20210117 WHAT DO YOU WANT?
17 January, 2021, Sunday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
1 Samuel 3:3-10,19 © |
'Speak, Lord, your servant is listening'
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 39(40):2,4,7-10 © |
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.
He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
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.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 6:13-15,17-20 © |
Do not sin against your own body
The body is not meant for fornication: it is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. God, who raised the Lord from the dead, will by his power raise us up too.
You know, surely, that your bodies are members making up the body of Christ; do you think I can take parts of Christ’s body and join them to the body of a prostitute? Never! But anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
Keep away from fornication. All the other sins are committed outside the body; but to fornicate is to sin against your own body. Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you received him from God. You are not your own property; you have been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for the glory of God.
Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn1:41,17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We have found the Messiah – which means the Christ –
grace and truth have come through him.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 1:35-42 © |
'We have found the Messiah'
As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.
One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SAM 3:3-10,19; 1 COR 6:13-15,17-20; JOHN 1:35-42]
When two of John’s disciples were following Jesus, He turned around towards them and asked them point blank, “What do you want?” This is a very fundamental question for those who seek to follow Jesus. Our Lord is not interested in those who follow Him with wrong motives or inadequate motives because they would be disappointed. Some, like the Zealots, followed Jesus thinking that He would lead them in a revolution against the Roman conquerors. Indeed, many of us become Christians or join an organization for other motives rather than to walk after our Lord in discipleship.
So it is important right from the outset to ask ourselves, what we are seeking in life. What is my goal in life? What is it that I really desire from life? For most people, they seek security. This is understandable because life is uncertain. With an unpredictable economy, job insecurity, high medical costs, education fees, and household expenses, we certainly would like to be prepared for the future so that we will have enough for our family and ourselves. So seeking security for our basic needs in life would be the first reason because without health, a good job and financial stability, we cannot be at peace. This goal is not wrong but it is inadequate to help us to live a meaningful life. In truth, we will never be secure enough in life. The powerful never feel that they are secure enough. The ambitious never feel that they are good enough. In the final analysis, life is not predictable.
For others, beyond securing the basic needs, they look for pleasure and enjoyment. Those of us who are accustomed to living a luxurious life dread having to downgrade our lifestyle after retirement. We want a life of comfort, live in a nice house and drive a big car drive. We want to go on holidays, dine well, dress well, and even indulge in sinful pleasures. Giving free rein to the desires of our body would cause us to suffer. If pleasure is all we seek then we forget that happiness in life is more than food and drink “but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:7) Indeed, St Paul reminds us that our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. “You are not your own property; you have been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for the glory of God.”
Then again, some are searching for glory and power. They are ambitious. They want to succeed in life, and be known as somebody. Having an ambition is not wrong but if it is self-serving, we will never be at rest or able to enjoy life and personal relationships. It is about performance, doing well and success. What we should be searching for is meaningful service so that we can use our talents for the good of others and finding fulfillment. Unless, we pour out our lives in service of God and community, we can never find real peace because living a self-centered life cuts us from being human.
But there is something that no one can give. It is seeking God, seeking the ultimate. This was the fundamental desire of Andrew and John, Peter, Philip and Nathanael. They were seeking God. Only Christ could fulfill them. Indeed, the good news is that before we can find God, God has already found us. When we search for God, we must not imagine that we are taking the initiative. The desire to find Him is already a gift planted in us by God. He is the One who is searching for us. This was what the Lord told Nathanael later. “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” In other words, Jesus knew that Nathanael was contemplating to find God in His life. Sitting under the fig tree is a symbol of those waiting in contemplation for God to come. Indeed, his waiting was not in vain for as the Lord said to him, “You will see greater things than these. You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” (Jn 1:50f)
Like the disciples of John the Baptist and the young Samuel, we must be attentive to the Lord’s voice. We must search for what is ultimate so that we can find peace, rest and fulfillment in life. Samuel was restless because he heard the voice of God calling him. The disciples of John too were seeking for the teacher to lead them to God. How then can we find our calling in life? How can we find the Lord? How do we discern the inspiration we receive? Are we dreaming? Is it just an imagination or the Lord speaking to us?
Hence, we need people to guide us in listening to the voice of God. Samuel had Eli to advise him. When the Lord called Samuel, the third time, Eli said to him, “Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.'” Samuel was instructed to listen attentively to the Lord. So, the first step is to listen. We receive so many different voices calling us to respond. But not all of them are from the Lord. If we respond to every voice, we would end up fragmented and distracted. Prayer and discernment are absolutely necessary. So listening quietly and attentively to God’s voice is the first step.
Sometimes, we need people to bring us to Jesus, as in the case of the disciples of John the Baptist. He directed his disciples to the Lord. “As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus.” Such people are rare. Most of us point people towards ourselves rather than the Lord even when we purport to be serving the Lord and witnessing for Him. Few have the clarity and selflessness of John, secure and confident in himself to direct his own disciples to follow the Lord. He wanted only the best for his disciples. He knew he was just a forerunner but he was not the Teacher or Messiah.
This too was the case of Andrew. After meeting Jesus, “early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus.” Andrew did not keep Jesus for himself. Not only that, he was not envious that although he was the first to find Jesus, it was his brother, Peter who became part of the inner circle of apostles of our Lord. He was contented to just be one of the Twelve and allowed Peter to overshadow him. For Andrew, what was important was that he fulfilled the role assigned to him, which was to bring people to Jesus. Later on, he would bring a boy with five loaves and two fish to Jesus for Him to multiply for 5000 people. He was a man with a missionary heart, bringing the Greeks to meet the Lord as well.
But once we are introduced to the Lord, we must not just stay on a superficial relationship. It is not enough to study about Jesus or have some information about Him. The disciples of John knew that and so asked the Lord, “where do you live?” The Lord’s reply was “Come and see!” Indeed, in order for us to find ourselves, we must find the Lord in person. We must meet Jesus as a friend, not as a subject for study. Jesus wants a personal relationship with us. Only by talking with Jesus can we discover Him and ourselves. Indeed, it was such a significant event that the evangelist noted, “they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.”
It is when we meet the Lord in person that we discover our true identity and calling. This was the case of Peter. Jesus said to him, “You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.” The change of name in the bible signifies a new relationship with God and also change of mission as in the case of Abraham (Gen 17:5) and Jacob. (Gn 32:28) Jesus read the heart of Simon and He knew that he would be the leader of the band eventually. Whilst we read a person superficially, God knows our heart more than we know ourselves. Jesus saw his weaknesses but He also saw his strengths and what he could be with the grace of God. When we allow ourselves to meet the Lord, He will reveal to us our true identity, our calling and mission in life. He will help us to explore all the potentials God has given to us so that we can make full use of them according to His plan and for His service. When we realize our calling in life, our mission, which is to serve God and be with Him, one in mind and heart, there we find ultimate rest, joy and meaning.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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