First Wednesday in Ordinary Time
By Melanie Rigney
“The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, ‘Here I am. You called me.’ Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, ‘Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”’ When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the Lord came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” (1 Samuel 3:8-10)
“(S)acrifice and offering you do not want; but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts and sin-offerings you do not require; so I said, ‘Here I am; your commands for me are written in the scroll.’” (Psalms 40: 7-9)
Jesus told those who were with him: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” (Mark 1:38)
Piety
Here I am, Lord, your humble, obedient, and eager servant. Show me the purpose you have set for me.
Study
Are you answering God’s call? You’re in good company if you’re not always sure.
In today’s readings, it takes three times for Samuel to comprehend that it is the Lord, not Eli, who is calling him. “Speak, for your servant is listening” is his response when he understands, similar to David’s realization that service to God involves not “sacrifice and offering… but ears open to obedience…”
On the other hand, Jesus is clear on what he is to do. After he has cured Peter’s mother-in-law and others and driven out demons, he is told that “everyone is looking for you.” He says he will go to preach in nearby villages “for this purpose I have come.”
Hearing the call and acting upon it take discernment. A recent public example is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s conversion to Catholicism after a lifetime as an Anglican. He’s been welcomed by the Vatican…and criticized by some British Catholics for waiting until he was out of office and because his political history on abortion and war are viewed as counter to Church teaching. Yet, it is difficult not to believe that Blair heard God’s call. The archbishop of Westminster said Blair “…feels at home in the Catholic Church in a way that he didn’t in any other church, or in the Anglican communion.”
Feeling at home and comfy, however, does not guarantee that we will easily hear and accept the call when it comes. A recent essay in the Holy Spirit Interactive e-newsletter talks of the need for ongoing conversion among all Catholics, cradle and convert:
Conversion, then, is not a one-time event. It is, in fact, an ongoing process. There is an initial conversion in which a person is washed clean of sin and puts on Christ. As the Catechism teaches, “Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.”
Let each and every one of us find the faith to answer “Here I am” each time we are called.
Action
What does God want from you? Take some morning or evening prayer time to ask and listen. Discuss what you’ve heard with your group reunion, spiritual director, or a close friend this week.
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