Ordinary 2

Ordinary 2
January 15, 2006

by Jude Siciliano, OP

I Samuel 3: 3b-10, 19
Ps. 40: 2-4, 7-10
I Cor. 6: 13c-15a, 17-20
John 1: 35-42

Dear Preachers: "Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was." He wasn't in the temple to pay a visit and say some prayers at a sacred shrine; nor had he dozed off because he had heard a dull sermon! Samuel lived in the temple.

His mother, Hannah, had been barren and when she had Samuel she presented him to God's service in the temple of Shiloh. In previous verses to today's we are told that, "a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent." Things are in a sad state of affairs in Israel. We are also told, Eli, "...was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak he could not see" (3:1-2). One senses that Eli's sleeping and blindness are symbolic of Israel's spiritual condition. It's not just about the time of night or a case of an old person's glaucoma, is it? We are in the temple, vision is rare and the priest is asleep. No wonder Eli misses the point when the young Samuel rushes in. At first, the old priest doesn't discern that God is the source of the voice awakening the youth. Samuel himself is yet too young to recognize who is calling him---though we do observe how quick and ready he is to respond to his name when it's called, "Here I am...you called," he says to Eli.

"Here I am...." We have run across this response throughout the bible, it is the formulaic response important biblical figures make upon hearing God first call their names. Someone's name is called; "Here I am," is the hearer's response; then God issues a call and gives instructions how the charge is to be fulfilled." For example, there is Ananias' call in Acts (9:10). God calls his name and he responds, "Here I am Lord." Then God charges him to go to Saul, who was struck blind on the road to Damascus.

Something new is happening in tired, old, dozing Israel. People couldn't pick themselves up by their own bootstraps (as we Americans often expect the downcast to do) so, once again, God takes the initiative and finds a ready listener in Samuel. This inexperienced boy doesn't presume to know the answers or what to do to solve the needs in the land; perhaps the elders thought they did. Instead, Samuel does what God's faithful ones do when God calls their name---he listens. "Speak, for your servant is listening." Israel will be revitalized through the prophet Samuel, "...the Lord was with him, not permitting any world of his to be without effect." If we are to become a witness to others about God and God's ways, our first task must be attentive listening to what God says and does. And the first reading gives us a model for the prayer we could say in our listening time, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." It's a good mantra for busy people in a noisy world.

It's not just the daily noise that assaults our ears through the media, in our malls, on our streets and in our homes. It's also the noise of a world filled with the sounds of war and rumors of war; the cries of the starving in third world countries; the despair of those 25 million afflicted by HIV and AIDS in Africa alone; the desperation of the poor and hurricane-displaced in our own land; the disillusionment of our church members, etc. All these hard sounds and too many more to name, form the cacophony of our days and can deafen us to God's voice.

But first recall that our baptism was and is still, the moment when we were called by name to join together in the struggle against the darkness. How we respond to our call needs the continual guiding voice of God and our willingness to respond. "Speak Lord, your servant is listening..." is a good and necessary Christian mantra indeed!

Perhaps we are being too hard on Eli. He may have had limited vision, but at least he could see clearly enough to point Samuel in the right direction,, "...if you are called again, reply, 'Speak Lord....'" And isn't that what John the Baptist did for his disciples in the gospel, point them in the right direction? We recall and give thanks at this celebration for all those who throughout our lives have spoken a guiding word or pointed us in a direction that yielded growth and spiritual insight. They were humans who may have had their own shortcomings and, like Eli, may not have had perfect sight or always been flawless models for us. But they were there at crucial moments and crossroads in our lives and their wisdom helped open our eyes and direct our feet in the right direction. Who were they? ---parents, aunts, uncles, senior citizens, close friends, teachers, religious leaders, or even the passing stranger who said or did something that we have never forgotten. There is no end to the ways God finds to speak to us in the night. That is why our prayerful response is "thank you," and we say, one more time.... "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."

John the Baptist was a great luminary, but he admits, "I am not the Messiah" (1:19). Light and darkness; seeing and blindness, are dominant motifs in John's gospel. The world (like the Temple in Shiloh) is in darkness and awaiting the light. Jesus is that light and the Baptist has the good sense to point his inquiring disciples to Christ. Eli and the Baptist were important voices for God, but their most important contribution was that they stepped aside and directed their disciples to the next stage of their growth in sight.

