20200115
NEED
FOR PRAYERFUL DISCERNMENT
15 January,
2020, Wednesday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20 ©
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'Speak, Lord, your servant is listening'
The boy Samuel
was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli; it was rare for the Lord to
speak in those days; visions were uncommon. One day, it happened that Eli was
lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; he could no longer
see. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in the
sanctuary of the Lord where the ark of God was, when the Lord called, ‘Samuel!
Samuel!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ Then he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am,
since you called me.’ Eli said, ‘I did not call. Go back and lie down.’ So he
went and lay down. Once again the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel got up
and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ He replied, ‘I did
not call you, my son; go back and lie down.’ Samuel had as yet no knowledge of
the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Once again
the Lord called, the third time. He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I
am, since you called me.’ Eli then understood that it was the Lord who was
calling the boy, and he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if someone calls
say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in
his place.
The
Lord then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’
Samuel answered, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’
Samuel
grew up and the Lord was with him and let no word of his fall to the ground.
All Israel from Dan to Beersheba came to know that Samuel was accredited as a
prophet of the Lord.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 39(40):2,5,7-10 ©
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Here
I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
I
waited, I waited for the Lord
and
he stooped down to me;
he
heard my cry.
Happy
the man who has placed
his
trust in the Lord
and
has not gone over to the rebels
who
follow false gods.
Here
I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You
do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but
an open ear.
You
do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead,
here am I.
Here
I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
In
the scroll of the book it stands written
that
I should do your will.
My
God, I delight in your law
in
the depth of my heart.
Here
I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Your
justice I have proclaimed
in
the great assembly.
My
lips I have not sealed;
you
know it, O Lord.
Here
I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Col3:16a,17
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Let
the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find
a home with you;
through
him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says
the Lord,
I
know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:29-39 ©
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He cast out devils and cured many who were suffering from disease
On leaving the
synagogue, Jesus went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and
Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they told him
about her straightaway. He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up.
And the fever left her and she began to wait on them.
That
evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were
possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured
many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out
many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he
was.
In
the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a
lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of
him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He
answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I
can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ And he went all through Galilee,
preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.
NEED FOR
PRAYERFUL DISCERNMENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 3:1-10. 19-20; Ps 40:2, 5, 7-10; Mk 1:29-39]
In the gospel, we read
of how busy Jesus was in His ministry. One event followed after
another. After
preaching at the synagogue, he went “straight to the house of Simon and Andrew”
to heal Simon’s mother-in-law of her fever. Then that same evening,
“after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were
possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he
cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also
cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew
who he was.” We can be sure that Jesus was worn out by the end of the
day. We should not be surprised that He would have been kept up late by
so many requests for healing.
Like Jesus, we, too, are
busy with so many activities,
be it work, projects, family obligations, serving our community or attending to
the needs of our friends and loved ones. This is particularly true in
this digital technological world where we are contactable at all times and
people expect our reply to be immediate. Faced with so many demands
from all directions, we feel that we are pulled apart in the cause of our
serving the people. Everyone wants a bit of our time. They want our
personal attention. And if we do not attend to them immediately, they
feel slighted, ignored, hurt or disappointed. Yet, we all know that our
time is limited and our energy is not inexhaustible.
This is where we are
reminded to take a page from the way Jesus lived out His life and ministry. Although everyone wanted to see
Him, He remained in charge of His own life and ministry. He was not
controlled by the demands of people. He was not seeking popularity or
power. We read that “Simon and his companions set out in search of him,
and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He
answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I
can preach there too, because that is why I came.'” Indeed, Jesus
was clear of His mission. He was not side-tracked by what people thought
of Him. He was not tempted to stay behind and build His little kingdom
where He would be loved and found security. He knew He had a bigger
mission ahead of Him. Indeed, “he went all through Galilee, preaching in
their synagogues and casting out devils.”
This is what we must do
as well. We must be in control of our lives and our ministry. We must be clear of what the Lord wants of
us. Serving the Lord does not mean that we are everywhere all the time,
serving everyone who is in need. Perhaps, some of us cannot say ‘No”
because we have always been told that we must be available at all times,
regardless of the situation we are in. So we feel guilty when we reject a
request. Yet if we were to do that, we will eventually suffer from burn
out. We will lose our focus, running around like headless chickens!
