The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to listen to the Spirit calling us to become more aware of our role as disciples of Christ.
Come and see
The reading from the First Book of Samuel describes the call of Samuel by the Lord.
* [3:2–18] The call of Samuel: This section may be divided as follows: 1. the triple summons (vv. 2–9); 2. God’s revelation (vv. 10–14); 3. Samuel informs Eli (vv. 15–18).1
Psalm 40 is a thanksgiving for deliverance and a prayer for help.
* [Psalm 40] A thanksgiving (Ps 40:2–13) has been combined with a lament (Ps 40:14–17) that appears also in Ps 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms—being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Ps 40:2–4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Ps 40:5–6)! The Psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Ps 40:7–11). A prayer for protection concludes (Ps 40:12–17).2
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians urges us to glorify God in our body.
* [6:12–20] Paul now turns to the opinion of some Corinthians that sexuality is a morally indifferent area (1 Cor 6:12–13). This leads him to explain the mutual relation between the Lord Jesus and our bodies (1 Cor 6:13b) in a densely packed paragraph that contains elements of a profound theology of sexuality (1 Cor 6:15–20).3
In the Gospel of John is the calling of the First Disciples of Jesus.
* [1:41] Messiah: the Hebrew word māśiâh, “anointed one” (see note on Lk 2:11), appears in Greek as the transliterated messias only here and in Jn 4:25. Elsewhere the Greek translation christos is used.4
Kimberly Grassmeyer has been encouraged by others – the gentle and wise Fr. Larry Gillick, S.J. among them – to try quieting her mind and heart. That in being at peace, with an open heart, she might listen and hear.
LISTEN. It’s such a powerful word and a loving act. If you need that advice also, I’m happy to share it with you! And I’ll pray for all of us that we can be still, know that God is with us, and to hear God’s voice as young Samuel did. Amen.5
Don Schwager quotes “The first disciples longing for the Messiah,” by John Chrysostom (349-407 AD).
"Andrew, after having stayed with Jesus and after having learned what he did, did not keep the treasure to himself but hurries and races to his brother in order to let him know the good things Jesus has shared with him. But why hasn't John mentioned what they talked about? How do we know this is why they 'stayed with him'?... Observe what Andrew says to his brother, 'We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.' You see how, in a short time, he demonstrates not only the persuasiveness of the wise teacher but also his own longing that he had from the beginning. For this word, 'we have found,' is the expression of a soul that longs for his presence, looking for his coming from above, and is so ecstatic when what he is looking for happens that he hurries to tell others the good news. This is what brotherly affection, natural friendship, is all about when someone is eager to extend a hand to another when it comes to spiritual matters. Also see how he adds the article, for he does not say 'Messiah' but 'the Messiah.' They were expecting the Christ who would have nothing in common with the others." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 19.1)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 1:35-42 invites us to reflect on this Gospel passage to give us insight into our own searching and finding.
We will all experience longings from time to time and feel tempted to satisfy them in all the wrong places. What “wrong places” do you tend to go to? Do these quick fixes really satisfy? Today, ask the Holy Spirit to prompt you to go to the Lord when you’re feeling those yearnings. Only by making a conscious effort to “come and see” Jesus will you finally find what you have been looking for all along. “Jesus, help me to see that only you can satisfy the deepest desires of my heart.”7
Friar Jude Winkler notes the calling of Samuel occurred at a time when Israel seemed distant from The Lord. In contrast to some Greek thought, Paul asserts the Body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit and not to be desecrated by serving our passions. Friar Jude compares the different senses of Peter as “rock” in the Gospels of Matthew and John.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that according to the book of Exodus, “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a person speaks to a friend” (33:11).God patiently stays in the dialogue, answering Moses respectfully and even intimately, offering a promise of personal Presence and an ever-sustaining glimpse into who God is. God is Being Itself, Existence Itself, a nameless God beyond all names, a formless God previous to all forms, a liberator God who is utterly liberated from the limits culture and religion put on any Divinity. God asserts God’s ultimate freedom from human attempts to capture God in concepts and words by saying, “I AM who I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Over the course of his story, we see that Moses slowly absorbs this same daring freedom. Despite the failings and limitations Moses perceived in himself, he is liberated by God’s faith in him. It is this same daring and unequivocal freedom that inspired many Black Americans when they read this text. Allen Dwight Callahan expresses this freedom in “The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible.”
“African Americans heard, read, and retold the story of the Exodus more than any other biblical narrative. In it they saw their own aspirations for liberation from bondage in the story of the ancient Hebrew slaves. . . . The Exodus signified God’s will that African Americans too would no longer be sold as bondspeople, that they too would go free.” [2]8
Fr Richard concludes that in working for outer freedom, peace, and justice in the world, we discover the even deeper inner freedom of our True Self in God. We contemplate to what extent to which we are transformed in our response to the call of God as we strive for the liberation from the passions that inflict our society as racism, inequality, greed, and self centered action.
References
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