1 Sam 3:3b-10, 19, Ps 40:2,4,7-8,8-10, 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20, Jn 1:35-42
One of the attributes associated with God is he who calls. Prophet Isaiah in Is. 48:13 tells us “with his right hand, he stretches out the heavens, and he calls them and they all stand forth together’’. No one is anonymous before the Him who “counts the number of the stars and calls each one by name.” Each name corresponding to an identity, vocation or mission set to his divine will. In the today’s liturgy, we are told to come and see. “Come” is an invitation and “see” is the promise; promises to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11).
The first reading narrates the call of young Samuel while he was serving in the temple. Very worthy of note is that in the time of Samuel, the temple was only but a tent structure in Hebron which carried the presence of God. Samuel, as one in training for temple duties, is sleeping near the Ark of the Covenant. It becomes clear to us that a great prophet begins and remains so by staying close to the Lord. How can we as children of God give prophetic witness to those around us if we are distant from the Lord? We can only be close through fervent prayer, consistent study of the Scripture, active participation in the Sacramental life of the Church. Stay close to the Lord and you would be marveled the great things he would do with you.
Initially, Samuel thought it was Eli the High priest that was calling him. But the Lord calls thrice persistently, and finally Samuel is trained by Eli to respond: “Speak Lord your servant is listening.” Many of us have questions that trouble us from time to time and we seek answers to them from significant people in our lives. Have we brought our questions to the Lord and have we ever tried to listen to Him as he answers us? Or would we rather not ask him for fear of the answer? St. Theresa of Avila teaches us that prayer is a conversation with God, we need to realize that to enter into prayer we have to listen, and our attitude has to be: “Please speak Lord, I want to listen to you.” We cannot command the Lord to speak, for the initiative of prayer is always with God. On the contrary, we have to humbly wait on him and be available to him replying in the same conviction of the Psalmist “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will!” For we are not our own, but we belong to the Lord as St. Paul teaches in his letter to the Corinthians. This demands our giving him our heart, our whole being, our life itself. We can well understand as well that to follow Christ we need to live holy purity and purify our hearts. Therefore, chastity, outside or within matrimony, according to each one’s state, is absolutely necessary. It demands our personal struggle and effort, together with God’s grace. For purity is the glory of the human body before God. It is the glory of God in the human body.
The gospel taken from the Fourth Gospel continues the theme of the manifestation/ epiphany of Jesus, as John the Baptist points out and directs his own disciples to Jesus. Previously, we had seen him bearing his witness. Now we find him sending some of his followers after the Lord. When the disciples heard from John the name of the one passing by –The Lamb of God, they had sufficient reason to follow Jesus. At this time, the Passover was approaching, and the highways were filled with people carrying their one-year-old lambs to the temple to be sacrificed. In full view of those lambs, John pointed out the Lamb Who, when sacrificed, would end all sacrifices in the temple, because He would take away the sins of the world.
They followed Jesus respectfully at a distance behind. Jesus turned and asked what they were looking for. Through history, people have come to Jesus for various reasons. People still come to Jesus for varying reasons. Why are we looking for Jesus? What do we want from him? Though they only asked him where he was staying, Jesus’ answer was a kind invitation: “Come and see.” The experience of staying with Jesus was so memorable that John even adds the time of the day at which they met Jesus –four in the afternoon. Andrew too was so elated that he brought his brother Simon to meet the Lord.’ Each time we meet Andrew in this Gospel he is bringing someone to Jesus (6:8; 12:22), a consistency worth noting. We are encouraged to be witness bearers like Andrew, stating what we have experienced and believed and extending that offer of Jesus “come and see” to others.
The encounter of Simon changed not only his name but his life. In the Scriptures, change of name signifies change of role or destiny in the history of salvation (cf. Gn 17:5; 32:28). It is also an assertion of the authority of the giver (e.g., 2 Kings 23:34; 24:17). John takes for granted that his readers understand the meaning of the name. In John 21:16-19, he will explain the ecclesiological importance of the change of name when he tells how Jesus commissions Peter to be shepherd of his sheep. If we understand this from the beginning, we will perceive throughout the Gospel how Jesus is preparing Peter to fill this role as Rock and Shepherd—the visible head of the visible Church.
Indeed, a true and honest encounter with God can be life changing. An encounter with God turned the little boy, Samuel into one of Israel’s greatest prophet. An encounter with God turned a fisherman into a rock on which the Church has stood for over 2000 years. An encounter with God turned a zealous Pharisee named Saul into the assiduous apostle and preacher, Paul. We too have been invited to come and see, to come and have an encounter with God as we hear the priest repeat the same words of John the Baptist at mass each day “Behold the Lamb”. Let us continue to ask the Lord to give us courage, confidence and insight into the small, indirect and even direct ways He asks us to make his love known in a world that is disillusioned and hurt.
