My dear parishioners,
God is Good!!! All the time!!! And all the time!!! God is Good!!!
In the first reading, the young Samuel’s devotion to God is clearly apparent from the fact that he sleeps “in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was.” In contrast, Israel’s devotion to the ark was not nearly so strong. And so the ark was lost to them briefly early on in Samuel’s career as a prophet (1 Sm 4–7). During the night, Samuel hears a voice calling him. Imagining it must be Eli calling him, Samuel dutifully runs to the old priest to find out what he wants. Only when this is repeated three times does it occur to Eli that God must be calling the young Samuel.
Today’s Gospel narrates the story of the call of the first disciples. It is quite different from the way the synoptic Gospels describe the call of disciples. One of the goals of the story is to show how John the Baptist redirects his own disciples to become followers of Jesus.
Behold the Lamb of God. John the Baptist is standing with two of his own disciples watching Jesus walk by. He immediately identifies Jesus as the lamb of God. This christological title refers to the image of the paschal lamb which was understood to be the sacrificial lamb whose death and blood saved the Israelites. John’s disciples are portrayed as immediately following Jesus. However, the narrative shows that this is just the beginning of a process that involves some dialogue between Jesus and these two followers.
Where are you staying? The questions and answers that follow are meant to be understood on two levels. The first level is the literal understanding, which hears the questions as seeking information about what the disciples are seeking and where Jesus is staying. The second level is the theological understanding, which reflects the deeper reality of what discipleship really entails. A real disciple is seeking God through following Jesus. Jesus is an itinerant preacher and moves around. He does not stay in any one place. Discipleship is an invitation to stay with Jesus wherever he goes. One must first respond to Jesus’ invitation, then one will see where Jesus stays.
Andrew and Peter. Andrew is here identified as one of the two initial disciples of John who followed Jesus. Andrew finds his own brother, Simon Peter, and makes the confession that he has found the Messiah. Following this confession, Andrew takes Simon to Jesus. At this point it is Andrew’s strong conviction that Jesus is the Messiah that is urging Peter on. Peter does not say anything during this whole exchange. As soon as Jesus sees Peter he states his name, Simon the son of John, and then changes the name to Cephas which is translated Peter and carries with it the nickname of Rock. Notice how the call to discipleship is based on a faith conviction that Jesus is the Messiah. No proof is given. It is clearly a matter of faith.
Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Aloysius