Of course, when there is urgency and a matter of great importance, we will need
to sacrifice our time even when we are tired. But this cannot happen all
the time. In most instances, things and appointments can wait. It
is not a matter of life and death. We must know when to say “Yes”.
If we were to reflect
further on ourselves, we might discover the real reasons why we find it
difficult to turn down a request. We are not always motivated by love or God’s
will. More often than not, we are motivated by guilt or fear of losing
our “available” image. Some of us are motivated by pride and
insecurity of wanting to feel needed by others. Knowing that we are important
to people gives us self-esteem. At times, we serve simply because we are
recognized and honored. We want to feel that we are respected in the
community. This is why some of us are more helpful outside our home
than within, because at home we do not receive acknowledgement, gratitude and
praise.
This is why we must take
time out to pray like the Lord.
We read that “in the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house,
he went off to a lonely place and prayed there.” This is the mark of a
true leader and servant. Before He ministered to the people, He first met
God to receive instructions from His Father. Jesus felt the need to be
alone with His Father early in the morning. This was His most valuable
time because He was totally alone with Him without any disturbance from
anyone. He was simply focused on His Father in deep intimacy, in prayer,
in conversation, in discernment and basking in His love. This was how the
Lord found strength, inspiration, direction and focus in His ministry.
His only desire was to do the will of His Father. He said, “My food is to
do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” (Jn 4:34) This was what the psalmist
declared as well.
Indeed, if we want to do
more for the Lord and His people, just using our own strength and ingenuity
will burn us out.
We must come to the Lord to find strength. This is what the Prophet
Isaiah assures us. “He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the
powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall
exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their
strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be
weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa 40:29-31) Indeed, only in the power
of the Holy Spirit can we find the energy and strength to do what Jesus did,
being available to God’s people, serving wholeheartedly and selflessly.
And when faced with opposition, He continued indefatigably.
What is worse is that we
might end up doing our own will, for ourselves instead of really being at the
service of God and His people. This is because we never check our motives for what we
do. We are simply responding not just to the needs of people but to their
whims and fancies, and to our own insecurity of wanting to feel good.
When that happens, we cannot say that we are doing God’s will. We need to
ask what the Lord wants of us, not just doing things that He did not ask of
us. It would be the case of Martha who was overly hospitable in taking
care of our Lord. But the Lord said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried
and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary
has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” In
other words, for now, what Jesus wanted of Martha and Mary was for them to just
listen to Him. He did not want to be bothered by all the unnecessary entertainment.
Indeed, prayer and talking to the Lord is how we keep our mission in focus and
not lose sight of it as we attend to our daily tasks. Whatever we do at
the end of the day must serve the mission the Lord has entrusted to us.
We must be careful that
we do not all fall into the same trap as Eli who was blinded and paid the price
of complacency. Sin
prevents us from listening to the truth. Hence, we read that Israel
had no prophecy and visions for a long time. “It was rare for the Lord to
speak in those days; visions were uncommon. One day, it happened that Eli
was lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; he could
no longer see. The lamp of God had not yet gone out.” Eli was getting
weak and complacent with regard to his responsibilities. So much so, his
sons were getting out of hand. Because of his sins of negligence and
complacency, he could no longer see and as a consequence the lamp of God was
extinguishing. As a consequence, God told Samuel, He would take action
against Eli and his house. “For I have told him that I am about to punish his
house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming
God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of
Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or
offering forever.” (1 Sm 3:13f)
Discernment means taking
time out for prayer. We
must be courageous to make time for the Lord every day, especially in the early
hours of the morning before we begin our daily activity. We must spend
quiet time with the Lord in prayer, in reflection, in meditation and
contemplation so that we can find inspiration, strength, insight and direction
in our life and in dealing with the challenges ahead of us. Like Samuel,
if we were to be fruitful, we must be like him, for “the Lord was with him”
because he “let no word of his fall to the ground.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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