The word of the LORD was rare in those days...

I think this is the theme running through all three lessons, the psalm, and the collect for Sunday, and we are meant to wonder, "what causes the word of the LORD to become rare?"

Do we quit listening/looking/seeking?

Does God quit talking/showing/calling?

I'm more apt to think the first.

The people of Israel under the leadership of the judges and the failure of the house of Eli were fat and happy in Jerusalem and did what we all do when things are good - they patted themselves on the back.

The church in Corinth was living life no differently than the cult in Corinth - they hadn't heard (or didn't want to hear) that freedom from sin and death means giving up the way of sin and death.

Nathanael wanted to know God, but knew that God wouldn't manifest himself out of Nazareth - "what good can come from that hole?"

The Psalmist, however, knows.  He knows that God is there even when he is incapable of knowing, even in the womb.

The collect prays that we might have the ability to hear/see/feel and then go to tell/show/share.

The word of the LORD becomes rare when we listen more intently to our own words.  The Word of the LORD came so that we might hear/see/feel more often and not allow the old adage, "out of sight, out of mind" to define our relationship with the LORD.  May God grant us the ability to see/hear/experience his word today.