January 15, 2012
1Samuel 3: 3b-10, 19; Psalm 40 :2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20; John 1: 35-42
Ordinary time, and yet an extraordinary event – in the seventh century B.C. . We hear about the inbreaking of God in the life of a child in his sleep. Samuel looks to the ordinary, the expected, and thinking that it is Eli who calls him, he rushes to Eli, God’s anointed one; four times he responds ”Here I am”, because as yet, he was “ not familiar with the ways of God” . Nevertheless he is open, willing. Eli gently mentors him , redirects his attention and instructs him to say: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”. Samuel grows up, follows the Lord, and the Lord is with him, “not permitting any word of his to be without effect”. Samuel is attuned, deeply listens and indeed does learn the ways of the Lord, such that the law of “the Lord is written in his heart” and the Lord puts a new song into his mouth.
In a parallel way an extraordinary event happens several centuries later. John points out this unusual person of Jesus to his followers and calls him the “Lamb of God”. The disciples are puzzled, curious, such that Jesus asks them: “What are you looking for?” They are nonplussed and not too clear on what they are seeking, so ask a question in return: “where are you staying?’ Jesus invites them to “come and see”, but it is more than a place, the “come and see’ leads them on a journey. Their lives will never be the same, they are forever changed. This Jesus is the pied piper of people’s hearts and so the ever widening circle of the community of disciples grows.
So, what are the parallels in our lives! The response of Samuel is generous: “Here I am Lord”, not knowing where that open-ended response is going to take him. When you think of the times that you have responded to a call and said “yes” where has it taken you? You have said “Here I am” to a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a child, a colleague, your supervisor, a patient, to the challenging events and people of life. The “Here I am” in your life may have called you down paths you might not have voluntarily chosen, and yet your responses have stretched and shaped you into the person you are today. The “Here I am” calls us down a “labyrinth of ways” we may not have desired or even thought possible.
To be attuned to the heart of God as Samuel was also calls us to be attuned to our own heart. Samuel became a very wise man. Psalm 40 reminds us that the wise ways of the Lord call us to do the works of Justice and love one another. As we listen to our own heart which echoes the heart song of God, it is a sobering and awesome thought that others may look to us for wisdom and insight and that our “words have effect” in the lives and hearts of others who have been and are our companions on the journey. God has entrusted us to do God’s work.
Jesus is also asking that same question of us: “What are you looking for?” How do we answer that? Perhaps our response is different at different stage of our lives. To find our answer we again have to listen deeply to our own heart, because to do “God’s will is our delight, and it is written within our hearts” (Psalm 40). This is the time of year when we take stock and make New Year resolutions. Like the disciples, we want to see where Jesus lives in our time, in the midst of the “ordinary” of life and we yearn for meaning and purpose. Let us echo the words of Samuel: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”. The Lord will indeed put a “new song” in our hearts for 2012.
Sr. Cathy O’Connor, CSB
Covenant Health Systems
Tags: covenant health systems, Gospel, John 1, journey, ordinary time, psalm 40, samuel, second sunday, St. Mary's, St. Mary's Health System, Sunday, Sunday Scribes
