Texts of the Readings
January
15, 2006
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Dr. Terrance Callan
1 Sam 3:3b-10, 19
X
1 Cor 6:13c-15a,
17-20
X
John
1:35-42
All Christians have heard and responded to a call to follow Jesus. We may
remember a single occasion vividly, or many less dramatic experiences
throughout our life. Or we may not readily think of anything we would
describe as a call. However, if we are Christians, it is because we have
been called.
The reading from the gospel according to John says that Jesus
first followers had earlier been disciples of John the Baptist. When Andrew
and another, unnamed disciple heard John say that Jesus was the Lamb of God,
they followed Jesus. Later Andrew brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus
to become his follower. Andrew convinced Simon to come to Jesus by saying,
We have found the Messiah. When Jesus saw Simon, he gave him a new name,
Cephas, i. e., Peter.
The reading from the first book of Samuel tells the story of
Samuels call by God. As a boy Samuel ministered to the Lord in the
presence of Eli the priest at the Lords sanctuary in Shiloh. One night, as
Samuel slept in the temple where the ark of the Lord was, the Lord called
Samuel three times. Since Samuel had never before heard the Lord speaking
to him in this way, he assumed that Eli was calling him. Three times he ran
to Eli to ask what Eli wanted. Finally Eli realized that the Lord was
calling Samuel. He told Samuel that if Samuel was called again, he should
say, Speak, for your servant is listening. This was the beginning of
Samuels long career as a prophet of the Lord.
Both of these stories make it clear that Gods call to us comes
through intermediaries. Even when God speaks to us directly, as in the case
of Samuel, we require the help of others, like Eli, to discern it. And
often Gods call comes through the witness of others, as was the case for
Jesus first disciples. They followed Jesus because of the witness of John
the Baptist and later of Andrew. We must be prepared to hear Gods call to
us through the people we meet. We must also be prepared to be the vehicles
of Gods call to others.
The reading from St. Pauls first letter to the Corinthians does
not speak directly about being called. However, it can be seen as spelling
out some implications of accepting the call to follow Jesus.
Apparently some in the Christian community at Corinth were going
to prostitutes. They justified this in part by arguing that satisfaction of
the sexual appetite, like satisfaction of the appetite for food, was a
relatively insignificant matter. Paul rejected their argument. He
maintained that the sexual appetite is not really comparable to the appetite
for food. In Pauls view sexual intercourse is something that engages the
human being at the deepest level. For this reason improper sexual
intercourse is much more significant than matters of eating and drinking.
It is a profanation of oneself as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore,
Paul argued, the Corinthian Christians should not go to prostitutes.
The readings remind us of the call we have received and of the
need to live out the implications of that call.
Terrance Callan |