The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to listen to the messages in the events of our life that call us to greater intimacy with God and the people in our environment.
The reading from the First Book of Samuel describes the Revelation to Samuel.
* [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).
* [3:3] Not yet extinguished: referring to the nighttime setting of this narrative (cf. Ex 27:20–21) and foreshadowing a permanently extinguished lamp when the ark is captured and Shiloh destroyed. (1 Samuel, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
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). (Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul teaches about sexual immorality.
* [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).
* [6:12–13] Everything is lawful for me: the Corinthians may have derived this slogan from Paul’s preaching about Christian freedom, but they mean something different by it: they consider sexual satisfaction a matter as indifferent as food, and they attribute no lasting significance to bodily functions (1 Cor 6:13a). Paul begins to deal with the slogan by two qualifications, which suggest principles for judging sexual activity. Not everything is beneficial: cf. 1 Cor 10:23, and the whole argument of 1 Cor 8–10 on the finality of freedom and moral activity. Not let myself be dominated: certain apparently free actions may involve in fact a secret servitude in conflict with the lordship of Jesus.
* [6:15b–16] A prostitute: the reference may be specifically to religious prostitution, an accepted part of pagan culture at Corinth and elsewhere; but the prostitute also serves as a symbol for any sexual relationship that conflicts with Christ’s claim over us individually. The two…will become one flesh: the text of Gn 2:24 is applied positively to human marriage in Matthew and Mark, and in Eph 5:29–32: love of husband and wife reflect the love of Christ for his church. The application of the text to union with a prostitute is jarring, for such a union is a parody, an antitype of marriage, which does conflict with Christ’s claim over us. This explains the horror expressed in 15b.
* [6:18] Against his own body: expresses the intimacy and depth of sexual disorder, which violates the very orientation of our bodies.
* [6:19–20] Paul’s vision becomes trinitarian. A temple: sacred by reason of God’s gift, his indwelling Spirit. Not your own: but “for the Lord,” who acquires ownership by the act of redemption. Glorify God in your body: the argument concludes with a positive imperative to supplement the negative “avoid immorality” of 1 Cor 6:18. Far from being a terrain that is morally indifferent, the area of sexuality is one in which our relationship with God (and his Christ and his Spirit) is very intimately expressed: he is either highly glorified or deeply offended. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
The Gospel of John introduces the First Disciples of Jesus.
* [1:36] John the Baptist’s testimony makes his disciples’ following of Jesus plausible.
* [1:37] The two disciples: Andrew (Jn 1:40) and, traditionally, John, son of Zebedee (see note on Jn 13:23).
* [1:39] Four in the afternoon: literally, the tenth hour, from sunrise, in the Roman calculation of time. Some suggest that the next day, beginning at sunset, was the sabbath; they would have stayed with Jesus to avoid travel on it.
* [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.
* [1:42] Simon, the son of John: in Mt 16:17, Simon is called Bariona, “son of Jonah,” a different tradition for the name of Simon’s father. Cephas: in Aramaic = the Rock; cf. Mt 16:18. Neither the Greek equivalent Petros nor, with one isolated exception, Cephas is attested as a personal name before Christian times. (John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)
Cindy Costanzo comments that spending time in prayer with God has made a significant difference in her life.
The times I have carved away for prayer, to be quiet and listen have provided an opportunity to deepen my relationship with God. My choices, my friends, where I have worked, who I married, where I sent my children to school, what I do for entertainment, how I worship; basically all that I do has been impacted because of my prayer time with God. The more time in prayer the more time I yearn. I have found these practices so valuable in my ability to hear/recognize God’s voice and feel God’s presence. (Costanzo, 2024)
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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 comments that this same God wants to speak to us! It’s not hard to hear him, but like Samuel, we need to learn to listen.
It’s not easy to hear God’s voice when we’re surrounded by noise. So to listen for the Lord, we will need to find a quiet place away from the clatter that can drown out the Lord’s voice. We may need to silence our anxious thoughts and doubts, too. But with God’s help, we can set aside those thoughts and listen for his voice instead. “Quiet my heart, Lord. I’m listening for you.”
“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” (Meditation on 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler describes the charismatic calling of Samuel to be dedicated to the Lord. Paul, in the port city of Corinth asserts that our bodies, as Temples of the Holy Spirit. are not intended for immorality. Friar Jude looks at the multiple meanings in the Aramaic used by the Baptist and the contrast in John’s Gospel between the beloved disciple and Peter the “rock head”.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, writes that holding the tension of paradox helps us grow in consciousness and love.
I am talking about just holding the tension, not necessarily finding a resolution or closure to paradox. We must agree to live without resolution, at least for a while. This is very difficult for most people, largely because we have not been taught how to do this mentally or emotionally. We didn’t know we could—or even should. As Paul seems to say (and I paraphrase), hope would not be the virtue that it is if it led us to quick closure and we did not have to “wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:24–25).
I think opening to this holding pattern is the very name and description of faith. Unfortunately, in Christianity, faith largely became believing things to be true or false (intellectual assent) instead of giving people concrete practices so they could themselves know how to open up (faith), hold on (hope), and allow an infilling from another Source (love).
We must move from a belief-based religion to a practice-based religion, or little will change. We will merely continue to argue about what we are supposed to believe and who the unbelievers are. We need contemplative practices to loosen our egoic attachment to certainty and retrain our minds to understand the wisdom of paradox. [1] (Rohr, 2024)
We reflect on the response of the disciples to “come and see” as we attend to the promptings of the Spirit to follow Jesus.
References
Costanzo, C. (2024, January 14). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Online Ministries. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/011424.html
John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?35
Meditation on 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/01/14/874873/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/6?13
1 Samuel, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1samuel/3?3
Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/40?2
Rohr, R. (2024, January 14). The Inefficiency of Faith — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-inefficiency-of-faith/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). We Have Found the Messiah! Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jan14
No comments:
Post a Comment