Leadership in Transitional Times Preached for Wollaston Congregational Church On Sunday June 6th, 2021 Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:4-20 I have to confess, Samuel, the character in our Old Testament story for today, is one of my favorites. I’m attached to Samuel’s birth narrative, the story of his mother Hannah praying so hard for a child at the temple in Shiloh that the Priest, Eli thinks she is drunk. Hannah promises to dedicate her child to the service of God at the temple in Shiloh. I’m also fond of Samuel’s call story, who as a young boy was woken by God three times in the night as he sleeps in the temple. Each time he thinks it was his Eli, now his guardian, who was calling him. Finally Eli helps Samuel understand that God is calling Samuel to service. The priestly duties would normally pass from father to son, but Eli’s sons are not up to the task. They drink too much, desecrate the shrine at Shiloh. They are not priestly material. And so Samuel takes over from Eli. Samuel becomes a priest in a time of the Judges, when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. It was a time of chaos. He was the last judge of Israel and the first prophet. Later in the story he will identify first Saul and then David, as the ones whom God calls to be kings of Israel. This week we enter the story at the point where an older Samuel is serving both as priest and judge. Sadly, history has repeated itself. Samuel’s sons are not up to the priestly task, just like Eli’s children a generation before. There have been years of conflict between the Israelites and the Philistines. Israel’s sacred symbol - the ark of the covenant – was captured and subsequently returned. Eli’s sons died in the wars. And then Eli died when he heard the news. Since the warfare has ended, at least for a time, Samuel returns to his home town, Ramah, to govern from there. Today’s reading begins as the elders of Israel come to Samuel in Ramah to talk about leadership. They say to him "You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations." Perhaps Samuel is blindsided. He seems unaware of his sons’ failings. He does not acknowledge that he is growing old. These must be hard truths for him to hear. He is wise enough not to respond immediately, but prays on this matter. The way that the story is told, the Lord responds to Samuel directly with guidance. God assures Samuel that the people are not rejecting him. They are rejecting God, who is supposed to be their one true king. The Lord advises Samuel to let them have what they want. But, also, to warn them of the consequence of what they ask for. Samuel does just that. He lays it on thick. We do well to remember that this is history written by the victors favoring King David and highlighting the weakness of David’s predecessor, Saul. We will see this story unfold in the coming weeks. Samuel gives the elders dire warnings about the consequences of appointing a king. Samuel tells them that the king will wield power and control over them. He will take their property for his own and enslave them. Samuel doesn’t realize that the elders are left with little option. There are no new priests or judges following in Samuel’s footsteps. The people do not listen to the warning, but instruct Samuel to appoint a king. They want to be like other nations, and have someone to go before them and fight their battles. This is a major transition for the people of Israel. Leadership isn’t easy especially during times of transition. And still, leadership and governance is called for: in our communities, in our nations, in our churches. Democracy is considered to be the best form of governance by the western world. The word “democracy” means rule by the people. Democratic nations measure the will of the majority of people by votes cast. And still, this is not a perfect system. People sometimes think that the congregational church and the United Church of Christ have the same democratic style of governance as the culture as a whole. But that is not exactly the case. A key principle is that our church is in a covenantal relationship with the UCC. The UCC does not have bishops or any similar hierarchy. Each congregation is considered autonomous, and belongs, in covenant again, to a conference of the United Church of Christ. Our conference is the Southern New England Conference. Within that conference we belong to an association: the Pilgrim Association. The conference has ministers and administrative staff members who support and guide the churches and associations. The conference also discerns and promotes matters of justice among the membership and seeks to speak prophetically to the culture. The denomination speaks to but not for the local church. As far as the governance of the local church is concerned, each voice is valued and should be heard. But that does not mean “rule by the will of the people.” Our true calling is to be governed by the will of God. As the preamble to the Constitution of the United Church of Christ states: “The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole Head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior.” Each member of our congregation has access to the Spirit of Christ and voice of God, through prayer, study and reflection in community. It is our responsibility to be prayerful and mindful of God’s purposes for us and our church. Whether we speak or we vote, we are called to heed the will of our head, Jesus Christ, as best as we understand it. At best, local churches call leaders who listen and do not allow dominant voices and subgroups to drown out quieter voices. At the same time, our governing councils, like the Stewards in this church, are called to provide leadership, which is a stronger stance than simply gathering opinions. Once the leadership group comes to consensus over a particular issue they are empowered to act, unless the by-laws call for a congregational vote. The pastor provides spiritual leadership in the local church and the moderator provides organizational leadership. That division may sound clear cut and yet whatever we do in church is bound by our relationship with God. That relationship is, by definition, spiritual. The spiritual and organizational leadership of the congregation is intertwined. A strong covenantal relationship between the pastor, the governing board and the congregation is important. Of course, Samuel lived in times long before the creation of any democracy or anything like congregational polity. Israel makes a huge step forward by calling for a monarch. They move toward organization in the midst of chaos. The monarch is to be appointed and approved by God. Ideally he will be a strong, but benign leader. The task of seeking out a king is a change in plan for Samuel and it stings. It is hard for Samuel to accept that he is growing older and that his sons are not following in his footsteps. The elders of Israel rightly challenge him and bring the best proposal they can come up with. The people find it difficult to conceive of God as their sole leader, and so they look for human sovereign. The situation will not be perfect, and it will not be permanent. It is the best that they will have for the time being. Samuel’s role will change, he will become a prophet. This creates a balance of power. Instead of granting the spiritual leadership of the people solely to the king, God appoints prophets. The prophets “speak truth to power.” There is no limit on what a prophet can say, even though he must suffer the consequences when he bears bad news or harsh criticism. Prophets hold rulers accountable when they abuse their power. They hold the people accountable when they do not follow the will of God. Neither rulers nor the people are bound to listen, but the prophet’s voice is there to speak for God none-the-less. Friends, these times are certain transitional for all of us. We dearly hope that the pandemic we have been enduring for these past 15 months has at least abated in our corner of the world. It was such a joy to see so many familiar faces at the yard sale yesterday, and to gather together in person and in our sacred space again today. We knew, even before the pandemic began, that our congregation was being called to renew our vision of what it means to be church in this neighborhood. This requires a major transition on behalf of our leaders and our members. We can celebrate the fact that our lay leadership: Debbie Barrett, Moderator and Chair of Stewards, and our Stewards – particularly our Stewards of the Building and Resources, Kate Wylie and Marian Channon - have been discerning the best way forward in faith. This means reducing our footprint and adjusting our environmental impact to fit the current size of the congregation. It means researching and determining the best model of church to fit the spiritual needs of the congregation and our mission in the community. Each time we discuss this topic it seems that there is someone who is a little blindsided, like Samuel. Perhaps you are finding it difficult to accept that your role in this congregation is changing as you age. Perhaps you are concerned that the younger generation is not following in your footsteps. Things will look different in the church of the future, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. It takes courage to lead where people do not necessarily want to go. And it takes strength to accept the hard truths that leaders sometimes have to share. And so my prayer for us to day is that our leaders will take us where God is leading and others will have the courage and the grace to follow. May all God’s people say, Amen
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