Jolted by Address
On reading 1 Samuel 3
We are surrounded by a din of demanding voices: selling, recruiting, seducing, coercing. We screen them out in order to maintain our sanity, to secure our rest. And then, in the night, you address us, you call us by name, you entrust to us risky words, you empower us with authority. But your voice is on first hearing, not distinctive. We confuse your voice with that of an old friend or a deep hope or a powerful fear or an ancient bias. We hear, but we do not listen— jolted, bewildered, and resistant. But your voice sneaks up on us: you address us, you call us by name, you entrust us with risky words, you empower us with authority.
Sometimes . . . occasionally . . . boldly . . . we answer: "Speak, I am listening."
And listening, we are made new and sent dangerously by your address.
Brueggemann, Walter (2010-04-01). Prayers for a Privileged People (p. 114). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.
