20220112 HERE I AM, LORD, I COME TO DO YOUR WILL
12 January, 2022, Wednesday, Week 1 in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20 © |
'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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 39(40):2,5,7-10 © |
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.
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.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Col3:16a,17 |
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!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 1:29-39 © |
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.
HERE I AM, LORD, I COME TO DO YOUR WILL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 3:1-10. 19-20; Ps 40:2,5,7-10; Mk 1:29-39]
The first reading from the prophet Samuel begins by recalling the sad situation of Israel when the light of faith was dying out. This was symbolized by the mention that “the lamp of God had not yet gone out” in spite of the fact that Eli was not doing his job properly as High Priest. He was not even able to handle his sons who were abusing their position as priests, and committing sacrilegious acts. “The sons of Eli were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord or for the duties of the priests to the people.” (1 Sm 2:14) And Eli was not excused because he knew the scandals committed by his sons. “Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He said to them, ‘Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad.'” (1 Sm 2:22-24)
As a result, we read that “it was rare for the Lord to speak in those days; visions were uncommon.” Indeed, the sins of the people and their priests made them unable to hear the voice of God speaking to them. Again, this was poignantly brought out by the fact that Eli’s “eyes were beginning to grow dim; he could no longer see.” Not only was he unable to see visions, he was not even able to hear the Word of God. So much so when the Lord called Samuel, Eli could not detect immediately that it was the Lord’s voice calling Samuel. “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.” It was only at the third time that he came to realize that it was the Lord calling Samuel and so he instructed him to say, “Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.'”
So too when we see the pathetic state of the Church in our times. We can sense that our ability to hear the Word of God has been greatly compromised. Our times are not much different from that of Eli and his people. The Church is going through difficult times because of scandals, disunity and lack of clarity in direction compounded by the climate of secularism, relativism and individualism. The failure of the religious leaders in conduct and in their lack of faith in many ways have made our people lose respect for the clergy and the religious. Some of us are no better than Eli and his sons in conduct as His priests.
Yet, we should not think that evil has triumphed over the Church, or that God has lost the battle to evil and darkness. In truth, the close of an era is but the opening of another era. The confusing state of affairs, the challenges of the Church, the loss of faith and members, the decreasing number of priests and clergy actually is God’s ways to renew His Church. Just as God was waiting to send Samuel to renew Israel, so too God will send His leaders to renew the Church, her clergy and members in faith, in integrity and charity.
In such difficult times, God calls Samuel once again to renew the people in faith. God is constantly calling new labourers into His harvest. He has not stopped calling young men and women to serve Him in the Church, whether as ordained priests, religious or just lay workers. What is needed is that we must be receptive like Samuel to the Word of the Lord. We must be able to say with conviction, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Yet, the biggest obstacle is that we are not able to hear Him because there are so many voices in the world today, from the internet, social media, from so-called learned people, the intelligentsia, all giving wrong, distorted and half-truths. When the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch. How can we hear God’s voice when the pleasures of the world, the obsession with all kinds of information have taken over our time for prayer and the scriptures?
Secondly, to renew the Church and society today, listening is only the first step. We must be ready to accept His will. Many of us know the will of God but we are powerless in fulfilling it. We make compromises. We rationalize ourselves out of it. We try to justify our sins and relegate our wrongs to human weakness and a fallen nature instead of acknowledging our guilt. The psalmist says, “You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. 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.” We too must not just delight in His law but carry out His will in our lives.
Thirdly, Samuel kept himself connected to the Word of God. “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.” How beautiful it is to know that Samuel throughout his life listened attentively to the Word of God and carried them out even when it was difficult. When Saul turned out to be a bad king, “the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.'” (1 Sm 16:1-13) Samuel took the risk of anointing David to be the next king of Israel in obedience to the Lord. And this was because Samuel was obedient to the Word of God and hung on His word.
In the gospel, Jesus shows us what it takes to be obedient to the Word of God and to do His Father’s will. He shows us the importance of prayer, remaining in constant contact with His Father and discernment of God’s will in His ministry. We cannot compromise our relationship with God in the name of ministry. This is either just an excuse or an escapism from prayer or the lack of priority. Indeed, when we look at the ministry of our Lord, He was very active and His day was filled with activities. In today’s gospel, we get a sample of His demanding ministry. He began the day, preaching in the Synagogue. Immediately upon leaving the synagogue, He “went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew.” They informed Him that Peter’s mother-in-law was down with fever. Without delay, “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.” Jesus was attentive to the needs of His disciples and would attend to them when needed. He was available to His friends.
But Jesus was also available to all, not just those who helped Him in His ministry. We read “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.” Immediately after the Sabbath, He was kept busy all evening and night healing people with every kind of illnesses and suffering. Jesus was a man of compassion and action. He came for them and He knew that His ministry was to proclaim the Good News in words and in deeds, the mercy of God.
Yet, we must never forget that if He was able to remain focused in His ministry, never suffering burn-out or becoming edgy and irritable, it was because Jesus was a man of prayer. He knew His priority. “In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, he went off to a lonely place and prayed there.” He spoke to His Father before He spoke to man. He was intent on doing the Father’s will and not His own. Hence, when “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.” That, we must do as well. Listening to the Father through His Son, so that in our ministry, we will not end up building our own kingdom, fulfilling our own plans, depending on ourselves, but truly doing what the Lord is asking of us, going to places that we prefer not to go, doing everything in obedience to God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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