John the Baptist's role was not insignificant. He had instructed his disciples to change their lives and prepare for the one who was coming. So, not only John, but his disciples too, were preparing and looking for the expected one. Those who mentor us help us get ready for the next moment of insight and growth; they don't hold us back or try to build a permanent following for themselves, as political and even some religious leaders, try to do. Instead, true mentors set us free and rejoice in our development. That's what the Baptist did; he opened the eyes of his followers to see the gift God was giving them in Christ.

Today's gospel passage is a brief summary of a vocation; not the specialized vocation we ordained have, but the calling we all share as followers of Christ. There are numerous stories in the gospels of people receiving a call to follow Jesus. Today's passage is just one and it offers insights to us Christ-followers. Let's look at how the evangelist lays out the characteristics of a vocation.

We being with people who are looking for something---seekers. They are guided by a voice of experience, the Baptist's. Many of us turn to wisdom figures at different stages of our lives for guidance for the next steps we should take. The searchers accept the Baptist's suggestion and they follow Jesus. The reason for their choice is then questioned by Jesus, "What are you looking for?" Discipleship is not completed all at once, instead, it is a journey and along the way Jesus' question, in one form or another, is put before us, "What are you looking for?" We will be disappointed if we have set out looking for a secure life; success in all our ventures; quick answers to our questions; shortcuts to fulfillment; certainty that we have made the right choices, etc. "What are you looking for?" is an often repeated question we will hear at moments when we will have to recommit to following Jesus--or go looking elsewhere.

When the two disciples hear the question they don't give an answer as much as express a desire to be where Jesus is, "...teacher, where are you staying?" We feel a need for God in our lives and we have been pointed to Jesus, so what we most basically want is to "stay" with him through thick and thin. We want our lives focused on him; our values---his values. We want the vision he gives us and we want to be energized by his Spirit. We want to "stay" with him.

But he is not in any static place. We hear the invitation Jesus gave to the two following him, "Come and your will see." Like these disciples we will have to trust that living by the new reality that is Jesus, will bring us to new life. The promise is, we "will see." The way we will get the light to see is by accepting Jesus' initiation to continue following him...."Come and see." Each of us will have to find out how, in our unique circumstances, we can "stay" with Jesus. How will we, amid all our daily activities and life's stages, stay with Jesus? What we are doing at liturgy today is one way we stay with him, listen to his Word and are nourished by him.

Jesus' changes Simon's name---the evangelist John, through biblical imagery, is telling us that following Jesus and staying with him, will change us. Name changes in the bible suggest an identity change; with a change of name God offers a new identity and mode of life. The old self is put aside; the new taken up. This shift in identity doesn't happen over night, at least not for most of us. It is a life-time process of saying "No" to old and lifeless ways and "Yes" to the life Jesus offers. Not an easy task, or a short and easy journey. We need help to stay the course, if we are to "come and see." This Eucharist offers us help in coming to the new identity our baptism is giving us. At our liturgical celebration we are given an enabling Word and the life-sustaining food our new identity needs to thrive and grow.

POSTCARDS TO DEATH ROW INMATES

"It is time to abandon the death penalty -- not just because of what it does to those who are executed, but because of how it diminishes all of us... We ask all Catholics--pastors, catechists, educators and parishioners -- to join us in rethinking this difficult issue and committing ourselves to pursuing justice without vengeance. With our Holy Father, we seek to build a society so committed to human life that it will not sanction the killing of any human person.------(Nov. 2000 "Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice," U.S. Catholic Bishops)

Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each week I am posting in this space several inmates' names and locations. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know that: we have not forgotten them; are praying for them and their families; or, whatever personal encouragement you might like to give them. If you like, tell them you heard about them through North Carolina's, "People of Faith Against the Death Penalty." Thanks, Jude Siciliano, OP

Please write to:........................................
Jerry Dale Hill #0511057 (On death row since 10/31/95 )
Keith B. East #0511998 (11/8/95)
John D. Mc Neil #0275678 (11/10/95)
---Central Prison 1300 Western Blvd. Raleigh, NC 27606

QUOTABLE: WHAT GOD IS DOING

"In and of themselves, "acts of God," as they are called in legal jargon, are not events with easily discerned messages. But disasters--whether "natural" like Katrina and the Asian tsunami, or "man-made" like the September 11 terrorist attacks--shake us personally and as a nation. They compel us to think anew about ourselves and the world.

