Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 65
Reading 1
Samuel was sleeping
in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me."
"I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me."
But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
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."
Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a and 9a) Here
am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Reading II
Brothers and
sisters:
The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.
Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been purchased at a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
We have found the Messiah:
Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
John was standing
with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Listening to one another has been a practice that has been used less and less often in society today. Part of communication is trying to understand what the other person is thinking, feeling, and believing. The reason why is also important. All too often, we develop a pre-conceived notion of another person based on our own prejudices and beliefs. Our reaction to any type of communication, including how we listen, is then perceived through this filter of prejudice. Conflicts tend to rise because of this and the pursuit of wisdom, one of the virtues that we should be always seeking, then ceases. A cycle of ignorance and emotional decisions then results which enflames more anger and discourse. We can see the results of this in the world today. Many of us live our lives through a spectrum created by ourselves, believing in certain things, and seeing things a certain way so that we feel comfortable with ourselves and how we are conducting ourselves instead of trying to improve ourselves. It conjures up the scene set at Babel: everyone is talking, and none are listening, or even attempting to listen. Violence, pain, and suffering are by-products of this.
It can be argued that how we listen to other people is a direct reflection of how we listen to God. Are we impatient? Are we dismissive? Are we shallow in our thoughts and actions? We learn through our faith and through Sacred Scripture that God is speaking to us all the time. He never ceases from doing this. He never withholds His presence from us. What we have is a continuous dialog that is occurring. Sometimes, it is through words while other times it is through the Spirit and His love. Communication is 90% nonverbal and so it is with God. We must be aware of not only what is being said, but how it is being said and through what vehicle. The only way to do this is through practice and listening. The distractions all around us must be forced out. What will then remain is just us and God. When we engage in conversation, we know when we are giving someone our undivided attention or when we are distracted. We know when our mind is wandering. We know if we care or when we don’t care. We then react to this state of mind. Listening to God and engaging in conversation is not exempt from this.
To get closer to God and to experience our relationship with Him, we should be attentive and aware. Paul reminds us today that our bodies are joined with God and that we are one Spirit with Him. In other words, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, thus our bodies are Holy Temples. With that comes great responsibility. In other words, how well do we maintain our temple? This includes physically, mentally, and spiritually. We were indeed created in His image and Christ dwells within us. We are living in the Trinitarian Relationship as a result. Yet, it is up to us to be actively involved in that relationship. What we take into our bodies, what we do with it, will have a direct result on our relationship with God. What thoughts we think and how we react to these thoughts will determine if we can hear God when He is speaking to us. How often we pray and contemplate God’s love will determine if we can feel Him.
The Gospel Reading today is one of my favorite ones. Jesus, revealed as The Lamp of God by John the Baptist, was being followed by Andrew and John. Jesus stops, turns around, and asks them a powerful question: “What are you looking for?” This is a question and a challenge for all of us. Why are we here today? What are we looking for in a relationship with Him? Are we doing our utmost to follow Him and pursue Him if we do indeed believe what was said about Him? Are we doing our best to listen to Him? Taking an inventory of ourselves and recommitting ourselves to a deeper, more productive relationship with God is a spiritual necessity. It is also necessary to live a truly joyous life. God wants so desperately to have a relationship with us. He also wants us to be joyful. He is always ready and willing to share what we have to do to achieve these things. The question presented to us is: “Are we listening to Him?”
Deacon Tom
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