17 January 2021
1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19 | Ps 40 | 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20 | Jn 1:35-42
Our job in this lifetime is to attune our ears and our spirit to God’s voice and carry out his will with the time we are given. Above all, we must remember: we are not our own, we are God’s.
Today’s readings speak to us about these important truths. When we are early in our spiritual journey, we may have difficulty knowing how to discern the voice of God. We may confuse other voices for God’s We may not know what to listen for, or how it feels when God calls out to us.
We can see in today’s first reading that Samuel experienced this very thing. In his sleep, the Lord called out to the young Samuel three times. Each time, Samuel thought Eli—the high priest of the shrine—had called him from sleep. Obediently, Samuel woke up after hearing the call and approached Eli, saying, “Here I am. You called me.” The first two times, Eli told Samuel that he was mistaken, that he did not call him.
After the third time, however, Eli finally recognized what was happening. Samuel was indeed hearing a call, but it was not coming from Eli—it was coming from God himself. With this spiritual understanding, Eli did not tell Samuel to simply go back to sleep as he had before. He instructs him to go to sleep, but then respond if he was called: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” Samuel obediently followed this advice when the Lord called him again. From that time on, the Scriptures say the Lord was with Samuel, who had learned how to discern the call of God, “not permitting any word of his to be without effect.”
It is the same with us. When we finally learn how to discern when and how God is calling us—and how that sounds and feels in our spirit—we are called to respond obediently the same way that Samuel did: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Beyond learning to discern God’s call, however, we also must be willing to act on the direction and guidance we receive. It is well for us to look to today’s responsorial psalm for guidance on the next words to say to God: “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.” It isn’t enough to hear God’s voice—we must be willing to follow the direction we receive when He does answer us. We must have “ears open to obedience.” We must be willing to take God’s direction and forgo our plans if His will calls for us to do so.
Most of us have an idea of how we think our lives should go. We make plans for our lives on a daily basis, sometimes measuring how “good” our days are based on how well things fall into place. But if we are fortunate to wake up in the morning, we are given another day to live according to God’s will and not our own. Today’s second reading reminds us of this truth: “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?” So, when things don’t go according to our plans, it is good for us to recognize that it may be God who is steering us in another direction. We forever have to discern, is this God’s voice, my own, or the influence of evil?
We can always take comfort knowing that Jesus will lead us down the right path if we surrender to God’s will. After all, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In today’s gospel, Jesus asks his first disciples: “What are you looking for?” He asks us the same question. What are we looking for? Most of us—if we are honest with ourselves—are looking for happiness and peace. Jesus’ first disciples answer him with a question and want to know where he is staying.
The disciples want to spend more time with Jesus; they want to be in his presence. We can always find peace and happiness in Jesus’ presence by spending time in prayer and meditation, and reflecting on the Word in our hearts. Jesus is our Teacher and guide. Jesus will always show us the way: if we surrender to God’s will, accept His direction, and keep thanking God for everything.