"As Christians, we are invited to think and pray about what God is doing in such situations. Some Christians believe that God singles out people for judgment and visits disaster upon them as punishment. But the Bible includes stories of natural disasters in which God is "not in the earthquake, wind and fire" (I Kings 19), and we should avoid the error of "blaming the victim" in the manner of Job's "friends."

"Rather, the God we know in Jesus Christ is graciously present in disasters, sharing in the suffering and calling us to become a new creation. God's heart was the first to break when Katrina struck and people's lives were torn apart. God's healing presence is a work among all those who are still afflicted in mind, body and spirit. God's anger burned at the indignities perpetrated in the shelter after the storm. And God is desperately determined to open our eyes and ears to the cries for justice form poor and hungry people in this country and around the world. God wants to shake us from our complacency and materialism to seize the opportunities we have to foster justice in our nation and worldwide." ---THE BREAD FOR THE WORLD NEWSLETTER, October-November, 2006

JUSTICE NOTES

Jesus was born away from his parent's village because of a governmental decree. Mary and Joseph had to flee with their new born from the terror of Roman oppression and threats to their lives. It is appropriate then during this Advent-Christmas season that we reflect on the issues related to immigrants and what our church has said about immigration. The source for these notes is: the JUSTICE FOR IMMIGRANTS: A JOURNEY OF HOPE webpage.

The bishops' call for reforms includes the following elements:
Global anti-poverty efforts:
Many migrants are compelled to leave their homes out of economic necessity in order to provide even the most basic of needs for themselves and their families. The bishops call for international efforts designed to create conditions in which people do not have to leave their homes out of necessity. Trade, international economic aid, debt relief, and other types of economic policies should be pursued that result in people not having to migrate in desperation in order to survive.
Expanded opportunities to reunify families:
U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents must endure many years of separation from close family members who they want to join them in the United States. The backlogs of available visas for family members results in waits of five, ten, fifteen, and more years of waiting for a visa to become available. The bishops call for a reduction of the pending backlog and more visas available for family reunification purposes.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

CD Available: "FIRST IMPRESSIONS: PREACHING REFLECTIONS ON LITURGICAL YEAR B" This compilation, from past "First Impressions," includes two reflections on almost all Sundays and major feasts for the upcoming liturgical year. For more information and to purchase go to: http://judeop.ispraleigh.com/

-- ABOUT DONATIONS --
If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to Jude Siciliano, O.P., Make checks to "Dominican Friars of Raleigh." Mail contributions to: Jude Siciliano, O.P., Dominican Friars of Raleigh, P.O. Box 12927, Raleigh, N.C. 27605

REGULAR INFORMATION

I get notes from people responding to these reflections. Sometimes they tell how they use "First Impressions" in their ministry and for personal use. Others respond to the reflections, make suggestions and additions. I think our readers would benefit from these additional thoughts. If you drop me a BRIEF note, I will be happy to add your thoughts and reflections to my own. (Judeop@Juno.com)

Our webpage addresses:
(Where you will find "Preachers' Exchange," which includes these reflections and Homilias Dominicales, as well as articles, book reviews and quotes pertinent to preaching.)
http://www.opsouth.org Under "Preachers' Exchange"
http://www.op.org/exchange/

"Homilias Dominicales"-- these Spanish reflections are written by four friars of the Southern Dominican Province experienced in Hispanic Ministry, Isidore Vicente, Carmen Mele, Brian Pierce and Juan Martin Torres. Like "First Impressions", "Homilias Dominicales" are a preacher's early reflections on the upcoming Sunday readings and liturgy. So, if you or a friend would like to receive "Homilias Dominicales" drop a note to John Boll, O.P. at: jboll@opsouth.org
"First Impressions" is a service to preachers and those wishing to prepare for Sunday worship. It is sponsored by the Southern Dominican Province, U.S.A. If you would like "First Impressions" sent weekly to a friend, send a note to John Boll at the above Email address.
If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to:
Jude Siciliano, OP, Promoter of Preaching
Southern Dominican Province, USA
P.O. Box 12927,
Raleigh, N.C. 27605
(919) 833-1893
Make checks to: Dominican Friars of Raleigh.
Thank you.