Road to Emmaus Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Jan 14, 2009

First Reading – 1 Sam. 3:3b-10, 19

Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

Second Reading – 1 Cor. 6:13c-15a, 17-20

Gospel Reading – Jn. 1:35-42

 

This Sunday’s readings from 1 Samuel and the Gospel of John are all about vocation. Vocation is a translation of the Latin verb, vocare, which means “to call.”

 

In the context of salvation history, the one “calling” is God. So a vocation is all about a divine calling to a specific mission.  This call from God always demands a response.  

 

Samuel

 

We have a beautiful reading from 1 Samuel which tells us a lot about God’s call, and our willingness to respond.

 

In the reading, the Lord calls to Samuel three times, but Samuel thinks he is hearing the priest Eli calling him. Samuel immediately responds to the call by going to Eli and saying, “Here I am, for you called me” (1 Sam. 3:5).

 

After Samuel goes to Eli the third time, the priest recognizes that “the Lord was calling the boy” (1 Sam. 3:8b). Eli tells Samuel to go back to sleep and what to do if he is called again.

 

While asleep the Lord calls for the fourth time, “Samuel, Samuel!” (1 Sam. 3:10). At this point Samuel responds with the words given to him by Eli, “speak, for your servant hears [is listening]” (1 Sam. 3:10).

 

The Lord was not just calling to say “hello.”  He had a specific mission in mind for Samuel. “…Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord” (1 Sam. 3:20). And, as we are told in part of the reading for this Sunday, “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Sam. 3:19).

 

What do we learn about vocations from this?

 

1.      We learn that the Lord does indeed call.

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2.      We learn that sometimes we need help in recognizing that the Lord is calling.

3.      We learn that once we know that the Lord is calling the only proper response is to answer immediately with a willingness to hear and obey. As the response for this Sunday’s Psalm says, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”

4.      We learn that when we respond to the Lord’s call with humble obedience, the Lord is with us. He gives us the grace to do what he asks. He does not leave us to our own devices.

5.      We learn that the Lord might just call you out of a deep sleep to do his will. For some of us this might be the hardest part of all.

 

Jesus, the Lamb of God

 

Now we come to this Sunday’s Gospel taken from John.

 

The first thing we hear is John the Baptist crying out, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” as Jesus walked by (Jn. 1:36). With this is the amazing response of two of John’s disciples, one of which we know was Andrew the future Apostle. When they hear this they begin to follow Jesus.

 

Obviously, the fact that John called Jesus, “the Lamb of God,” had a big impact. They follow him, and a few verses later Andrew calls Jesus the “Messiah.”

 

Why would this be the case? The entire People of God have been waiting for the lamb since Abraham and Isaac’s day. In Genesis 22 God calls Abraham to “Take your son, your only-begotten son Isaac, whom you love and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering…” (v. 2). Then on the way up the mountain Isaac asks, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (v. 7). Abraham’s response is crucial. He says, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (v. 8). After the angel stops Abraham’s hand from sacrificing Isaac, he renames that place, “The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided’” (v. 14).

 

God does of course provide the Lamb. We have some profound parallels between this event in Genesis 22 and the life and death of Jesus.

 

1.      Both Isaac and Jesus are beloved sons of their fathers (Gen. 22:2; Mt. 3:17).

2.      Golgotha is a hilltop on the mountain range of Moriah.

3.      Both Isaac and Jesus carried the wood for the sacrifice up Moriah/Golgotha in Salem/Jerusalem (Gen. 22:6).

4.      Both are delivered from death on the third day (Gen. 4, 5; Mt. 28).

5.      So, God did provide himself the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

 

The first Apostles

 

The two disciples of John the Baptist then begin to follow Jesus. They ask Jesus where he is staying and Jesus then says to them, “Come and see” (Jn. 1:39).

 

Given the background of what we have seen in 1 Samuel we can draw one definite conclusion. When it comes to a vocation it is God who does the calling. In John’s Gospel it is Jesus who does the calling. The conclusion that we can draw is that Jesus is in fact God.

 

And after only a brief time with the Lord, Andrew seeks out his brother Simon to tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (Jn. 1:41). Then he brings Peter to Jesus. Jesus proceeds to call Simon by changing his name to Cephas (Peter). Cephas means rock.

How is this a calling? God on occasion in the Old Testament indicated his calling of someone for a mission by changing their name. For example we have Abram/Abraham and Jacob/Israel.

 

We see the significance of this calling for Simon Peter in Matthew 16 when Jesus says to Peter, “You are Peter [rock], and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (vv. 18-19). This is a serious calling!

 

What do we learn about vocations from this?

 

1.      We learn again that God does the calling.

2.      We learn that the two disciples knew their scriptures and because of this recognized God’s call and were ready to respond. So too do we need to know the scriptures.

3.      We learn that the two were already disciples of John, which means they would have undergone his baptism of repentance. We too need to repent. Only in humility, not in pride, do we hear God’s call.

4.      We learned from Samuel that the Lord is with us when we respond to his call. From the two disciples we also learn that we need to stay with the Lord to live out our vocation.

5.      We learn that when you live out God’s call there is a desire and need to share the Good News with others and bring them to Jesus to find out their call.

 

We do well to keep in mind the words of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope” (29:11).