CT - Catholic Telegraph

Being attentive to God’s call

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), I Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 (Lectionary 065, Jan. 15, 2006)

For the 33 or 34 Sundays of Ordinary Time, the Lectionary gives us two series of more or less continuous readings from the New Testament. The second readings are from the apostolic letters of the New Testament. The Gospel readings are from a single evangelist (Matthew, Mark or Luke) for the whole series of weeks during each liturgical year (with the exception of the Second Sunday, whose Gospel is always from the Gospel of John, and also excepting a few weeks in year B when we hear from John’s Gospel commenting on Mark’s narrative of the feeding of the multitude).

The Old Testament readings, however, our overture readings, are not in a series of their own. They have been chosen to correspond with the Gospel reading, to introduce it, to illustrate it, to show how the Gospels are rooted in God’s relationship with His first chosen people.

Today’s overture reading, from The First Book of Samuel, is in harmony with the Gospel reading from the first chapter of John in that both readings are concerned with vocation. They are about God’s calling people to help carry out His plans for His people.

Samuel was a very important person in the Old Testament. He had been born to a woman, Hannah, who had previously been unable to bear children. She and her husband visited the shrine at Shilo where the ark of the covenant was kept, and Hannah prayed for a child. She promised that, if she bore a child, she would give the child exclusively to the Lord. She did conceive, and as soon as it was possible to separate child and mother, Hannah turned the child, the young Samuel, over to Eli, the priest of the shrine. Eli would raise Samuel and teach him the ways of the Lord.

In this Sunday’s reading, we read about an important event in Samuel’s life: his call to be an agent of the Lord.

Samuel is awakened by someone calling his name. He thinks it is Eli, the priest, but Eli says it was not he who had called. This happens a second time, then a third. By the time the call has come for the third time, Eli realizes that it is the Lord who is calling the young Samuel and tells the boy how to respond. The call comes again, now for the fourth time. (God is insistent!) Samuel answers as Eli had instructed him: "Speak, for your servant is listening." In the verses that are omitted in our lectionary reading, God tells Samuel how He will punish Eli and his sons for their lack of reverence and humility in their service to the shrine. There follows a general statement about Samuel: the Lord was with him, and all of his words found fulfillment.

Samuel turned out to be a pivotal figure in Old Testament history. He was God’s agent in leading the people from being a kind of tribal league to being a single people under one king. He was the link between primitive Israel and a more sophisticated kind of government ruled by people like David and Solomon. He has been described as the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. It was for this that God called him.

In the Gospel reading (John 1:35-42), we see Jesus calling His first followers. These men, too, would have important things to do in God’s kingdom. They would become Jesus’ apostles, not because of their personal talents or inherent excellence, but just because they had been called by Jesus.

Sometimes people tend to think that being called by God is a rare and special occurrence, reserved in the past for people like Samuel and the apostles, or for those destined for priesthood or religious life in our own time. There are special vocations to be sure, callings that pave the way for extraordinary works in carrying out the Lord’s will. But there are more general callings as well, initiatives that God undertakes not just through prophets and apostles and priests and Sisters but through more ordinary men and women, more ordinary circumstances.

We are all called to be alive, to be gifted with faith, hope and love, to live out a human existence that is not exactly like anybody else’s human existence. All this happens to us not through our own initiative, not because of our own worth, but simply because God calls us. If God had not called us, we would not exist, we would not be members of the community of faith, we would not have any purpose to our lives. And it’s not just to the big things that God calls us. Every little intervention of God in our lives, every blessing that we receive, every danger, great or small, that God averts from us is part of God’s calling. God has plans for each of us, even as God had plans for Samuel and the apostles. It’s up to us to be attentive to God’s action in our lives. It’s up to us to listen.

For reflection and discussion

In what ways have I been called by God?

How do I listen to God?



		Welcome to the online edition of The Catholic Telegraph, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Serving 500,000 Catholics in the southwest Ohio counties of: Adams, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby and Warren.

