1 Samuel 16:1-13

Lent 4 - Year A

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Blindness can have many a cause. One of the usually overlooked causes is that of grief. It blinds us to many an opportunity and keeps us repeating the same pattern over and over as though that would change something. At some point grief of a loss ends and a revolution begins.

Samuel is not sent to a pool to wash off muddy spit, but to a household to bloodily sacrifice a heifer. Healing and leadership are effected through many routes and processes, not all pleasant or understandable.

Little by little questions come to Samuel. “Eliab is tall, is he the one?” Likewise the noticeable qualities of Abinadab, Shammah, etc. bring their questions. Finally the merest twinkle in an eye stopped the questions and said, “Let’s not judge externals.” There’s more than a bit of humor in this story that needs to be played out and enjoyed.

Bottom-line, what do you know and when did you know it? Well, not till it happened. Be prepared to be present when the next happening happens.