What sort of present did Sam get?
Sam was a very special child to his mother Hannah. She had wanted a baby for so long, and the other women in the village had teased her because it seemed that she couldn't have a child. So she made a deal with God; she prayed very hard, and told God that if she had a son, she would give him to Eli as a sort of live-in altar boy and priest-in-training as soon as he was old enough to leave home. He was pretty small when he started working around the temple. His mother loved him dearly, but the temple was such a long way away. And of course, they didn't have a car or a bus service, so the only time she got to see him was once a year, when she made a special pilgrimage to the Temple.
Of course, when she came, she brought him a wonderful present. What do you think that was? Sam's Mom couldn't go down to "Toys'r Us" and buy him a shiny silver airplane or a big yellow tractor. She did what a lot of Moms did in those days- she made him a beautiful new cloak. I suppose some Moms still do that sort of thing- I know my Mom made a beautiful wrap for my christening. And because she didn't have a lot of money, she even made my pants and jackets when I was small. So Sam's Mom gave him a lovely new cloak each time she came to the temple. Of course, he was growing like a weed, and each year the cloak had to be two sizes larger,. Do you sometimes find your clothes suddenly getting too small, so that the sleeves of your jacket end half way up to your elbows, and your pants are so short they leave your ankles blowing in the Squamish wind? Well, that seemed to be Sam's problem. He was always taller than his clothes.
It says early on in our reading that he wore something else that was very special. Do you remember what it was? Supposing I show you a cue card? It was a
dohpe
Well, that's not very helpful either, is it? I've done a Dr. Dan, and showed you something written in Hebrew. Let's write it out in Roman letters.
dohpe
Wo-oops- it still comes out backwards! It was called an Ephod. I had to search around a bit to find out what an Ephod was. Apparently, it was a bit like a barbecue apron, with
two big shoulder straps; part of a special uniform that the priests and
their assistants wore over a bright blue robe, a tunic and pants. And
it was topped by a golden breastplate, with Onyx stones set in gold as
epaulettes. What a beautiful garment (Exodus 28: 6-14). The ephod
that the priests wore on ordinary days was made of fine linen,
embroidered with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cherubs, a bit like
the big curtain at the front of the Temple. But on Yom Kippur, a very
special day when the High Priest could go into the Holy of
Holies in the Temple, he wore a pure white ephod.As he grew, Sam listened carefully to the words of Eli, the high priest, and followed his teachings. When he was older, he felt a real call to serve God, just as his mother had hoped. Eventually, he became one of the great prophets of Israel. What a contrast with Eli's own sons! They didn't listen to their parents at all; they became really bad hats, stealing things from the temple, and dying an unpleasant death.
Mary thought Jesus was a very special baby. She was sure he was even more special than other mothers' babies. And she was reluctant to part with him as he grew up. But she also learned to share him with the world. She let him become a special servant of God, though eventually this meant watching him die on a cross. When Jesus was growing up, he was another boy who listened very carefully to the teachings of the wise men in the temple. Sometimes, he got so interested in this, that he forgot to tell his parents where he was going, and that's always a big mistake! His Mum and Dad became very anxious, thinking he had got lost. But he wasn't up to any mischief- he was just sitting in the courtyard of the temple, learning all he could about the meaning of life. By listening, Jesus steadily grew in knowledge and understanding of the truth, until as a young man he was ready to become the leader of all Christian people.
Sometimes, when we go out to Sunday School, our minds wander, or we think that we know more than the teachers. But it is by listening carefully that we will grow up to be the wise people God needs to do his work.