HEAR THE VOICE
God
usually chooses to deal with people through other people. Of course He can
reveal Himself directly to anyone He wishes, just as He did with Samuel in the
temple. Although, it was Eli who had to make clear to Samuel that the voice he
was hearing was the Voice of God. Today we meet one of the greatest of the
prophets, Samuel, whose response to God's call rings out through all time. His
response marks the classic expression and a whole-hearted openness and
dedication to the Word of God: "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is
listening" (1 Sm 3:9). These two activities are the fundamental criteria
for recognizing the presence of all true prophecy. God must speak, and we must
listen carefully.
The
greatest manifestation of God is through the humanity of Jesus. But even Jesus
Himself works through and in cooperation with others. We read about that today
in the Gospel of Mark. Simon and Andrew call to His attention the fact that
Simon's mother-in-law is ill with a fever (cf Mk 1:30). Later, people bring to
Jesus those who are sick and others who are possessed by demons. God wants to
act through us now. Perhaps we do not think that we are holy enough, or that we
are suitable instruments for Him. We should remove that thought from our minds!
In the
Responsorial Psalm we pray, "Here am I, Lord; I come to do Your will"
(Ps 40:8a, 9a). We, like Samuel, are called to serve others in large ways or
small; work to rectify injustice, feed the hungry, work for peace and take away
greed from the hearts of all. We show by our deeds that God has been speaking
and that we have been listening, and that we have gone on to act, for the
journey continues!