	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk Being attentive to God’s call Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), I Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 (Lectionary 065, Jan. 15, 2006) For the 33 or 34 Sundays of Ordinary Time, the Lectionary gives us two series of more or less continuous readings from the New Testament. The second readings are from the apostolic letters of the New Testament. The Gospel readings are from a single evangelist (Matthew, Mark or Luke) for the whole series of weeks during each liturgical year (with the exception of the Second Sunday, whose Gospel is always from the Gospel of John, and also excepting a few weeks in year B when we hear from John’s Gospel commenting on Mark’s narrative of the feeding of the multitude). The Old Testament readings, however, our overture readings, are not in a series of their own. They have been chosen to correspond with the Gospel reading, to introduce it, to illustrate it, to show how the Gospels are rooted in God’s relationship with His first chosen people. Today’s overture reading, from The First Book of Samuel, is in harmony with the Gospel reading from the first chapter of John in that both readings are concerned with vocation. They are about God’s calling people to help carry out His plans for His people. Samuel was a very important person in the Old Testament. He had been born to a woman, Hannah, who had previously been unable to bear children. She and her husband visited the shrine at Shilo where the ark of the covenant was kept, and Hannah prayed for a child. She promised that, if she bore a child, she would give the child exclusively to the Lord. She did conceive, and as soon as it was possible to separate child and mother, Hannah turned the child, the young Samuel, over to Eli, the priest of the shrine. Eli would raise Samuel and teach him the ways of the Lord. In this Sunday’s reading, we read about an important event in Samuel’s life: his call to be an agent of the Lord. Samuel is awakened by someone calling his name. He thinks it is Eli, the priest, but Eli says it was not he who had called. This happens a second time, then a third. By the time the call has come for the third time, Eli realizes that it is the Lord who is calling the young Samuel and tells the boy how to respond. The call comes again, now for the fourth time. (God is insistent!) Samuel answers as Eli had instructed him: "Speak, for your servant is listening." In the verses that are omitted in our lectionary reading, God tells Samuel how He will punish Eli and his sons for their lack of reverence and humility in their service to the shrine. There follows a general statement about Samuel: the Lord was with him, and all of his words found fulfillment. Samuel turned out to be a pivotal figure in Old Testament history. He was God’s agent in leading the people from being a kind of tribal league to being a single people under one king. He was the link between primitive Israel and a more sophisticated kind of government ruled by people like David and Solomon. He has been described as the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. It was for this that God called him. In the Gospel reading (John 1:35-42), we see Jesus calling His first followers. These men, too, would have important things to do in God’s kingdom. They would become Jesus’ apostles, not because of their personal talents or inherent excellence, but just because they had been called by Jesus. Sometimes people tend to think that being called by God is a rare and special occurrence, reserved in the past for people like Samuel and the apostles, or for those destined for priesthood or religious life in our own time. There are special vocations to be sure, callings that pave the way for extraordinary works in carrying out the Lord’s will. But there are more general callings as well, initiatives that God undertakes not just through prophets and apostles and priests and Sisters but through more ordinary men and women, more ordinary circumstances. We are all called to be alive, to be gifted with faith, hope and love, to live out a human existence that is not exactly like anybody else’s human existence. All this happens to us not through our own initiative, not because of our own worth, but simply because God calls us. If God had not called us, we would not exist, we would not be members of the community of faith, we would not have any purpose to our lives. And it’s not just to the big things that God calls us. Every little intervention of God in our lives, every blessing that we receive, every danger, great or small, that God averts from us is part of God’s calling. God has plans for each of us, even as God had plans for Samuel and the apostles. It’s up to us to be attentive to God’s action in our lives. It’s up to us to listen. For reflection and discussion** In what ways have I been called by God? How do I listen to God?

	[Return to top of page ] Copyright (c) 2006 The Catholic Telegraph