Hearing God's Call and Its Response

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, January 17th, 2021

Texts: 1Sam. 3:3b-10.19; Ps. 40:2.4.7-10; 1Cor. 6:13c-15a.17-20; John 1:35-42

God calls every one; He calls you and He calls me. Many of us do not recognize His voice. We do not recognize His voice , perhaps, because we are not familiar with His voice. This happened to Samuel in today's first reading. God called him three times but he took the voice of God for man's; instead of answering God, he answered man, Eli. Many of us are like Samuel; God calls us, but we answer men. This happens when we do things to win man's approval instead of God's approval. We response to God's call in our service, when we do things to win His approval; we are to work for God's pleasure, not for our own pleasure or anyone else.

Another reason for not recognizing God's voice could be that we are not His sheep. Jesus says, "When he has brought out all those that are his, he goes ahead of them, and they followed because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not recognize the voice of strangers" (John 9:4,5). His sheep are those who believe in Him. If we believe in  God, we will hear His voice when He calls and we will not answer man, but God.

We may not know  the voice of God if we have wrong conception about Him. This happened to Elijah: he sought God in mighty storm, He was not there; he sought Him in earthquake but He was not there; he sought Him in fire but He was not there; God was only found in a gentle breeze (1King 19:11-13). 

One who is fixated or dogmatic about God's call, may not recognize His voice when He calls. We need to be open minded; God works in different ways and calls in different ways. God is a mystery, we cannot fully understand Him here and now; he continues to reveal Himself progressively to us. 

Hardness of heart is also another reason for not recognizing God's voice. It is said, "Listen and listen, but never perceive! For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear. And they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them" (Mtt. 13:14,15). The heart is hardened when one bends on doing his/her own will. Prophet Jeremiah says, "But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart" (18:12). Hardness of heart is also the result of disobedience to God's will and indulgence in sin. We are warned thus: "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:13).

When God calls us, He calls us to belong to Him. The call is a call to a union with Him, a call to share from His life, a call to a new life in Him. St. Paul, in the second reading, says, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But he who is united to the Lord becomes one with him. Shun immorality." 

 When we answer the call of God, we no longer belong to ourselves but to Him. In the second reading, St. Paul says, "You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." St. Peter tells us about the price, when he says, "For you know that the price of your ransom from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors was paid, not in anything perishable like silver or gold, but in precious blood as of a blameless and spotless lamb, Christ" (1Pet. 1:18-19). Hence, the response to God's call is the giving of oneself to Him. This giving of self manifests in readiness to do His will. Hence, the response to today's psalm reads: "See, I have come, Lord, to do your will." Samuel respond thus: "Speak, for your servant hears."

 The gospel reading tells us that God calls us through the gospel about Jesus Christ. The two disciples followed Jesus Christ through the testimony of John about Him. It says, "'John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!' The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus." The gospel reminds us that God's call is a call to follow Him, that is, a call to discipleship. Our response to the call manifests in our zeal to speak about Jesus Christ to others, just as Andrew did after meeting Him. It is said of him thus: "One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus." Let us bring others to Jesus.

We hear about Jesus Christ every day, every Sunday, everywhere, can we say that we are truly following Him? Some of us still remain the same, no change. Some of us are even worse now. Today we are hearing the call again let not harden our hearts.

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for redeeming us at the cost of your precious blood, grant that we may appreciate it and respond generously to your call. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke