli’s sons were not and
through his intercession Israel will be saved. It is a story that repeats
itself throughout the scriptures and all of human history. The practice of
faith meant for blessing becomes instead a source of priestly power or
superficial ritualized religion or worse the justification for hatred and
violence. But God is always working to turn the curse back into a blessing
which is why Hannah is gifted with Samuel who in turn is a gift to Israel. And
of course that is the story of Christmas. We, like Eli’s sons have sinned
against the Lord in thought, word and deed and cannot intercede for ourselves.
But Jesus is and will be everything we are not. And so the gift to Mary becomes
a gift for the world as God works to turn the curse into a blessing. But good
news for us will be bad news for Jesus who is born to die for us, instead of
us, ahead of us so we do not suffer the consequence our sins deserve. I know it
might not be such a pleasant way to begin the week of Christmas but then our
sin is the real reason for the season. And in a strange sort of way that really
does make for a Merry Christmas.
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