Here I am Lord
Reading 1: 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19
Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am." Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me." But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. This was the reading earlier this week (Wednesday) and that one line, known so well, brought with it a new practice for me this week, that ties in well with the Gospel (Holy Spirit is Good!). Speak Lord, your servant is listening. This has become the opening line to my morning prayer routine, I simultaneously write it at the top of my prayer joural page. Speak Lord, your servant is listening. How often do we give God the chance to speak before us? Take some time to reflect on this today? How would we feel if in one of our other relationships, we never were given the chance to start the conversation? This past week I was blessed with some of the best conversations I have had with our Lord in a while. Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
This is one of my favorite psalms. I have waited, waited for the Lord and He stooped and heard my cry. This line never fails to evoke memories of our Lord’s saving power in the circumstances of my life AND the Lord’s tendency to prove that ‘good things happen to those who wait’ (upon the Lord). Take a walk with the Lord down memory lane remembering the deliverance you have received from the struggles of life, big or small.
Reading II: 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
This new year I have been on a caffeine fast, much needed and overdo, and painful. I have a sensitivity to caffeine that causes some heart irregularities and admittedly some anxiety. It is not with every sip of caffeinated goodness, only when my consumption veers into the dependency range (more than one drink per day). Being a member of Panera’s sip club brought a habit of their Chargers (yep the ones that led to the death of people with heart arythmia’s) and my own flair up of caffeine related woe. We all do things to our bodies that aren’t in the best interest of them. Spend time with St. Paul’s reading and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart, “How can I honor the temple You reside within?”
Gospel: Jn 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,
"where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.
We see Jesus often respond to others with a question: ‘What do you wish me to do for you?” Today Jesus asks Andrew and John, “What are you looking for?” These two questions can reflect two different levels of our prayer life, our relationship with Jesus. Do I more often come to conversation with my needs or do I more often come to conversation with my desires? They are not the same. Needs take away our immediate poverty (poverty of health, poverty of loneliness, poverty of sorrow, poverty of happiness…). Desires are placed in our heart by God and are intended to take away our eternal poverty: poverty of Him. Jesus already knows both our needs and our desires. When we start the conversation of prayer it is often with needs. When He is allowed to start the conversation of prayer He often asks us, “What are you looking for?” The answer is always the same but wrapped in an infinite number of epiphanies: Jesus. We are all looking for Jesus. Jesus waits for you to let Him ask the questions. He waits to invite you deeper into this relationship, “Come, and you will see.” One way that you can give Jesus the first Word if silent prayer remains difficult, is to open the bible and begin with the Word. Be Andrew and John in your prayer this week and allow Jesus to turn and ask you these questions. Come and See.
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