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I think the anointing of David and his subsequent interactions with Saul (it will still be 17 chapters before David is anointed by the people; in the meantime, he will save Saul's life twice despite Saul's attempts on his) distract us from what is going on with Samuel in this narrative.
Samuel, the boy to whom God spoke, had just retired. He had worked tireless hours for people who only halfway listened, yawning and napping during his sermons, acting like they were paying attention to his face but giggling in small groups about the crazy old man who kept telling them what the LORD had said to him.
And now, we hear, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me."
We, like Samuel, fear the things to which we have been called. Thinking we have finished with what we have set out to do, ready for a well-deserved rest, we find that the Spirit continues blowing, refusing to allow us to become too comfortable, refusing to allow our "good enoughs" suffice. We tell ourselves that there is no way the Spirit could be calling us to something so audacious, something so great, something so big we can only see the tip of what is coming. We tell ourselves we have no right to dream so big. We play small. We shrink only to find ourselves drawn to another day.
In the words of Marianne Williamson:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate;
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?"
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you,
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine
We consciously give other people permission to do the same;
And as we're liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
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