II SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - John 1:35-42
In the Holy Scriptures, we can find many examples of God’s calling, each one of them presenting a special aspect of God’s presence and intervention in one’s life. In this Sunday’s liturgy, we are presented, in the first reading, with the call of Samuel, who being consecrated to God by his mother, grew up in the temple. Being very young, he had not experienced yet God’s relationship with him: “Samuel had as yet no knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” (1 Sam 3:3-10). So he could not recognise God’s voice and mistook it for the voice of Eli, the High Priest. However, in Samuel, we find the readiness to answer immediately, once called. Called three times, and three times he answered: “Here I am”. He did not delay or find excuses. In Bemba, there is a proverb that expresses well this quick answer to being called: “Uwaitwa, tafwala bwino.” - Who is called, has no time to go and dress well. He must answer there and then. Samuel did that. After so much insistence, Eli recognised that it was the Lord who was calling the young lad and instructed Samuel to give the proper answer: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Samuel needed someone to guide him in the ways of the Lord, prompting him to give the right answer and have the right attitude. We must be ready to listen, so that we may what God wants from us.
The gospel presents also another instance of the guidance received from others to be able to meet the Lord and follow him. Seeing Jesus passing by, John the Baptist pointed him out to two of his disciples: “Look, there is the lamb of God.” Hearing this proclamation of faith, they went after Jesus. Aware that he was being followed, Jesus asked: “What do you want?” They wanted to know him and discover what was so special about him. Jesus’ invitation was simple and straightforward: “Come and see.” Even today, Jesus addresses to us the same invitation: “Come and see.” We must have the personal experience of encountering Jesus, allowing our lives to be touched by him.
Having made the experience, they could not keep it a secret and one of them, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, passed the message to his brother, taking him to Jesus. The gospel of John stresses the essential role of those who have met Jesus in taking others to Him, for them to have the same experience, thus becoming his disciples. All of us are given the role of Eli, of John the Baptist and Andrew, helping the others to listen to God’s voice and taking them to Christo so that in him they may find salvation.
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