Father Michael Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 (edited) January 17th, 2021 Second Sunday-Ordinary Time Today’s Theme: “Call and Response” “Behold the Lamb of God” A Message from Father †Michael Reflections on Today’s Scripture The main theme of today’s readings is that of call and response. First of all, we hear of the call of Samuel, who played a big part in the building of Israel (Samuel 3:3-10, 10-19.) Born in response to his mother’s prayers, Samuel had been dedicated to the Lord, and brought up by the priest Eli, at the sanctuary of Shiloh. Marking the beginning of a new era, he was the instrument through whom Israel got its first kings. This paves the way for our Gospel story of the call of the first disciples—Andrew, John and Peter (John 1:35-42.) Even though this is the year of Mark, today we hear from John. Our Liturgy respects an old theme of celebrating different epiphanies or manifestations of Jesus. John’s Gospel bears further reflection, considering our understanding that the call of the first disciples was a not particularly formal. John makes it clear the disciples’ relationship with Jesus passed through a stage of growth and development. When John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God,” Andrew and Peter, formerly followers of The Baptist, were moved to follow Jesus (John 1:36-37.) In this way, John shows us a gradual recognition of Jesus’ identity—through the testimony of John the Baptist and the confession of the first disciples. (John calls Jesus, “The Lamb of God.” Andrew calls Him, “The Messiah.”) Normally, people don’t just “up and follow” a complete stranger. (Even in ancient times, as today, people were aware that doing so might be foolish!) Although it is not documented, it is reasonable to expect the first disciples [Simon, Andrew, James and John] may have had some previous contact with Jesus. They may have been standing in a crowd, listening to Him—sparking their admiration and spurring them to want to get to know Him. We do know that when they met Him, and felt His magnetic personality, they were attracted to Him. This would account for their decision to follow Him. Leaving everything— livelihood, possessions, security, family ties, they devoted themselves exclusively to following Jesus. Down the ages many believers have made the same total commitment to Christ. Even though His call, “Follow me!” sounds like a command, it was an invitation. These men were fishermen—an important occupation. But Jesus called them to not just a new occupation, but to a cause to which they would dedicate their lives. They knew He wasn’t calling them to a life of ease, but quite the contrary. As fishermen, they would have been well acquainted with hardship. They understood that Jesus’ call was one to service of others, when He said: “I will make you fishers of men.” When the leaders of “cults” call people to follow them, they turn them into their personal slaves. Jesus called the apostles, not to service of Himself, but to service of others, sacrificing their personal plans and ambitions. In doing so, they moved from a life that was known to one that was unknown. But they also knew His call offered them the opportunity to live a fuller and more worthwhile life. Until then they had a career. From that time on, they had a vocation. Careers and vocations are different, though not mutually exclusive. We might define a vocation through a specific career—teaching, nursing, the healing arts. But it is never simply reduced to these activities. Vocations involve something deeper—vision, motivation, and dedication. A career usually means furthering oneself. But a vocation means service to others. That they accepted this challenge so whole-heartedly tells us a great deal about the kind of men they were— not supermen, just ordinary people. No one ever believed in the ordinary people as much as Jesus. A person doesn’t have to be exceptional to be Jesus’ disciple. A Significant Encounter Many of our interactions with people, are of little significance, and are soon forgotten. Consider: One could meet the same people every day, we may never get close to them—"surface meeting surface,” as it were. We might casually visit with someone for hours, or years, without revealing our true self to them. Perhaps we might live in the same community for years, and never getting to know, or even talk to anyone about the deeper things of life. Some contacts with others even throw us back on ourselves, poorer than before! These are some of life’s great disappointments. Other encounters, on the other hand, turn out to be of great significance—enriching our lives, perhaps even utterly changing us forever: Having just met someone, you discover an immediate bond is formed and you are able to reveal yourself in a true and clear light. This is one of life’s great delights. When a friendship is born there is no tangible change in our lives, just an awareness that our life is different, and that our capacity to love and care has miraculously been enlarged without any effort on our own part. Kahlil Gibran said, “It is wrong to think that love comes [solely] from long companionship and persevering courtship. Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity, and unless that affinity is created in a moment it will not be created in years, or even generations.” Many significant encounters appear to happen accidentally. Some people say that this was how they met their spouse: the circumstances of that first encounter are never forgotten. Once we come to love, or hate someone, we remember almost every detail of our first encounter. This helps us understand the importance of the first meeting between Jesus and three of the men who later became His apostles: Peter, Andrew and John. It’s clear they had a wonderful encounter. Years later, when John came to write his Gospel, he could remember the exact time of day in which the encounter took place: “It was about the tenth hour”—4:00 p.m. (John 1:39.) On meeting Jesus, they were captivated by Him. Giving them as much time as they wanted, they found Him warm, friendly and welcoming. They knew they had met a remarkable Person, and a rare friendship was born. They felt totally at peace in His presence. Through their contact with Him, they saw a vision of what they might become. There is a huge difference between power and influence. Unlike people who might wield their power over us in an attempt to oppress, Jesus’ influence serves to lead us to self- realization. May God Richly Bless You! “God walks into your soul with silent step. God comes to you more than you go to Him. Never will his coming be what you expect, and yet never will it disappoint. The more you respond to his gentle pressure, the greater will be your freedom.” ~~Ven. Archbishop †Fulton Sheen~~ To view a live stream of today's Holy Mass, click here: https://youtu.be/7HwLVn8mt_g What Does the Lord Require?.docx What Does the Lord Require?.mp3 Edited January 17, 2021 by Father Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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